Police In Middlesex County Solve Decade-Old Crime

South Brunswick Police solved a theft from 12 years ago with the arrest of a Jersey City man on Friday, Jan. 2.

A homeowner on Liberty Drive reported cash and jewelry was stolen from their home in August 2002. The crime scene was processed by Gene Rickle, patrolman and evidence technician at the time, and produced several latent fingerprints, South Brunwsick Police said in a news release. The fingerprints were subsequently sent to the New Jersey State Police for analysis.

In July 2014, the fingerprints found at the 2002 crime scene were discovered to be a match to John Hyson, 32, of Jersey City, South Brunswick Police said. Hyson was arrested after a motor vehicle stop in Camden County early Friday morning and is being held in the Middlesex County Correction Center on $5,000 bail, according to the news release.

The items stolen in the 2002 theft included three gold and diamond necklaces, one gold and diamond ring and one gold and black ring, police said. The items were valued at more than $5,500 dollars.

“The determination of our officers and detectives are not limited by any timeframe,” South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said in the news release. “This is a case where diligent crime scene processing created a lead that years later lead to an arrest.”