Longtime Camden Parking Authority head charged with domestic violence

The longtime head of the Camden Parking Authority has been charged in relation to a domestic violence incident.

Willie E. Hunter Sr. was arrested on Nov. 29 after Camden County Police were called to the 3100 block of Fremont Avenue in Camden’s Stockton neighborhood, according to police spokesman Dan Keashen.

The victim told officers that she got into an argument with Hunter over ending their relationship, according to the probable cause statement.

When the victim asked Hunter to leave her residence, he became irate, grabbed her by the arms and threw her into a wall, according to the statement. The impact caused her to fall to the ground.

The victim further stated after she was able to stand, she grabbed a brown belt with a broken buckle, wrapped it around her arm and began to swing it towards Hunter in self defense.

Hunter grabbed the belt and wrapped it around the victim’s neck and proceeded to pull it while falling onto the bed, according to the complaint. Hunter is alleged to tell the victim during the altercation, “You’re going to make me kill you.”

The victim said the strangulation lasted for about five seconds before Hunter stopped pulling the belt, according to the statement. She added that she believed she was “on the verge of losing consciousness.”

Among the injuries the victim suffered, according to the complaint, bruising to her left upper thigh, injuries to both arms and discomfort and pain in her throat which caused hoarseness in her voice. The victim also told officers that she was seeing black dots in her right eye.

Hunter faces charges of aggravated assault by strangulation, aggravated assault on a domestic violence victim, terroristic threats, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Hunter’s attorney, Timothy S. Farrow, declined to comment. The next scheduled court date is Feb. 26.

Prior to becoming executive director of the parking authority in January 2012, Hunter, who has political connections to former Camden Mayor Dana Redd and others, served two stints as commissioner on the agency’s board.

Hunter, 56, was accused in a 2019 whistle-blower lawsuit of firing a parking authority employee for reporting concerns about bid-rigging, public corruption and payroll fraud. The suit was settled in 2022.