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It was two months ago when the officer stopped a 2006 Mercedes at the corner of Memorial Drive and College Boulevard in the city, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said.
After the officer got out and approached the vehicle from the passenger side, the driver -- identified as Martin J. Torres, 28 -- hit the gas, Berdnik said.
The officer hopped back into his cruiser and began chasing Torres but eventually pulled back out of concern for public safety, the sheriff said.
Officers found the Mercedes, unoccupied, the next day on North 10th Avenue at Belmont Avenue.
Members of the sheriff's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) had it towed to headquarters and processed for fingerprints.
They also retrieved video from area surveillance cameras that helped identify Torres, whose driver's license had been suspended, Berdnik said.
Last week, detectives spotted Torres standing at the corner of Essex and Madison streets.
They quickly moved in and took him into custody without incident, the sheriff said.
Torres was sent to the Passaic County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Paterson on charges of resisting arrest and eluding.
He'll also have to answer several summonses for:
- reckless driving;
- four counts of running a stop sign;
- two counts of improper passing;
- two counts of failing to observe a traffic signal;
- driving while suspended;
- having improper safety glass.
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