FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, NJ – A Somerset man who vanished before his sentencing on weapons and drug convictions was taken into custody Wednesday night after a tense SWAT operation and manhunt that ended with his arrest inside a nearby vacant home, authorities announced.
According to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, 34-year-old Kenneth D. James of Lenox Place had been on the run since failing to appear at the conclusion of his 2025 trial, where he was convicted on multiple weapons and narcotics charges stemming from a 2021 investigation in Franklin Township.
After months of unsuccessful attempts to locate him, detectives from the Organized Crime and Narcotics Task Force and the Fugitive Task Force set up covert surveillance near James’s residence on February 18. When officers moved in to arrest him around 7:50 p.m., James fled inside the home and barricaded himself in an upstairs room, triggering a full SWAT response.
SWAT team tracks fugitive to vacant home after escape
Negotiators attempted to contact James for several hours without success. Around 11 p.m., the Somerset County SWAT team entered the residence but found no sign of him. A partially open second-floor window and nearby footprints suggested he had escaped.
A drone search of the surrounding area led officers to a neighboring house under construction on Girard Avenue, where the rear door appeared forced open. At 11:29 p.m., SWAT officers entered and located James hiding on the first floor—barefoot and without resistance. Investigators confirmed he did not have permission to be in the property.
- Fugitive Kenneth James captured after SWAT operation in Franklin Township
- Escaped from his own home, found hiding in vacant house nearby
- Wanted for weapons, drug convictions after skipping sentencing in 2025
James’s 2025 conviction included charges for unlawful handgun possession, possession of a firearm during a CDS offense, possession with intent to distribute, and resisting arrest. He faces a mandatory minimum of five years in state prison, with five years to be served without parole.
Fugitive faces sentencing after Franklin Township SWAT capture