Target of drug probe rams two police cars in Morristown

A Newark resident who is on parole for manslaughter rammed a Morristown police car and a vehicle operated by a plainclothes officer as they tried to execute a search warrant last week as part of a drug investigation, authorities said Monday.

Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Morristown Police Chief Peter Demnitz in a joint statement Monday announced the arrest of Terrel Hyman, 32, of Newark. Hyman, who also is known as Rel and Cuddy, is on parole for a 2009 manslaughter conviction out of Essex County, the release said.

Hyman is charged with eluding police, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, possession of a handgun while committing a drug offense, certain persons not allowed to possess weapons, possession with intent to distribute heroin, and possession of heroin.

Hyman’s arrest and that of a female co-defendant, Lakema Holifield, 32, of Speedwell Avenue, Morristown, was the culmination of a probe into a multi-county heroin distribution network. While executing a search warrant in Morristown around noon on Thursday, Hyman allegedly ignored the commands of police officers and created a tense scene by fleeing at a high rate of speed in a red 1999 Cadillac Seville, the release said.

In the course of fleeing, Hyman intentionally rammed a police vehicle carrying two uniformed Morristown officers before striking a second vehicle driven by a plain-clothed officer, the release said. The Cadillac used by Hyman was found abandoned in the area of several commercial buildings in Morristown.

A search warrant was subsequently executed at Hyman’s home on 13th Street in Newark, where officers located several hundred bags of heroin packaged for street level distribution and a loaded handgun.

Within 24 hours, Morris County authorities determined that Hyman fled the state and was hiding out at a residence in Rockland County, New York. With the assistance of the Haverstraw Police Department, Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, Rockland County District Attorney’s Office and a multi-agency tactical team, officials were able to take Hyman into custody on Friday. Hyman is currently incarcerated in New York while awaiting extradition back to New Jersey on these charges, as well as a parole violation.

Bail on Hyman was set at $250,000.

Also arrested Thursday during the course of the investigation was Lakema Holifield, on multiple charges that include possession with intent to distribute heroin and crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of Morristown High School and within 500 feet of the public housing complex Manahan Village. Criminal complaints show that Holifield also allegedly tried to discard drugs hidden in a sock.

During a Superior Court review Monday of the $250,000 bail set on Holifield, the woman told Judge Robert Gilson that she was picked up in a raid Thursday at the Speedwell Avenue apartment building she occupies. She told the judge she is not a distributor and that the drugs she was found with were for her personal use.

“I was using the drug I was apprehended with. I explained to them I had a drug problem,” Holifield told the judge, who cautioned her to remain silent.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Napurano told the judge that Holifield, who said she is a hairdresser, has a prior conviction for aggravated assault, for which she served time in prison. The judge maintained bail at $250,000 on the woman.

Anyone with information relating to these charges is urged to contact the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Unit at 973-285-6300.

Prosecutor Knapp credited the Morristown Bureau of Police, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Newark Police Department, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, the Haverstraw Police Department, the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force, led by Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Bradford Seabury and Captain Michael Rice.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com