A former New Jersey National Guard police sergeant accused of pepper spraying officers during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack turned himself into authorities in New Jersey on Friday following a 48-hour manhunt.
Gregory Yetman faces several charges, including felonies such as assaulting officers, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, as well as some misdemeanor offenses, according to the FBI. Yetman was taken into custody after the FBI announced on Thursday a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Amy Thoreson, a spokeswoman for FBI Newark, said that he turned himself into the Monroe Township Police Friday morning without incident, adding: “We want to thank the public for all the tips and calls we received.”
A senior law enforcement official told NBC News that Yetman was dirty and unkept when he turned himself in, and that he declined medical attention. Registered weapons were found at his home, the official said. They believe he may have had a plan to flee, since he had previously been questioned about the Jan. 6 attack.
Yetman fled into a wooded area with railroad tracks near his home in the township of Helmatta on Wednesday, before we surrendered himself to authorities in the area.
Jan. 6 suspects have typically been allowed pretrial release, except in circumstances where authorities have evidence that they posed a threat to the public or were a flight risk.
Because Yetman fled, it is likely that prosecutors will seek pretrial detention, although there were no court filings regarding his case as of Friday morning. Courts were closed for a federal holiday, and Yetman is expected to make his first court appearance in New Jersey on Monday.
Yetman was identified in early 2022 by online sleuths who go by the name “Sedition Hunters,” a group that have aided the arrests of hundreds of Capitol rioters.
The online sleuths said Yetman was seen unloading a canister of a chemical weapon from behind a police line as officers came under attack on January 6, 2021. That image of Yetman was featured in a wanted poster released by the FBI on Thursday, before he surrendered.
About 1,200 defendants have been arrested in connection with the Capitol attack, and another roughly 1,000 suspects have been identified but not yet arrested.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
