Police had gone to a condo complex on Hilltop Court where the carjacked vehicle reportedly was located shortly after 3 a.m. on May 30, Capt. Edward Young said.
Seeing them coming, Anthony Almonte, 20, hit the gas and struck a police patrol vehicle, Young said.
He then hopped out and ran off, leaving a gun with a defaced serial number behind, the captain said.
Police nabbed Almonte at his home in the Hilltop Court Condominiums on June 12 after Detectives John Gallo and Stephen Domenick identified him as their suspect, Young said.
They also recovered another gun, he said.
Almonte had been arrested in Fort Lee last November on charges that included resisting arrest, credit card crime and a host of weapons counts -- among them, possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
A judge five days later ordered Almonte released from the Bergen County Jail, with conditions, pending further court action, records show.
Then came the New York City carjacking.
Almonte has remained in the Bergen County Jail since Monday, charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, receiving stolen property and drug and weapons offenses.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Fort Lee and receive free news updates.