Morris County Prosecutor's Office Chief of Investigations Stephen F. Wilson, Jr. Announces Retirement

Published on March 29, 2019

After an impressive 19 years as a member of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, Chief of Investigations Stephen F. Wilson, Jr. has announced his retirement. Captain Chris Kimker has been named Acting Chief of Investigations following Chief Wilson's retirement. Chief Wilson began working in the courts in Essex County in 1993 before joining the Bergen County Sheriff's Office in 1995, where he worked as a Corrections Officer and was then promoted to Detective in 1997 and assigned to the crime scene unit. In 1999, he joined the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office as a Detective.

Chief Wilson was sworn in as a Morris County Prosecutor's Office Detective in 2000. He began in the General Investigations Unit and the Domestic Violence Unit before being assigned to the Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit in 2002. Over the next fourteen years, Chief Wilson would climb the ranks within the Tactical Division with ten of those years spent supervising the Major Crimes Unit. During that time, he played an important role in over forty homicide investigations including high profile cases such as St. v. Jose Feliciano, St. v. Pervaiz and St. v. Anthony Novellino. Most notably was the case of State v. Demetrius Diaz-Bridges, in which Chief Wilson's interrogation techniques led to a murder confession. The case was appealed up to the Supreme Court of New Jersey, who ruled in favor of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office and the legality of Chief Wilson's efforts in the interview process.

Chief Wilson said, There are many talented, hard working men and women at the Morris County Prosecutor's Office who are dedicated to their jobs. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with them and honored to have served as Chief.

He served as the Tactical Operations Captain until August of 2016, when he was transferred to lead the Special Operations Division of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office. Chief Wilson was promoted to Deputy Chief of Investigations in May of 2017 and served in that capacity until he was promoted once again to Chief of Investigations in May of 2018.

Chief Wilson's career in law enforcement has been impressive. He has received multiple commendations for his investigative and supervisory work in homicide, sex crime, and violent crime investigations to include his efforts in spearheading a task force responsible for the apprehension of the serial bank robber James Madison aka The Mad Hatter. Chief Wilson has also been recognized for his participation in the 2005 Presidential Inauguration Security Detail in Washington, D.C. as a squad leader of the Rapid Deployment Team and his efforts at Ground Zero on 9.

Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said, Chief Wilson has been an outstanding member of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office for nearly 2 decades. He has done exemplary work in every assignment and rank he has held. His knowledge, leadership and investigative skills have been instrumental in the successful prosecution of innumerable cases in Morris County. He will be missed by all members of the law enforcement community but we wish him the best in the private sector.

Inquiries concerning this press release should be directed to Public Information Officer Peter DiGennaro at pressinquiry@co.morris.nj.us or 973-829-8159.