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Not only that: Reyes, 28, set fire to the holding cell at Passaic police headquarters and assaulted a city officer and EMT who tried to help him, they said.
Police responding to a report of shots fired in the area of Main Avenue and Washington Place found Reyes in the passenger seat of a nearby motor vehicle shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, April 24, investigators said Monday.
He was "identified as the person who had discharged a handgun,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Passaic Police Chief Luis A. Guzman said in a joint release.
Reyes “was in possession of a defaced handgun and 265 glassine envelopes of suspected heroin,” they added.
Brought to city police headquarters and placed in a cell, Reyes set a fire that was doused by officers. He also assaulted a police officer and EMT who “responded to render aid,” Valdes and Guzman said.
Reyes was eventually sent to the Passaic County Jail on a host of charges, including:
- aggravated assault;
- weapons possession, including being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm;
- causing or risking widespread injury or damage;
- criminal mischief;
- various drug possession counts.
Reyes was known to police. He’d just been released on March 13 from Northern State Prison in Newark after serving 30 months for a gun-related incident in Paterson in April 2019.
Reyes had gotten into an argument in a Market Street bodega, fired a shot outside and sped off, police said at the time.
He was carrying a .357-caliber revolver with a spent round when he was arrested after a struggle a short time later, they said.
SEE: Stabbing, Gunfire Produce Trio Of Arrests For Paterson Police
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