Fugitive Arrested at Motel on Route 1 in Lawrence

A convicted felon wanted in connection with a burglary warrant and nearly $93,000 worth of unpaid child support was taken into custody this morning (Friday, Nov. 4) at a motel in Lawrence Township.

The arrest at the in the 2900 block of Brunswick Pike (Route 1), near Franklin Corner Road, was conducted by the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office and the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force from the U.S. Marshals Service, in conjunction with Lawrence Township police.

The arrestee, Shawn Hale, 38, whose last known address was on Berkeley Avenue in Trenton, was wanted on a burglary warrant issued earlier this year and three failure to pay child support warrants worth $65,440, $24,759 and $2,715 respectively, according to the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office.

New Jersey Department of Corrections records show that Hale was convicted of an aggravated assault that took place in Mercer County in July 2007.

Officer William Osterman, public information officer for the sheriff’s office, said authorities received an anonymous tip that Hale was hiding out at the motel in Lawrence Township.

Hale was riding a bicycle through the Howard Johnson lot when he spotted the fugitive hunters’ unmarked vehicles and suspected they belonged to law enforcement, Osterman said.

He said Hale immediately turned and tried to retreat to his motel room but he was quickly detained on the second-floor landing and handcuffed shortly before 10:30 a.m. today.

Osterman said Hale was being lodged in the Mercer County Correction Center in Hopewell Township without bail.