Police Arrest Man Wanted For Aggravated Assault At Spirits Bar

A Barnegat man wanted for second-degree aggravated assault for last year's incident at the Spirits Bar on Route 9 in Barnegat, surrendered to the police on Tuesday.

Police arrested Robert Gunnell, Jr., 31, of Barnegat, for aggravated assault, for which they charged him in late October.

The incident took place on Oct. 18, 2011, when Gunnell allegedly got into an argument with another man. The argument escalated, ending with the victim hospitalized in an unconscious state with a fractured eye socket and a broken nose, police said.

Police were unable to locate the man until this Tuesday, April 17, at 3:15 p.m., when members of the Barnegat PD Investigative Unit were in the area of Capstan Street on an unrelated matter and saw Gunnell getting out of a vehicle, according to the latest report from the Barnegat Police.

Upon noticing the officers, Gunnell sought refuge in a Capstan Street residence, police said. Officers set up a perimeter around the house and maintained a dialogue with occupants of the house until Gunnell surrendered voluntarily, the report said

In addition to a $40,000 warrant for aggravated assault from the incident in October, Gunnell had a $16,232 child support warrant issued by the Ocean County Sheriff's Department.

Gunnell was lodged in the Ocean County Jail in default of $56,232 bail.