E.B. man, 42, charged with attempted murder

EAST BRUNSWICK - A township man was arrested March 28 after a hang-up 911 call led police to his girlfriend's apartment.

Upon arrival at the Civic Center Drive apartment at 12:10 p.m., patrol officers and detectives discovered that the girlfriend had been attacked with a knife and struck in the face. The woman told the officers that 42-year-old Kenneth Rittman, of East Brunswick, was hiding in a bedroom closet with a knife. The bedroom door was partially barricaded with a dresser, but when officers entered the room, they were able to convince Rittman to surrender, according to information provided by the East Brunswick Police Department.

After Rittman was taken into custody, police found a large, butcher-type knife in the closet where he had been hiding, police said. Another large butcher-type knife was found on a living-room chair.

There were no other people present during the incident.

Police said an investigation determined that Rittman and the alleged victim became involved in a dispute, and Rittman then attacked her by punching her in the face, breaking her nose and jaw. He also attacked her with a knife, causing a deep laceration to her right knee and another cut to her throat, according to police.

The victim was treated at an area hospital and released.

Rittman was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, criminal restraint, obstructing justice, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon. He was also charged with violating a final restraining order, which had been recently issued by the court based on previous incidents.

Rittman was committed to the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, North Brunswick, where he is being held without bail pending a court hearing.

Police previously arrested Rittman in December after responding to the Civic Center Drive apartments as the result of a 911 call from the residence. Police officers found Rittman in the parking lot that night with his 13-year-old son in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other, which he was using to "menace" the officers, police said.

After a struggle, police placed Rittman into a patrol car, but he kicked out a rear window of the vehicle. When he was switched to a second car, he kicked out both rear windows, police said. He received numerous charges in the December incident, and was held on $25,000 bail at that time.