Mahwah Officer's Chance Traffic Stop Ends Alleged Bus Assault From Albany

A 44-year-old Wilmington, Delaware man is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a woman seated next to him on a bus traveling from the Albany area, an incident that ended only because the woman and the bus driver happened to spot a police officer conducting an unrelated traffic stop on Route 17 South late Sunday night. The woman got off the bus near Mahwah and reported the assault to the officer on the scene, according to police.

Mahwah Police Officer Gregory Lehman was conducting a routine traffic stop on Route 17 South at approximately 11 p.m. on Sunday when the passenger bus pulled over nearby, according to Daily Voice. The woman and the bus driver had spotted Lehman's police vehicle and stopped to alert him, and the woman then approached the officer to report the assault, per Mahwah Police Captain Michael Blondin. Police identified and detained Surrune Jones, who had been seated next to the woman on the bus, in connection with the alleged assault.

According to authorities, Jones allegedly assaulted the woman by putting his face and hands in her groin area and grabbing her. Investigators said Jones also sent sexually suggestive messages on his phone and positioned the device so the woman could see them. Per authorities, Jones allegedly blocked the woman from leaving her seat, and the woman pushed him away before making her way to the bus driver.

Charges Filed and Immediate Release

Jones was charged with criminal sexual contact and false imprisonment, police said. He was released pending an appearance in Superior Court rather than held on bail, a procedural outcome tied to New Jersey's Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2017, which replaced cash bail with a risk-assessment framework. That system has led to increased use of complaint-summonses, with certain circumstances favoring summonses, according to Advancing Pretrial Policy & Research.

The criminal sexual contact charge falls under N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3(b), which classifies non-consensual sexual touching through force or coercion as a fourth-degree crime carrying up to 18 months in state prison and fines as high as $10,000, according to Justia Law. The false imprisonment charge, under N.J.S.A. 2C:13-3, covers knowingly and unlawfully restraining another person to substantially interfere with their liberty, and is a disorderly persons offense punishable by up to six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine, per Brett Rosen Law.

A Corridor Built for Long-Distance Travel

Route 17 in Bergen County is a 27.2-mile expressway with four to six lanes running from North Arlington through Mahwah to the New York state line, according to Wikipedia. Coach USA's ShortLine provides bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan and operates through Mahwah, per Coach USA.

The dossier does not specify whether the bus involved in this incident was operated by ShortLine or another carrier. What is clear is that the woman's ability to flag down a police officer mid-route was unusual. Harassment of women on public transport has been documented. Some incidents go unreported, and riders may lack trusted reporting channels.

Push for Standardized Safety Protocols

That gap has fueled past federal legislative efforts, including the proposed Stop Sexual Assault and Harassment in Transportation Act, which aimed to require intercity bus operators and other commercial transit providers to establish standardized reporting mechanisms and employee response training, according to Streetsblog USA. In this case, it was the driver's and passenger's own vigilance, combined with the coincidence of a police cruiser already stopped along the route, that allowed the woman to get help before the bus continued on.

Lehman, the officer who took the woman's report, is not new to high-stakes rescues. In March 2018, he helped rescue a woman and three girls from a truck stranded in the Ramapo River, according to CBS New York. Blondin, who currently heads the Mahwah Police Department's Investigative Division and spoke to media about the arrest, previously received Bergen County's Arson Investigator of the Year award for 2011, per Patch.