By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

A New Jersey man remains in the Rowan County jail today after he was stopped earlier this week by a North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper in a car belonging to a woman found dead in her New Jersey apartment.

A trooper was on Interstate 85 southbound Sunday at 4 p.m. finishing a traffic stop when he noticed a silver Dodge with blue lights in the front bumper area of the vehicle. The trooper attempted to stop the vehicle to further investigate, said Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Lt. Jeff Gordon.

The driver of the vehicle, later identified as 33-year-old Arturo Alomas of 745 Pearl St., Apt 4D, Elizabeth, N.J., did not stop. A short vehicle chase ensued and the trooper performed what is called a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT), a maneuver designed to force a fleeing vehicle to abruptly turn sideways. The aim is that the driver loses control and stops the vehicle.

The trooper employed the technique just prior to exit 74 at Julian Road and Alomas hit a concrete barrier in the median, but he regained control of the vehicle. Alomas exited onto Julian Road and hit the trooper’s patrol vehicle. The vehicle Alomas was driving became disabled and came to rest on the shoulder of the exit ramp.

Gordon said there was a 2-month-old baby in a carrier in the right rear who was restrained only with a seat belt. The trooper was able to obtain registration identification on the vehicle that belonged to a Trenice A. Johnson, whose address was listed as Mravlag Manor Apt. 30-B in Elizabeth, N.J.

The trooper asked Alomas where Johnson was since he had her belongings and he said she was “somewhere in New Jersey.”

The trooper contacted the Elizabeth Police Department to see if a welfare check on Trenice Johnson could be done. The Elizabeth Police Department confirmed to the trooper that Johnson, 26, was dead. New Jersey authorities said the woman died as a result of strangulation and asphyxiation, according to published reports.

Alomas was arrested and charged with felony speeding to elude arrest, child restraint, failure to heed blue lights and siren, no operator’s license, damage to personal property, assault on a government official, careless and reckless driving, misdemeanor child abuse, and possession of blue lights.

Gordon confirmed Alomas was Johnson’s boyfriend. According to New Jersey media outlets, Alomas is also the father of her 2-month-old daughter. He has not been charged in connection with her death. No arrest has been made as of Friday. New Jersey authorities are still investigating a possible motive.

He was issued a $500,000 secured bond and remains in the Rowan County Detention Center.

The baby is in the custody of the North Carolina Department of Social Services.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.