Police arrest final two suspects in Camden County police officers' shooting

CAMDEN - A manhunt has ended for two suspects accused of taking part in the Aug. 7 shooting of two Camden County police detectives.

Ammar Hall, 26, and Alexander DeJesus, 19, were arrested separately Tuesday in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, said Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson.

A third suspect, 20-year-old Juan Figueroa of Camden, was arrested Saturday night at a motel in Gloucester City.

"The Philadelphia-Camden region is significantly safer with these criminals in custody," Thomson said .

Hall and DeJesus were arrested about an hour apart with "relatively very little force," he said.

Hall was grabbed shortly before 5:30 p.m. near D and Ontario streets, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

DeJesus was arrested at 6:20 p.m. in a house on the 2200 block of Coral Street, around 1½ miles away.

DeJesus had dyed his hair blonde since the shootings, the chief noted.

"That didn't seem to work out too well," he observed.

All three men are charged with attempted murder and other crimes in connection with an ambush-style attack that wounded the plainclothes detectives.

Authorities on Wednesday identified Figueroa, a Camden man, and DeJesus, a Philadelphian, as the alleged shooters.

They alleged Hall drove a getaway vehicle. Authorities had previously identified Hall as a Camden man, but on Wednesday said he has an Oaklyn address.

At a Tuesday night press conference, Thomson described the arrests as a "promise kept" to the injured officers.

"We were not going to take our foot off the accelerator in this case until we were able to bring them to justice," he said of the suspects.

The chief also praised the public's help in the highly publicized search for the suspects.

"We certainly saw the response from the public at large in providing us information," Thomson said. "It was inspiring to see how much the community stepped up."

One tipster was an anonymous person who called the Courier-Post on Sunday morning in response to a story about the manhunt.

"They're in Philadelphia," the caller said in a message that was forwarded to police. "They are in Kensington," the tipster added, before giving more specific information about a sighting.

The attack occurred shortly after nightfall, when the officers' unmarked vehicle was stopped at a red light at Broadway and Walnut Street.

Figueroa and DeJesus allegedly stepped from a van that had stopped on Walnut Street and opened fire on the officers.

"One of the undercover officers managed to fire back while the two men got into the van and fled," the prosecutor's office said.

Police have not recovered the weapons used in the shooting, Thomson said.

The chief said it "defies the law of probability" that the two officers escaped with minor injuries.

One detective suffered wounds to his arms, while the other had a gunshot wound to her hand, according to Rick Kunkel, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 218.

"Physically they're doing better but … they still have a very long road to go," said Thomson. "These detectives have experienced a very traumatic incident."

The officers' names have not been released. They are on administrative leave pending a review by the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

Thomson on Tuesday declined to speculate on a reason for the attack, but noted investigators have "some working theories."

"We're going to interview these suspects," he said. "We're going to see what they've got to say." 

"But really, regardless of whether they know they were police officers or not, it's of great concern to us that they were trying to kill these people."

"If there is some bit of solace that came to us in this entire incident," he continued, "it's that this extreme act of violence occurred upon us, and not upon a couple members of our public."

Authorities have said surveillance video led police to the gunmen's van, which was found in South Camden on the night of the attack, and provided photos of the suspects that were released to the media.

The suspects also are charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault and weapons offenses.

Figueroa is expected to have a detention hearing Aug. 30 in state Superior Court, Camden.

Hall and DeJesus are being held in Philadelphia, pending extradition to New Jersey. 

Jim Walsh: @jimwalsh_cp; 856-486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com

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