Jan. 6 suspect manhunt: FBI offering $10K reward in NJ search for Gregory Yetman
HELMETTA – The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Gregory Yetman, a borough man wanted for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
The manhunt for the 47-year-old Yetman is in its second day. The FBI says it will stay in the borough until he is apprehended.
Yetman is described as 6-foot, 218 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes and a tattoo on his back between his shoulders.
A federal arrest warrant was issued for Yetman in the federal court in Washington, D.C. on Monday on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; and act of physical violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings.
The FBI released a wanted poster at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
FBI Newark SWAT, the Jamesburg Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office began their search for Yetman Wednesday morning.
When asked about the FBI's presence around the suspect's home at 131 Main St., she replied, "we will be in the area staging until Yetman is arrested."
Yetman is believed to have fled on foot into the woods when authorities attempted to arrest him.
He was charged Wednesday with fourth-degree possession of large-capacity ammunition, according to court records, and the case has been forwarded to the Middlesex County's Prosecutor's Office.
Authorities have not said if Yetman is believed to be armed.
On Wednesday, roads were closed briefly limiting access to the borough and residents were recommended to shelter in place, police posted.
“The FBI has reassured us that the community is safe, but they certainly encourage people to take caution and if they see something, say something,” said Chris Slavicek, the mayor of the town with slightly less than 2,500 residents and less than a square mile in size. “The search is continuing and things remain status quo. They are working some leads they’ve been given and they are determined to find him.”
Slavicek said he and borough officials are in constant touch with the FBI.
“As the administration is given information from the FBI, we are certainly putting that out to residents,” he said.
Slavicek said there are a lot of different agencies and mechanisms involved in the search, which has made national news.
“Obviously there is heightened anxiety in the borough and it’s unsettling when it’s in your own backyard,” the mayor said.
Slavicek said he doesn’t know Yetman, but the family name is familiar to him.
A command center was set up at the Helmetta Community Center. Those on scene Thursday at the staging center were dressed in full SWAT gear.
On Thursday, donning bulletproof vests and holding assault rifles, FBI agents and police officers with the Joint Terrorism Task Force surrounded the home at 131 Main St. address.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts of Yetman is asked to call the FBI in Newark at 973-792-3000.
Yetman was the subject of a USA TODAY investigation in March that revealed that hundreds of people who could be identified from photos and videos of the riots had not yet been charged or arrested. Many of those people had been identified by volunteer sleuths online and reported to the FBI. USA TODAY verified and sought out some of those people, including Yetman.
In videos from Jan. 6, the man identified as Yetman can be seen picking up a large canister of pepper spray from the ground and spraying it toward Capitol police and protesters. Photos of that man were posted on the FBI's wanted list for the insurrection, and he was labeled as suspect #278 AFO. AFO stands for “Assault on a Federal Officer.”
Yetman, who was a military police sergeant in the New Jersey National Guard at the time of the riot, told USA TODAY earlier this year that he had been present at the Capitol that day, but said he did not commit a crime. He said he had been interviewed by the FBI shortly after the insurrection.
“Everything’s been resolved, everything’s good,” he said in early 2023.
According to his Linkedin profile, Yetman served as a military officer with the Army National Guard and was a sergeant in the Army, serving in Guantanamo Bay.
Federal prosecutors have charged more than 1,000 people in the raid on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
But many other people remain on the wanted list, identified by their photos and videos rather than their names.
According to Monroe resident Joe Sapia, who has written articles about the woods behind the Helmetta home and the history of the area, directly behind Yetman's Main Street home are the Conrail railroad tracks and the Jamesburg Park Conservation area, an open space area owned by Middlesex County.
The 1,436-acre Jamesburg Park Conservation Area, includes walking and hiking trails and lies within the Spotswood Outlier – the northernmost area of New Jersey Pine Barrens habitat, according to the county's website.
"There is also a lot of private land in that area," said Sapia, who lives near the border of Helmetta "You're talking about a few thousand acres of open space, which includes wetlands, just behind his house."
The woods are bordered by Cranbury Road to the west, County Road 522, which is Rhode Hall Road in Monroe, to the south and to the north Crescent Avenue on the Spotswood-East Brunswick border, Sapia said.
This article contains information from USA Today
Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com
Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ manhunt: FBI offers reward in Helmetta search for Gregory Yetman
