What to Know
- A New Jersey man on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list was captured in Maryland, law enforcement sources say
- Lamont Stephenson is a Newark resident
- Stephenson was wanted for the 2014 strangulation killing of Olga DeJesus and her dog in Newark
A New Jersey man on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list was captured in Maryland, according to authorities.
Lamont Stephenson's arrest took place in Prince George's County, the FBI Newark Field Office said in a press conference Thursday afternoon.
"I am proud to announce that after 147 days on the Top 10 list Lamont Stephenson was arrested this morning," Greg Ehrie, Special Agent in Charge of the Newark FBI office, said during Thursday's press conference.
Stephenson was placed on the list in October 2018. He was wanted for the 2014 strangulation killing of Olga DeJesus and her dog in Newark, the FBI previously said. Newark police officers found DeJesus and her dog unresponsive in bed at a residence.
Stephenson, 43 and from Newark, New Jersey, was known to have contacts in Virginia and the Carolinas, according to the FBI.
The FBI Newark Field Office said that Stephenson's arrest was in conjunction with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, Newark Police Department, Prince George's County Police Department and with the Metropolitan D.C. Police Department.
"Getting Mr. Stephenson was a goal — a longstanding goal — by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and I am just so happy for the family, that this may move toward some measure of closure with regard to this very serious matter," Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said during the press conference.
Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said the DeJesus family "received closure."
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According to Ehrie, an investigation is ongoing. No further information was provided pertaining to what Stephenson has been up to since DeJesus' death or if he is connected to any additional crimes.
Ambrose, Stephens and Ehrie commended the value of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.
Stephenson will be extradited to New Jersey where he will face charges, Ehrie said.
Felix DeJesus, Jr., brother of the victim, thanked the efforts of the authorities that led to Stephenson's arrest.
"I know that she is looking down on me right now and she can finally rest in peace," he said. "Thank you everyone for being a part of this."
Felix said he was overwhelmed after receiving the phone call that an arrest was made, a moment he said he thought about "every day" for four years.
"I didn't stop because my sister has two kids and because of them I kept on with the case, keeping it alive," he said.
During the press conference, the victim's father said in Spanish that the arrest won't bring his daughter back but at least the family knows that Stephenson will pay and that "there is justice."
It is unclear if Stephenson has already retained an attorney.