Cell Phone Dispute Starts Berkeley Party Brawl

Authorities say a dispute over a missing cellphone at an Ocean County house party sparked a brawl that ended with the phone's owner allegedly punching a woman and running down two men with his pickup truck.

Berkeley Township Police Detective James Smith tells the Asbury Park Press that 23-year-old Brian Schremmer faces numerous charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and drunken driving.

Smith says the brawl started around 3:30 a.m. Saturday when Schremmer, a township resident, noticed his phone was missing and began accusing and threatening other partygoers. He then scuffled with a group of people who ejected him from the home, punching a 20-year-old township woman in the process. She sustained multiple lacerations and required stitches.

Smith says Schremmer then got in his truck and allegedly struck and injured two men, who were both being treated at Community Medical Center in Toms River for various injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Schremmer then drove off -- striking two other vehicles -- but was stopped about 20 minutes later by police in nearby South Toms River. He was being held in the Ocean County Jail on $50,000, and it was not known if he had retained a lawyer.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)