43 Wanted Fugitives Arrested In Essex County During Massive Sweep

NEWARK, NJ – Police recently apprehended dozens of wanted fugitives in Essex County during a massive warrant sweep, authorities announced Friday evening.

The multi-agency sweep – which took place during the month of April – resulted in 43 arrests, including two people who were wanted on murder charges, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office: Lavon Ford, 27, of Newark, and Antuane Gregory, 42, of Irvington.

Ford has been accused of fatally shooting Frensly Bouquet, 27, on April 12. Bouquet, a truck driver from Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, was parked on the side of McCarter Highway in Newark at the time of the shooting, prosecutors said.

Gregory has been accused of shooting four people on Leslie Street in Newark on April 15. The victims included Corey Beasley, 43, of Newark, who died from his injuries. The three other victims survived the shooting, prosecutors said.

Other arrestees apprehended during the sweep face charges that include aggravated assault and weapons possession, authorities said.

The agencies that conducted the sweep included the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Newark Police Department, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service.

“This warrant sweep was a collaboration between law enforcement agencies with a single and solitary purpose: to keep everyone safe and to ensure that justice is rendered in the nation, the state, and especially in Essex County,” Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens said, also thanking other involved agencies for their help.

Mitch McGuire, chief of detectives at the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, said that warrant sweeps like the one recently carried out in the region are “imperative” for public safety.

“Folks charged with serious crimes do their best to avoid encounters with law enforcement,” McGuire said. “So efforts like this – warrant sweeps – are pivotal in keeping our communities safe.”

Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé noted that 21 of the fugitives arrested were from Newark –most populated city in New Jersey. Fragé said that in a typical year, more than half of the violent offenses in the city take place between the months of May and September.

“These efforts today will help us mediate that,” he said. “We’re prepared to deal with the next couple of months, and we appreciate all the support from everybody.”

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