In the fading light of a January afternoon, a tragedy unfolded on a residential street in Lakewood, New Jersey, that would cut short the life of a dedicated police officer. Christopher Matlosz, a 27-year-old male officer with the Lakewood Police Department, was on patrol on January 14, 2011. He was driving his marked vehicle when he stopped to speak with a man on August Drive around 4:00 p.m.
This seemingly routine interaction took a horrific turn in a matter of moments.
As Officer Matlosz engaged the individual from his patrol car, the man, without warning, took a step back, drew a handgun, and fired at the officer. Matlosz was struck three times at point-blank range, a brutal act of violence that left him with no time to even draw his own weapon. The suspect immediately fled the scene, leaving the officer mortally wounded. A massive manhunt was launched, involving more than 100 officers from various law enforcement agencies, to find the person responsible for this cold-blooded killing.
The investigation quickly led to a suspect: 19-year-old Jahmell W. Crockam. It was discovered that Crockam was wanted on an outstanding warrant for illegal weapons possession. Fearing arrest, he had previously told acquaintances that he would rather kill a police officer than go back to jail. The intensive search for Crockam concluded 38 hours after the shooting when authorities, acting on a tip, located him in an apartment in Camden, about sixty miles away. He was taken into custody without incident by a New Jersey State Police tactical unit and members of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Jahmell Crockam was charged with murder and unlawful possession of a weapon. During his time in the Ocean County Jail, he confessed to the murder of Officer Matlosz to another inmate. In February 2012, a jury found Crockam guilty of first-degree murder and several weapons offenses. Prosecutors argued that his motive was to avoid apprehension on the outstanding warrants. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Later, Crockam was also found guilty of a separate murder that had occurred in October of the previous year.
