Crime & Safety

Woman Indicted for Hindering Apprehension in Cop Killer Case

Grand Jury hands down indictment Thursday

In addition to the man indicted yesterday for the killing of Lakewood Police Officer Christopher Matlosz is a Toms River woman charged with hindering the suspect’s apprehension.

Danielle N. Hernandez, 27, of Lena Avenue off Church Road, is accused of hindering Jahmell Crockam’s apprehension Jan. 14 in Lakewood by deceiving lawmen from the Prosecutor’s Office and the Lakewood Police Department. An Ocean County grand jury handed down the indictment Thursday.

Hernandez is also accused of giving false information to police and prosecutor’s investigators. She is free on $50,000 bail.

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On Jan. 14, Matlosz, 27, of the Pine Lake Park section of Manchester, was on a routine patrol in Lakewood and in his police vehicle when the suspect then took a step back, pulled a gun and shot Matlosz three times at close range in the head, said Ocean County Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford.

A massive manhunt ensued. The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals, New Jersey State Police and various departments from Monmouth and Ocean County aided in the investigation, said Mike Mohel, public information officer for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office shortly after the incident.

Find out what's happening in Toms Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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