TRENTON — Thanks to a helpful citizen, two city police officers were able to re-apprehend a drug suspect who leaped from a moving police car on Labor Day, police said yesterday.

Officers John Sangillo and Travis Maxwell stopped 25-year-old Riaiz Hizer on the 100 block of North Willow Street around 12:15 p.m. after they had spotted the tinted windows of the vehicle he was driving, police said.

“As they approached the vehicle, he starts moving around, looks like he’s concealing things,” said Lt. Mark Kieffer, a police spokesman. “So this puts it on heightened alert for the officers.”

Sangillo found Hizer was unlicensed and asked him to step out of the car. As Hizer exited, the officers could see a large Ziploc bag with “several rectangular objects” on the passenger seat floor.

The officers found a total of 1,132 glassine packets of heroin and $6,008 cash in the car, police said. Hizer was handcuffed and put in a police vehicle.

On the way back, Hizer began fidgeting in the back seat of the patrol car. He was able to escape as they pulled into headquarters on North Clinton Avenue, Kieffer said.

“When they got to headquarters, he jumped out and the foot chase began,” Kieffer said.

Hizer made a beeline for Lincoln Avenue with Maxwell chasing him, police said. Near the intersection with Lincoln Avenue, the citizen stepped in and knocked Hizer down, police said, and Maxwell was able to recapture him.

Hizer was with charged manufacturing, distributing and dispensing drugs, possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, and escape.

Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.

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