the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Newark NJ, A New Jersey Transit Police Officer on foot patrol in Newark is credited with arresting a man wanted for the murder of a South Jersey resident.
Lonnie Arrington, 48, of Newark, was arrested by Officer Michael Hooks on Tuesday, October 16 in the bus lanes at Newark Penn Station.
At approximately 8:30 Tuesday morning, Officer Hooks, who has been with the New Jersey Transit Police Department for less than a year, noticed Arrington illegally smoking in the lanes. During a subsequent conversation, Officer Hooks’ suspicions were raised and ran a computer search on Arrington. The search confirmed that Arrington was wanted in connection with a September 23 fatal shooting of Michael Shendock, 38, of Voorhees and the attempted homicide of a second victim.
In addition to the homicide charges, Arrington was charged with aggravated assault in connection with the shooting of the second victim and other weapons offenses.
“Every day, New Jersey Transit Police officers help to protect and serve the people of this state,’’ said New Jersey Transit Police Chief Christopher Trucillo. “Officer Hooks used good judgement when speaking with this individual to determine that he was not being honest. Something didn’t feel right and the officer followed up on his hunch, which led to a dangerous individual being taken off the streets. It was good police work on this rookie’s part.’’
The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is handling the investigation, which is still active and ongoing.