25-Year-Old Garfield Man Charged With Attempted Kidnapping & A Month-Long Stalking Spree Of A Woman
Tuesday, May 21, 2024, 4:00 P.M. ET. By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
GARFIELD, NJ.- On Monday Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella reported that a 25-year-old Garfield, New Jersey man was taken into custody on Thursday, May 16, 2024, and charged with attempted kidnapping and stalking.
On Wednesday, May 15, 2024, the Garfield Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit after receiving a report of multiple suspicious incidents that had occurred over the past month, involving an unidentified man following a woman in Garfield, New Jersey.
The woman reported that on May 8, 2024, while she was walking the unidentified man approached her and grabbed her by the neck and backpack in an attempt to drag her off the sidewalk, but an unknown Good Samaritan came to the woman's aide and the subsequently fled on foot.
An investigation was launched by members of the Bergen County Special Victims Unit and the Garfield Police Department. Detectives were able to identify and determine that Michael Hernandez, 25, of Garfield, New Jersey, stalked the woman, beginning in April of 2024, before ultimately attempting to kidnap her on May 8, 2024, in Garfield.
As a result of the investigation, the following day, Thursday, May 16, 2024, Hernandez was located and taken into custody in Garfield, New Jersey with assistance from the Bergen County Regional SWAT Team. Following being arrested Hernandez was formally charged with second-degree Attempted Kidnapping; and fourth-degree Stalking. Hernandez was processed on the charges and was transported to the Bergen County Jail pending future court proceedings in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, New Jersey.
"The rules of the court requires us to include a statement, that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt."
FILED UNDER: MAY 21, 2024: LAW, LOCAL, BERGEN: