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The arrest of Roydell Cameron, 39, in the nearly 14-year-old assault was announced Thursday during the official expansion of the North Jersey Regional Cold Case Task Force.
The victim had parked her car at a borough apartment complex when Cameron attacked her on April 15, 2005, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said.
A DNA hit produced by the New Jersey State Police lab gave task force investigators the lead then needed.
Discovering there was a warrant for an arrest, Cameron headed to the airport – where Port Authority police converged on him at the gate last Friday.
He was carrying the cash and a one-way ticket to Jamaica, Calo said.
Cameron was being held in a New York City jail pending extradition to Bergen County to face charges of aggravated sexual assault, making terroristic threats and weapons offenses.
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal joined Calo, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes, Essex County Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose and State Police Col. Patrick J. Callahan for Thursday’s announcement.
The task force is “dedicated to investigating and bringing closure to unsolved homicide and sexual assault cases in the three counties involved,” Calo said.
It originated as a joint effort between the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti, and the New Jersey State Police -- but now includes detectives from the Essex and Passaic county prosecutors' offices and Newark police.
“When a crime goes unsolved – especially a crime like murder or rape – justice is denied, victims and survivors lack closure, and the community’s sense of security may be shaken,” Grewal said. “A dangerous criminal may be left free to strike again.”
“By sharing resources and employing new technologies using this type of task force model, we can crack cases that may be years or even decades old.”
“Each of the law enforcement agencies participating in the Cold Case Task Force has committed detectives full time to work together as we seek to bring justice to the many unsolved cases in our respective jurisdictions,” Calo said.
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