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There was no standoff or confrontation after officer spoke outside the Benwell Avenue home with the injured family member, who claimed that 18-year-old Nicholas Perota had taken a female acquaintance hostage in a bedroom shortly before 1:30 p.m., they said.
The family member warned police that there were guns and several pit bulls in the home, Detective Capt. Daniel Daly said.
Officers from surrounding towns and members of Wayne Animal Control and the First Aid Squad joined township police at the scene.
After attempts at contacting Perota failed, a Passaic County SWAT team burst in – and found him gone.
Township police tracked Perota to a home on Fulton Street in Paterson, where they and their city colleagues took him into custody, Daly said.
His female acquaintance, who went with him willingly, wasn’t harmed, the captain said.
Township police charged Perota with several domestic violence offenses, as well as with possession of unidentified stolen property that Daly said was found in his room.
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