'Manic' NJ man charged with throwing flaming bottles at cops

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP — Police said a man threw molotov cocktails and knives at officers during a 4½ hour standoff early Monday morning.

Township police had been called about 11:30 p.m. Sunday to Lawncrest Lane to remove a disabled vehicle from the road. When an officer and tow truck operator arrived, Oliver Ndemezeng, 33, began screaming out of a second-floor window and throwing bottles at them, according to police.

Ndemezeng threatened to “burn” officers if they towed away his car as he lit a window sill on fire and appeared to use an accelerant to light bottles on fire.

Ndemezeng's relatives fled the townhouse and told police that Ndemezeng was manic. They were also worried that he would burn down the house, police said.

Police said he threatened to stab police and threw a knife that landed in a fence near an officer. He also threw ceramic plates and wrenches at police and blockaded the doors of the house with furniture.

The township SWAT and crisis negotiations teams were called as Ndemezeng continued to scream at cops and throw fiery debris at the officers, police said, adding that he did not respond to phone calls or pleas by police over a bullhorn.

Police said they found Ndemezeng in the attic, where he sprayed an accelerant at officers. Police said they fired five pepper-spray projectiles at him before tasering and arresting him.

Gloucester Township Department of Public Works employees later fixed the front door and fixed the thermostat that had been ripped off the wall.

Ndemezeng was hospitalized for a medical evaluation and charged with: