South Hackensack Officer's Route 46 Traffic Stop Leads To Cocaine Seizure, Ex-Con's Arrest

An ex-con staying at a Route 46 motel was caught with nearly a half-ounce of cocaine following a traffic stop, authorities said.

William J. Ayala
Photo Credit: *MUGSHOT*

Jerry DeMarco

06/01/2022 4:28 p.m.

South Hackensack Officer Kyle Skelley stopped a 2020 Honda CRV with a cracked windshield just off the highway around 9 a.m. Tuesday, Detective Sgt. James Donatello said.

The driver, William J. Ayala, 40, of Paterson, acted nervously, the sergeant said.

A background check turned up a mostly drug-related criminal history stretching back 20 years in Bergen and Passaic counties, as well as in Lakehurst and Miami Beach, FL, where Ayala had been charged with assaulting a police officer.

Skelley took Ayala into custody after finding him carrying cocaine, Donatello said.

Police obtained a search warrant, then found more coke in a room that Ayala had rented at the Knights Inn, he said.

Ayala remained held on drug-related charges Wednesday in the Bergen County Jail.

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