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W.
TRENTON -- The New Jersey State Police today
charged a New York man with causing a false
public alarm in connection with a widely
publicized stop of a van transporting minority
high school students from Queens on the
New Jersey Turnpike. Rodney A. Tanzymore,
19, of St. Albans (Queens) N.Y., was charged
at an NYPD precinct station by New Jersey
troopers who had investigated the November
21st incident.
State
Police detectives allege that Tanzymore
phoned in the false information to 911 that
described three of the occupants of the
student group and stated that these men
got out of a van in the Woodrow Wilson service
plaza on the turnpike with handguns. Tanzymore
was one of the students on board the van.
He also described the Mercedes passenger
van with tinted windows in which the students
and their chaperones were traveling home
from a trip to a Washington, D.C. university.
The description included a partial license
plate for the vehicle.
The
call prompted a high-risk response by numerous
troopers who located the van and evacuated
the 15 occupants on the side of the turnpike
in Hamilton Township, Mercer County. During
that process, Tanzymore gave troopers a
false name and date of birth. The group
was placed back in their van when the search
turned up no weapons.
When
someone involved with the group publicly
questioned the credibility of the complaint,
the New Jersey State Police released the
audio of the 911 call and video from the
in-car cameras to show the critical nature
of the incident and the professional response
by the troopers.
“A
false report such as this endangers everyone
involved and is indeed a reckless act, one
that our office will not tolerate,”
said Acting Attorney General Paula T. Dow.
“We will prosecute this matter to
the fullest extent of the law.”
“A
call about a very dangerous public safety
threat cannot be taken lightly. When our
troopers on the turnpike hear a report of
three men with guns at a public rest stop,
they must act with a quick and measured
response. Part of our job is to face such
dangers in a professional manner, and I’m
proud of the work our troopers do,”
said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent
of the State Police.
Detective
Sergeant Ray Smink and Detective I Ken Hoppe,
assigned to the New Jersey Turnpike, were
the primary investigators. They reviewed
evidence including numerous surveillance
camera feeds and mobile phone data from
the 911 call centers. They have obtained
evidence indicating that Tanzymore made
the call from a mobile phone registered
to a family member while he was at the service
area during a stop for food.
Tanzymore
was located by NJSP Fugitive Unit members
working in conjunction with the U.S. Marshall’s
Task Force. He was detained by NYPD pending
extradition procedures, unless he waives
extradition. His bail on the New Jersey
warrant is $50,000 with a 10% option.
The
third degree charge of causing false public
alarm (NJS 2C:33-3a) can carry a jail term
of up to five years in prison. The case
will be prosecuted by the Division of Criminal
Justice within the Office of the Attorney
General.
These
criminal charges are mere accusations. The
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty in a court of law.
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