VIDEO: Drug suspect nabbed after barefoot chase
RIVER EDGE -- An allegedly armed and dangerous drug suspect wanted by police led officers on a car and foot chase along Route 4 in Bergen County before being captured Wednesday morning.
Authorities say 37-year-old Kevin "Pretty Kev" Frye was wanted on an Drug Enforcement Agency indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone.
He was wanted by U.S. marshals from the Manhattan office, who were working with the DEA.
The suspect was barefoot and dressed all in blue when he exited a house in Hackensack just before 8:30 a.m.
Marshals waiting for him tried to grab him, but he saw them first and jumped into a black Range Rover.
But he didn't get far, as law enforcement officers tried to block his path, and he crashed into a retaining wall.
He then ran off -- barefoot -- westbound on Route 4.
Police went house to house, searching in backyards. They encountered students walking along the search area, prompting police to ask River Edge schools for a lockdown.
A large number of police found Frye in a wooded area in River Edge, where a Bergen County Sheriff's K-9 tracked him down and bit him in the ankle just before 9 a.m.
He received medical attention and was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center.
Authorities say Frye is the last of a drug ring to be arrested and that he and 10 co-conspirators were working with doctor in the Bronx to divert more than 1 million oxycodone tablets over a two-year period.
"Today's arrest of fugitive Kevin Frye marks the total dismantlement of a prescription pill trafficking ring responsible for trafficking millions of diverted oxycodone tablets," DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt said. "Diverted pain medication is one of the root causes for the rampant opioid addiction that has spread throughout the Northeast. This arrest signifies law enforcement's commitment to bringing to justice those who have fueled this nation's opioid epidemic."
Most of the other suspects were picked up last December.
Charges are pending.
No weapons were recovered.
One Hackensack police officer and two U.S. Marshals were also treated for minor injuries.
