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According to Ramapo Police Chief Brad Weidel, detectives worked for hours and hours to identify a vehicle caught on a grainy video in the area of the Howard Drive attack on Wednesday, Nov. 20, when a father of four was stabbed multiple times as he walked to worship.
In addition to showing the video to area body shops, it was also reviewed with the FBI, who most said it appeared to be a Honda Pilot, but no one could absolutely confirm the model of the vehicle.
Working with the notion that the vehicle was a Honda Pilot, detectives were able to locate one in the area that was owned by suspect Grafton Thomas' mother.
Grafton Thomas has been arrested and charged with federal hate crimes as well as five counts of attempted murder of five people he allegedly stabbed with a machete at a rabbi's home on late Saturday night, Dec. 28.
Thomas' mother told officers that her son had the vehicle at the time of the attack. Officers then interviewed Thomas, but there was not enough evidence and is still not enough evidence to charge him with the crime, the chief said.
When Saturday's attack took place, Thomas' name headed the top of the list of people police wanted to interview.
Instead, a smart resident was able to get the license number of the vehicle and NYPD officers stopped and arrested Grafton Thomas, a resident of Greenwood Lake in Orange County.
Although the police will not confirm that he will be charged in connection to the earlier incident, the additional information shows they are looking strongly at him.
In other news, Ramapo officials announced they plan to spend more than $2 million to install video surveillance cameras and license plate readers throughout the town following the attack
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