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2017 News Release

Violent Crime Initiative Captures Over 150 Fugitives Throughout the State

-Attorney General Announces New Directive to Prevent Victim and Witness Intimidation-

Hamilton, N.J. - Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino and New Jersey State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes today announced a statewide violent offender fugitive sweep that has resulted in the arrest of more than 150 offenders.  The ongoing investigation began November 1, 2016.  To date, authorities have seized 11 firearms (2 assault rifles), 631 decks of heroin, and 60 vials of crack cocaine.  In addition, Attorney General Porrino announced a new law enforcement directive designed to prevent victim and witness intimidation.

The Violent Crime Initiative was coordinated by the New Jersey State Police Fugitive Unit at the request of the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General in an effort to further suppress violent crimes throughout the state.  The operation is intended to target violent fugitives, many of whom are criminal gang members with arrest warrants for crimes such as murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, and drug trafficking. 

Some of the more serious offenders captured during this initiative are:

Jeremy Arrington, 27, of Newark

• Wanted for a triple homicide in Newark where an 8-year old, an 11-year old and an adult female were murdered.  In addition, Arrington was charged with Attempted Murder, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Sexual Assault, and Possession of a Firearm for Unlawful Purpose.  He was arrested on November 6, 2016 in Newark.

Juprie Wadley, 19, of Trenton

• Wanted on charges of Murder and weapons offenses resulting from the shooting death of a 15-year old in Trenton on June 11, 2016.  He was arrested on December 7, 2016 in Trenton.

Kamal Sears, 36, of Atlantic City

• Wanted for escaping from a New Jersey Department of Corrections facility where he was serving a five-year prison sentence for multiple weapons offenses.  He was arrested on December 8, 2016.

Otis Dennis, 21, of Millville

• Wanted for Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.  At the time of his arrest, it was discovered that Dennis was out on bail from a previous murder charge.  He was arrested on November 15, 2016 in Millville.

Balil Burton, 26, of Atlantic City

• Wanted for an armed robbery in Galloway Township and is a member of the “Bloods” Street Gang.  He was arrested on December 14, 2016 in Atlantic City.

Charles Willis, 24, of Trenton

• Wanted for Aggravated Assault, Unlawful Possession of a Handgun, and Possession of a Handgun for Unlawful Purpose in connection with a shooting in Trenton.  He was arrested on November 30, 2016.

State Police Units assisting with the operation include the Crime Suppression Unit, Gangs and Organized Crime Unit, NJ Regional Operations Intelligence Center, and the Real Time Crime Center.  The United States Marshals Service and the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force have also assisted with the initiative.

“Through these sweeps, we not only take dangerous criminals off the street, we also develop investigative leads that can help us dismantle the drug rings that are driving violent crime and fueling the epidemic of opiate addiction in our communities,” said Attorney General Porrino. “Narcotics trafficking and violence are inextricably linked, and as addiction has grown, so has the challenge of combating violence in our urban centers. Our message today is that we will continue to work tirelessly to solve the problem of addiction and stem the tide of violence in New Jersey.”

“The Violent Crime Initiative has resulted in the apprehension of some of New Jersey’s most dangerous criminals, and the sweep represents a significant step towards disrupting the violence that currently exists in some urban areas,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.  “The operation has not only made the targeted jurisdictions and surrounding areas safer, but valuable information has been gathered that will, in all likelihood, lead to future arrests.”

“The cooperation amongst law enforcement agencies in New Jersey is worthy of notice,” said U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos Jr., United States Marshal Service. “When every agency, whether city, county, state, or federal, is committed to working together to locate and arrest criminal offenders, we all enjoy safer communities.”

At the same time that he announced the warrant sweep, Attorney General Porrino also announced another anti-violence initiative involving his issuance of a new law enforcement directive to prevent victim and witness intimidation.  The problem of witness intimidation and tampering is pervasive, particularly in urban centers where the “snitches get stitches” culture is common.  The Attorney General’s Office held a series of meetings where law enforcement, community leaders, and civilians alike spoke-out recently against the deeply destructive practice of witness intimidation.  Such intimidation impedes the ability of law enforcement to prosecute violent crimes, thereby breeding more violence and undermining public trust and confidence in police.

“Our message today to community members is that police will do everything possible to protect them if they do the right thing and cooperate in an investigation,” added Attorney General Porrino. “With this directive, we are seeking to protect witnesses and ensure that violent criminals face stern prosecution, particularly if they engage in this type of intimidation.”

“We have spoken with citizens across the state and they have made this clear: the 'no snitching' mentality is destroying communities by preventing law enforcement from serving and protecting good people who deserve to live without fear of violent reprisal if they cooperate,” said Director  Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “This Directive enables prosecutors and police statewide to use all available means to combat this pervasive problem.”

Implementation of the Bail Reform Act, which became effective January 1, has provided a unique opportunity to address the problem of witness intimidation.  Attorney General Porrino has seized that opportunity with the new directive issued today, which, among others, takes the following actions:

• Directs that when prosecutors have reason to believe a defendant or his associates might engage in witness intimidation, they must notify police before producing any evidence or documents in discovery to a defense attorney that could reveal the identity of a victim or witness, so police can take immediate precautions to warn and protect the victim or witness.
• Mandates that when charges of victim or witness intimidation can be substantiated, police and prosecutors must aggressively pursue such charges.  The directive instructs them to be particularly wary of emerging forms of witness intimidation, including social media.
• Directs the development within 90 days of an online training course for police and prosecutors to teach them about the legal tools available to fight victim and witness tampering. Requires all prosecutors to take the course within 90 days of its launch.
• Requires that when officers learn that a defendant might try to intimidate a victim or witness, they shall promptly notify the prosecutor.  The prosecutor, in consultation with the police, must consider whether to seek pretrial detention of the defendant under the Bail Reform Act, or whether some form of restraint (e.g., no contact order, electronic monitoring of defendant, etc.) should be imposed by the court as a condition of pretrial release.
• Mandates certain protocols (use of anonymous references, seeking protective orders) to protect witness confidentiality and anonymity wherever possible and specifically authorizes use of forfeiture funds for witness relocation.

Arrest Results

The primary focus of the operation has been Newark, Trenton, Camden, Millville, and Atlantic City/Pleasantville areas.  The following offenders were arrested at various locations throughout the state:

 

NAME	AGE	RESIDENCE
Clauvens Alcius	28	Irvington
Adam Ali	45	Mays Landing
Lisa Anderson	33	Trenton
Malik Anderson	21	Buena
Dremere Anthony	21	Fair Haven
Jeremy Arrington	27	Newark
Clifton Bailey	25	Vineland
Antwone Bethea	30	Trenton
Corey Billings	36	Trenton
Jules Black	30	Vineland
Kai Bowman	39	Trenton
Jamie Buhpan	21	Camden
Jashawn Burnett	23	Newark
Balil Burton	26	Mays Landing
Tyreef Burton-Spellman	24	Wrightstown
Saymon Cabral	33	Paterson
Gerry Caridad	24	Neptune
Jermaine Carmichael	33	Atlantic City
Jermel Carter	35	Trenton
Ameer Castleberry	33	Newark
Rashon Causey	38	Burlington
Anthony Chatum	29	Millville
Nyron Chin	18	Pemberton
Christopher Clark	25	Burlington
Tirkirah Clark	19	Trenton
Kevin Clayton	25	Newark
Timothy Cocchi	34	Burlington
Geoffrey Colucci	49	Toms River
Tyson Coney	30	Wharton
Brian Cox	27	Vineland
Quantea Crawley	24	Browns Mills
Antoine Crawley	31	Pemberton
Paul Crawley	17	Burlington
Fuquan Cromwell	30	East Orange
Emmanuel Cruz	29	Morrisville
Corey Dames	40	Newark
Jarett Darby	25	Hamilton
Shabriya Dash	24	Trenton
Yusef Davis	20	Irvington
Shakiera Davis	21
Alicia Dennis	39	Willingboro
Otis Dennis	21	Millville
Tiago Diaz	31	Neptune
Kateena Diggs	28	Burlington
Welder Dubon	31	Piscataway
Dantavis Dukes	23	Carney’s Point
Matthew Dukes	27	Trenton
Gary Elysee	26	Orange City
Roger Estivez-Jimenez	22	Perth Amboy
Jennifer Ferro	32	Belmar
Bryheem Frazier	31	Camden
Thomas Fryar	36	Burlington
Carlos Garcia	37	Fort Myers
Carson Givens Jr.	36	Manalapan
Louis Gould	41	Haddon Twp.
Chance Graves	19	Vineland
Kareem Griffin	39	Oaklyn
Bernadino Guervil	28	Trenton
Angel Jose Guzman	55	Vineland
Bryant Hawkins	39	Newark
Niquawn Hayes	35	Trenton
Angel Hernandez	35	Mays Landing
Kevin Hernandez	20	Elizabeth
Kenneth Hilton	43	Newark
Ibn Holman	35	East Orange
Michael Jackson	47	Mays Landing
Antonio Jefferson	30	Willingboro
John Johnson	23	Newark
Tysheim Johnson	26	Newark
Djuan Johnson	23	Newark
Terrence Jones	34	Millville
Raheem Jones	35	Newark
Timothy Jones	35	Newark
Belinda Kellicker	49	Bellmawr
Stephon Keys	24	Asbury Park
Deondrae King	34	Vineland
Ramel Kirkpatrick	30	Neptune
Essance Kurkland	27	Atlantic City
Thomas Lacovara	45	Williamstown
Rose Landwher	46	Deptford
Danielle Landwher	20	Swedesboro
Jaquan Lane-Nevius	22	Newark
Tyrone Lattie	33	Jackson
Troy Leary	30	Camden
Devan Leggette	20	Mays Landing
Altyreek Leonard	23	Asbury Park
Leon Livingston	54	Trenton
Jose Lopez	45	Newark
Alexandra Louzan	25	Manchester
Alfatah Loyal	31	Irvington
Asad Majors	24	Irvington
Dayron Marquez	24	Camden
Jaishawn Mathis	23	Trenton
Frank McCord	23	Jersey City
Thomas McGinnis	35	Toms River
Nikkiya McKenzie	33	Newark
Isaiah McNeil	20	Newark
Patricia Mendez	41	Toms River
Jeremiah Monell	32	Cedarville
Emils Mors	22	Egg Harbor Twp.
Kenny Mosley	52	Willingboro
David Murri	46	Westville
Zeldrick Nance	29	Trenton
Bruce Neal	37	Burlington
Joshua Norwood	27	Newark
Ricardo Palacios	25	Long Branch
Deandre Parker	27	Irvington
Myson Peeples	26	Paterson
Mario Perez-Gonzalez	60	Newark
Jeremy Pickett	27	Salem
Laquinta Price	26	Pleasantville
Alex Pullen	25	Trenton
Rashaida Rhett	21	Millville
Devon Rocker-McAlpin	25	Commercial Twp.
Hezron Rodgers	28	Newark
Rasheeda Sampson	22	Trenton
Edwin Santiago	24	Newark
Kamal Sears	36	Atlantic City
Terrance Shells	19	Newark
Marquis Skillman	30	Trenton
Patrick Smith	26	Willingboro
Jashawn Smith	18	Trenton
Tyre Sorbino	18	Newark
Darnell Starks	27	Newark
Lucas Sumler	42	Newark
Jacob Surwilla	48	Milleville City
Nysha Taylor	23	Mount Holly
Jayce Thomas	25	Atlantic City
Aljuquan Thomason	24	Newark
Larry Thompson	35	Princeton
Shawn Tift	24	Trenton
Abdul Wahid Ubaidah-Crumblin	48	Linden
Kyle Vance	20	Ewing
Juan Velazquez	26	Vineland
Juprie Wadley	19	Trenton
Paulette Wakefield	35	Tinton Falls
Jesse Weaver	19	Monroeville
Kahail Weeks	24	Newark
Bryan Weisgerber	32	Stow Creek
Rashad Wells	22	Trenton
Shaeed White	30	Newark
Marquise Wiggins	20	Newark
Allen Williams	23	Bridgeton
Blair Williams	19	Camden
Darell Williams	20	Newark
Marvin Williams	31	Trenton
Charles Willis	24	Trenton
Darshon Womack	28	Newark
Timothy Wright	24	Hamilton

Under the Bail Reform Act, which took effect Jan. 1, authorities have sought pretrial detention or protective conditions for pretrial release for some of the more dangerous defendants, while other defendants have been released and ordered to appear at a later date for first appearances. These are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.  Because these are indictable offenses, the charges against the defendants will be presented to a state grand jury for potential indictment.

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