Michael Hernandez
Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of 25-year-old MICHAEL HERNANDEZ of Garfield, NJ on charges of attempted kidnapping and stalking. The arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck and the Garfield Police Department under the direction of Chief Richard Uram.
On Wednesday, May 15, 2024, the Garfield Police Department contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit regarding multiple suspicious incidents that occurred during the past month, and involved an unidentified male following a female victim in Garfield, NJ. The victim reported that on May 8, 2024, the unidentified male approached her and grabbed her neck and backpack in an attempt to remove her from the sidewalk, but an unknown Good Samaritan intervened and the suspect subsequently fled the area on foot. An investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Garfield Police Department revealed that MICHAEL HERNANDEZ stalked the victim, beginning in April of 2024, before ultimately attempting to kidnap her on May 8, 2024, in Garfield, NJ.
As a result of the investigation, on Thursday, May 16, 2024, MICHAEL HERNANDEZ was located and arrested in Garfield, NJ with assistance from the Bergen County Regional SWAT Team, and charged with second-degree attempted kidnapping, N.J.S.A 2C:5-1/2C:13-1b; and fourth-degree stalking, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-10b. HERNANDEZ was remanded to the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, NJ.
Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations, and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He would like to thank the Garfield Police Department and the Bergen County Regional SWAT Team for their assistance in this investigation.