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Might've been a rival, considering the location -- one of the deadliest drug corners in Paterson.
Or it could've been someone holding a grudge trying to get even.
Whoever dropped the dime in the middle of Monday afternoon, Oct. 16, provided more than enough info, Passaic County Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said.
That included a description of what the purported gunman was wearing -- cream-colored sweatshirt, jeans and red sneakers -- as he hung in a small crowd outside a store on a corner that's seen more than its share of shootings the past several years.
Members of Berdnik's Warrant Squad Division, Patrol Division and Emergency Response Team immediately spotted Steven A. Fields, 31, of Paterson, the sheriff said.
He was leaning into an SUV, chatting up its two female occupants, he said.
Detectives approached Fields, who tossed something into the vehicle, Berdnik said.
They patted him down and found Fields carrying 50 heroin folds stamped "Wakanda" and 10 vials of crack, the sheriff said.
They also recovered the object he'd tossed into the SUV -- a black and silver 9mm Taurus G2C that had been reported stolen, Berdnik said.
Other detectives who talked with the streetcorner crew immediately recognized one of the men: Dontell Tyrieck Ward, 32, had skipped court after Elmwood Park police said they found him carrying a gun and a large-capacity magazine in 2020.
The sheriff's detectives arrested Ward -- a Paterson resident who they said was carrying 17 vials of crack -- along with Fields.
Ward was charged with drug possession and ordered held on the outstanding warrant out of Bergen County. Fields is charged with possession of an illegal gun, high-capacity magazine and drugs, among other assorted offenses.
Both remained held Wednesday in the Bergen County Jail pending first appearances in Central Judicial Processing Court in Paterson.
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