A man police said stabbed a passenger on a Suffolk County Transit bus in Riverside Friday was arrested on first-degree assault, weapon possession and drug charges, Southampton Town Police said in a press release Friday night.
Police said they received a report at 3:57 p.m. of the stabbing aboard a bus that had just left the county center and was traveling south on County Road 51.
Southampton Town Police Patrol Units, Community Response Units, detectives, New York State Police and Flanders Northampton Ambulance responded to the area and began treatment of the stabbing victim, police said.
An investigation revealed the victim had been stabbed with a knife and was transported to an area hospital for treatment, according to the report.
The suspect had fled on foot, police said. He was located by Southampton Town Police patrol officers after a brief search of the area and subsequently identified as Rene Alexander Elias Chaj, 23, of Mastic, police said.
He was arrested on charges of Assault in the First Degree, a class B felony, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a class D felony.
While Chaj was being processed at Southampton Town Police Headquarters he was found to be in possession of a quantity of cocaine, according to the police report. He was then additionally charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, a class A misdemeanor.
After processing, Chaj was held overnight for morning arraignment.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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