NJ Fugitive Caught At Traffic Stop After 2 Decades

PARAMUS, NJ — A fugitive wanted for more than 20 years on an attempted murder charge was caught in Paramus on Wednesday, police said.

Yancy Haywood, 52, from Paterson, was arrested for the attempted murder charge and for providing false information to a law enforcement officer, Paramus police said on Friday.

Subscribe

On Wednesday around 3:45 p.m., Paramus Police Officer Nicholas Perna stopped a grey Kia on Route 4 after seeing that its Florida plates were partly obscured with a heavily tinted cover, police said.

The passenger in the car gave a false first name and false date of birth, police said.

"Perna became suspicious after the passenger was unable to provide identification and gave inconsistent responses regarding his identity," police said.

A records check revealed that the information matched an alias used by Yancy Haywood, who was wanted by the Passaic County Sheriff's Office for first-degree attempted murder.

At Paramus Police Headquarters, fingerprints confirmed the suspect.

During processing, Haywood told Officer Perna, "Officer, you did your job," according to police.

Haywood had used the alias of his brother, who has been in state prison since 2011, police said.

Haywood was taken to the Bergen County Jail.

The driver was released but issued summonses for driving while suspended, driving without a license, and failure to provide documents, police said.

Paramus Police Chief Robert Guidetti said, "I commend Officer Perna for his exceptional work. This arrest is an excellent example of the professionalism, instincts, and investigative skills our officers bring to work every day. Officer Perna's diligence resulted in the apprehension of a fugitive who had been wanted for attempted murder for more than two decades."

Patch has reached out for information on the earlier charge, and will update this story when more details are available.