Bridgewater teen accused in car burglary dies 8 months after victim put him in choke hold
Published: Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 9:43 PM Updated: Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 7:39 AM
By Eugene Paik/The Star-Ledger
BRIDGEWATER — It was swift and emphatic.
One punch and a choke hold, and two car burglary suspects were on the ground, according to police reports.
The punched suspect, knocked unconscious, later awakened, but the choke hold injured the other suspect so severely he never fully recovered.
Douglas Uhler, 19, of Bridgewater, died Sunday at Morristown Memorial Hospital, more than eight months after the incident.
And with his death, new questions are being raised over when a person can use lethal force in self-defense.
The street justice was administered by a 42-year-old Bridgewater man who heard people breaking into his car. A grand jury considered charges against the man, identified in court papers as Alex Montalvo, but none were brought.
Prosecutors said that after Montalvo knocked out one of the suspects, later identified as Brian Johnston, Uhler ran out from nearby bushes and shouted: "You want a piece of me, (expletive)?!"
Uhler jumped on Montalvo, who put him in a submission hold, Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano said. The move blocked the teen’s oxygen flow, causing a brain injury, Soriano said.
In December, a Somerset County grand jury indicted Uhler and Johnston, also 19 and of Bridgewater, on third-degree burglary charges. Johnston has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Uhler was dismissed as a defendant last month after a judge deemed him incompetent to stand trial. A once-strapping high school football player, Uhler spent his days in bed or in a wheelchair.
He had to be fed through a tube, according to court records. He was non-vocal and unable to walk, sit or roll. He also had poor head control.
Uhler had been in and out of several hospitals, including the Children’s Specialized Hospital and the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation.
His father wants charges filed against the car owner.
"He clearly said he attacked a kid in the street," Russell Uhler said.
At his home on Oak Street in Bridgewater tonight, where the fateful events occurred last July 31, Montalvo declined comment.
Authorities said Montalvo was awakened by the alleged burglary and chased the teens to Linden Street, a block away.
A criminal law expert described the case as "incredibly complicated."
"New Jersey law allows you to defend your physical self as well as your property," said Jenny Carroll, an associate professor at Seton Hall Law School. "You’re allowed to kill people under certain circumstances, particularly self-defense. If I jump on you, you’re allowed to do what is required to make me stop hurting you. But if I pause, you can’t just start kicking me in the head."
Carroll said there are no clear-cut answers.
"Here’s the trick in this case — did the homeowner exceed the need to protect his property?" she said. "If the kids are still in the process of taking the homeowner’s property, then he has a right to defend his property and to use force. The prosecutor must decide whether the homeowner used justifiable force, and whether it was reasonable.
"Even in the heat of passion, if you’re trying to subdue someone, it isn’t reasonable to kill them," Carroll said.
However, she said, the homeowner was defending himself against two people and might not have realized he was "using deadly force."
"I understand the dad’s emotional response and he may have a legal basis for it," Carroll said. "We have a dead kid and a homeowner who says his car was broken into. He could have stayed inside the house and just called the cops."
Russell Uhler said there wasn’t enough physical evidence to pin his son to the burglary.
The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office stands by its account of events.
Douglas Uhler had plans to attend William Paterson University, where he hoped to earn a degree in sports medicine. He played football at Bridgewater-Raritan High School and dedicated himself to sports and weight training, his father said.
Staff writers Benjamin Horowitz and Mike Frassinelli contributed to this report.
