Police: Fugitive Identified Following Weekend DWI Stop

Manchester used fingerprint scanning technology to discover that an unlicensed driver stopped for DWI over the weekend was wanted on several warrants dating as far back as 2004.

The police department's Live Scan finger print recognition system was used to identify the unlicensed driver, who was stopped on Route 70 near mile marker 42 after 1 a.m. Saturday, as 30-year-old Norman Soto of Lakewood, according to Capt. Lisa Parker.

Soto presented Ptl. Chris Cerullo with what was found to be a fake identification card, police said. He was arrested and taken to police headquarters on Colonial Drive at which time a fingerprint scan revealed that Soto is wanted for a 2004 drug offense in New York and has "multiple arrest warrants from several jurisdictions in New Jersey," Parker said.

"A suspect’s fingerprints can be compared to other fingerprints in the database resulting in a computerized response in under one hour," Parker said. "This system has been a tremendous asset to the department in providing officers with the ability to identify fugitives who provide false information."

Police notified the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement since Soto was once deported from the country, according to Parker.

In addition to DWI, Soto was charged with hindering apprehension and obstruction of justice. Soto was taken to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River on $5,000 bail, Parker said.

A retainer was placed on Soto by U.S. Immigration and Customs pending deportation proceedings, Parker said.