A Paramus police officer who pulled over a car because its licence plate was hidden behind a heavily tinted cover ended up arresting a passenger wanted on an attempted-murder warrant that had been outstanding for more than 20 years.
Officer Nicholas Perna stopped a grey 2009 Kia on westbound Route 4 last week after noticing that its Florida plate was obscured, Paramus police said.
An alias that did not hold
The passenger identified himself as “James Haywood” and gave a date of birth that police say was false. He could not produce identification and gave inconsistent answers about who he was.
A records check showed the details matched an alias used by Yancy Haywood, 52, of Paterson, who was wanted by the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office on an active warrant for first-degree attempted murder. Officers also noted a tattoo and scars matching the description on the warrant. He was taken to Paramus police headquarters, where detectives confirmed his identity by fingerprints.
The charges
Paramus police charged Mr. Haywood with providing false information to a law enforcement officer. He was also taken into custody on the outstanding warrant and transferred to the Bergen County Jail.
How old the warrant is, precisely, has not been released
Accounts of the arrest describe the warrant as having been outstanding for 20 years in some cases and about 25 in others. Neither the year it was issued nor the date of the underlying alleged offence has been released, so this brief says only that it had been outstanding for more than 20 years — which is true on either account…