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Leon Henry, 29, of Wilmington, NC, had been stopped and issued summonses early Monday, Dec. 12, for, among other offenses, having fictitious plates and driving an unregistered vehicle, Little Ferry Police Chief James Walters said.
The license plate on the 2018 Dodge Challenger had a blacked-out frame over it, Walters said.
Officer Joseph Convery also immediately spotted a long knife on the passenger seat after stopping Henry on westbound Route 46, the chief said.
Henry told the officer that he'd been living in Vineland and drove up to Bergen County to apply for a job at a local pizzeria, Walters said.
Asked to identify the shop, Henry couldn't, the chief said.
Not only was the license plate covered by a spray-painted cover, he said: The VIN number on the windshield had also been painted black.
GIven consent to search the vehicle, the officer found a 9mm round in the middle console, Walters said.
He handcuffed Henry for safety reasons and found a Taser on him during a patdown, the chief said.
Henry received several summonses and the vehicle was impounded by A&D Towing and Recovery on Liberty Street, he said.
The next day, police responded to a call of an assault. They found that Henry had assaulted the owner after being told he needed a release from police to collect his car, Walters said.
Henry had tried to steal the Challenger, then spit in the owner's face and Tased him, the chief said.
He was arrested this time and charged with aggravated assault, burglary, criminal trespassing and illegal weapons possession and sent to the Bergen County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
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