FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Somerset County) — A Somerset County fugitive wanted for failing to appear at the end of his trial and for sentencing was captured Wednesday night after a SWAT team activation and search in Franklin Township, authorities said.
Kenneth D. James, 34, of Lenox Place in Somerset, was arrested Feb. 18 following a multi-hour search that involved the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Organized Crime and Narcotics Task Force, Franklin Township police, the county SWAT team and crisis negotiators.
James had been listed as Somerset County’s Fugitive of the Month for June 2025 after he failed to appear for the conclusion of his trial and sentencing. On May 22, 2025, a Somerset County jury convicted him of multiple offenses stemming from a firearms and narcotics investigation conducted Feb. 9, 2021, in Franklin Township.
He was convicted of second-degree certain persons not to have weapons, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, second-degree possession of a firearm during a controlled dangerous substance offense and third-degree possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, among other charges. He also was found guilty of third-degree resisting arrest by flight, third-degree hindering apprehension or prosecution and fourth-degree possession of a large capacity magazine.
Authorities said James faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in state prison without parole on the certain persons offense, as well as up to 10 years on the second-degree charges.
The 2021 investigation began when detectives conducting a quality-of-life initiative attempted to stop James on Girard Avenue. Prosecutors said he fled on foot and discarded a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun on a basement windowsill before being arrested in a backyard. A search warrant executed on his vehicle led to the recovery of about a half-pound of marijuana and packaging materials, officials said.
After James failed to appear for sentencing, a warrant was issued for his arrest. Prosecutors said fugitive and narcotics task force members searched for him for months without success.
On Wednesday at about 7:50 p.m., detectives conducting surveillance at a Lenox Place residence identified James outside the home. When officers attempted to arrest him, authorities said he ran inside, went upstairs and barricaded himself.
Additional units established a perimeter, and the county SWAT team and crisis negotiators were called to the scene. After attempts to contact James were unsuccessful, SWAT officers entered the residence around 11 p.m. but did not find him inside. Officers observed a partially opened second-floor window and screen, prosecutors said.
A subsequent search of the surrounding area, aided by a drone, led officers to an unoccupied home under construction on Girard Avenue behind the Lenox Place residence. Authorities said a rear door to the home had been forced open. At about 11:29 p.m., SWAT officers entered the property and found James hiding inside without shoes. He was taken into custody without further incident.
James was transported to the Somerset County Jail. In addition to the outstanding charges, he was charged with second-degree burglary and fourth-degree resisting arrest by flight. He remains lodged pending further court proceedings.
