Highland Lakes-Vernon, NJ
Police & Fire
Authorities: Sussex County Man Leads Virginia Police On High-Speed Chase In Stolen Pickup Authorities: Sussex County Man Leads Virginia Police On High-Speed Chase In Stolen Pickup
Authorities: Sussex County Man Leads Virginia Police On High-Speed Chase In Stolen Pickup A 32-year-old Sussex County man was taken into custody after leading police in Virginia on a high-speed chase in a pickup truck he stole from his mom's boyfriend, local authorities said. Samuel Courtright III entered the Franklin apartment that his mom and her boyfriend share, swiped the keys and drove off in their pickup truck Thursday, Franklin police said. Two days later -- and more than 550 miles away -- a Virginia state trooper saw the Ford F-150 speed by him on Interstate 81, according to a police report obtained by Daily Voice. The trooper activated his lights and siren, but the veh…

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by Cecilia Levine
Darien, CT
Police & Fire
Teens Caught In Stolen SUV 'Looking For A Party' In Darien, Police Say Teens Caught In Stolen SUV 'Looking For A Party' In Darien, Police Say
Teens Caught In Stolen SUV 'Looking For A Party' In Darien, Police Say Three teenagers are in hot water with the law after being busted in an allegedly stolen vehicle while “looking for a party,” police said. Darien Police officers received a report of a suspicious vehicle on Hoyt Street at approximately 10:15 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 17 that was idling in a resident’s driveway. According to police, upon arrival, the officers found a red Toyota SUV in the drive, occupied with three teenagers from Stamford, who stated that they got lost looking for a party. A routine check of the vehicle’s license information revealed that the Toyota was reported stolen out of Sta…

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by Zak Failla
Jersey City, NJ
Police & Fire
Bayonne Resident Stole Day Care Center's Van, Police Say Bayonne Resident Stole Day Care Center's Van, Police Say
Bayonne Resident Stole Day Care Center's Van, Police Say A 37-year-old Bayonne man was arrested Friday and charged with stealing a van early this month, police said.  The van, which belongs to the Bayonne Adult Medical Day Care Center on Broadway, was unlocked and running outside the facility Nov. 5. It was taken while the driver was inside for a few minutes, police said.  Police identified Derek Booker as a suspect based on surveillance footage and an investigation at the scene. He was arrested Friday in Bayonne and charged with motor vehicle theft and possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana.  He was being held at the Hudso…

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by Paul Milo
Cresskill-Closter, NJ
Police & Fire
Closter PD: Driver Of Unlocked Stolen Car In Chase Crash Tracked Down In Jersey City Closter PD: Driver Of Unlocked Stolen Car In Chase Crash Tracked Down In Jersey City
Closter PD: Driver Of Unlocked Stolen Car In Chase Crash Tracked Down In Jersey City Closter police tracked down a Jersey City man who they said fled during a stolen-car chase earlier this year. Justin Howard, 19, was charged with eluding, resisting arrest and receiving stolen property stemming from the Feb. 4 incident. Closter police were actually chasing two stolen vehicles around 3 a.m. that morning when the one that Howard was in crashed at the Alpine border, Detective Sgt. Vincent Aiello said. The occupants bailed out, ran through a large estate in Alpine and made their getaway in an unlocked car whose owner left the key fob inside, he said. Working with the Jersey C…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lyndhurst, NJ
Police & Fire
Lyndhurst Police Chase Ends In Crash, Arrest Lyndhurst Police Chase Ends In Crash, Arrest
Lyndhurst Police Chase Ends In Crash, Arrest A car thief was captured by Lyndhurst police after crashing a brand-new SUV into a traffic signal during a pre-dawn chase, authorities said Monday. Fredy Felix, 18, of Passaic started out walking the streets of Lyndhurst around 4:30 a.m., testing door handles for unlocked vehicles, several of which he found, Detective Sgt. Vincent Auteri said. After taking an assortment of valuables from those cars, the sergeant said, Felix got into an unlocked 2019 Toyota RAV 4 purchased just days earlier -- and found the valet key in the glove compartment. Soon after, Officer Mark Rivera tried pulling th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes, NJ
Police & Fire
Former Lodi, North Bergen Ex-Con Charged With Trying To Burn Down Franklin Lakes Home Former Lodi, North Bergen Ex-Con Charged With Trying To Burn Down Franklin Lakes Home
Former Lodi, North Bergen Ex-Con Charged With Trying To Burn Down Franklin Lakes Home A career criminal from North Jersey was charged with trying to burn down a Franklin Lakes home Wednesday night. Keith Koeppel, 61, was being held Thursday in the Bergen County Jail pending a court appearance. He's charged with arson with the potential to cause death or serious injury and criminal mischief. Firefighters needed about a half-hour to douse the two-alarm blaze at the single family home on southbound Route 208 late Wednesday. An arson-investigating K-9 unit was then summoned. An arson-investigating K-9 unit was then summoned. Koeppel was subsequently taken into custody. O…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
Police & Fire
Hackensack Employee Helps Chase Down Car Thief Hackensack Employee Helps Chase Down Car Thief
Hackensack Employee Helps Chase Down Car Thief An employee at a Colombian restaurant in Hackensack who just had a company vehicle stolen jumped into another and chased the thief, who city police said they caught after following footprints in the snow. The driver told police that he’d left the vehicle running in front of Pollos a la Brassa Mario on Main Street when the thief got behind the wheel and took off around 7:40 a.m. Saturday, Capt. Peter Busciglio said. Chased by the employee, 23-year-old Malik Evans crashed the stolen vehicle in the area of The Esplanade and Blanchard Terrace in Hackensack, then fled on foot, the captain s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Police & Fire
Close Call: Glen Rock Police Sergeant Stops Drugged Motorist With Crack Empties In Stolen Car Close Call: Glen Rock Police Sergeant Stops Drugged Motorist With Crack Empties In Stolen Car
Close Call: Glen Rock Police Sergeant Stops Drugged Motorist With Crack Empties In Stolen Car A Glen Rock police sergeant prevented a potential tragedy when he stopped a drugged, unlicensed repeat offender driving a stolen car and carrying a large knife and four empty crack vials, authorities said. Sgt. Greg Carter was on patrol along Ackerman Avenue when he spotted the car with a broken tail light stopped at a traffic light at Rock Road, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said Monday. A quick computer check returned a hit on a stolen auto, he said. Seeing Carter, 28-year-old Malvin Tavarez of Passaic pulled a quick U-turn, the chief said. The officer stopped him, backed up by Officers B…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Darien, CT
Police & Fire
Police Issue Warning After Rash Of Residential, Auto Burglaries In Area Police Issue Warning After Rash Of Residential, Auto Burglaries In Area
Police Issue Warning After Rash Of Residential, Auto Burglaries In Area Fairfield County continues to contend with a rash of burglaries as opportunistic fraudsters break into unlocked homes and cars that are parked in the area overnight. The Darien Police Department issued an alert on Thursday, Jan. 10, as they continue to experience an increase in overnight-hour burglaries into unlocked vehicles. Police said that the trend is not isolated to Darien, and other municipalities in Fairfield County and throughout Connecticut have been plagued by similar burglaries at increasing rates. Det. James Palmieri said that many of the crimes are perpetrated by juvenile offe…

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by Zak Failla
Fort Lee, NJ
Police & Fire
Blame Key Fobs: Fort Lee PD Nabs Seven Teens In 17 Vehicle Burglaries, Four Auto Thefts Blame Key Fobs: Fort Lee PD Nabs Seven Teens In 17 Vehicle Burglaries, Four Auto Thefts
Blame Key Fobs: Fort Lee PD Nabs Seven Teens In 17 Vehicle Burglaries, Four Auto Thefts Fort Lee police cracked a rash of vehicle burglaries and thefts by seizing seven Hudson County teens – three of them 16 and one 15, authorities said Tuesday. A total of 17 break-ins and four outright thefts of automobiles were reported over a 10-day span in August in Fort Lee alone, Capt. Matthew Hintze said, adding that others were reported in neighboring Cliffside Park, Palisades Park, Ridgefield Park and Leonia. Blame key fobs, he said. “Although this technology has added a level of convenience, it has also created opportunities for criminals to burglarize and steal vehicles without hav…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Wilton, CT
Police & Fire
Man Arrested For Stealing Boar's Head Truck After Fight With Co-Worker Man Arrested For Stealing Boar's Head Truck After Fight With Co-Worker
Man Arrested For Stealing Boar's Head Truck After Fight With Co-Worker A man wanted on a warrant for failure to appear ripped off a Boar's Head delivery truck after getting in a fight with the man who was training him.  Pablo Pesantez, 31, of New York City, was arrested around 11:36 a.m. Friday after he got into a disagreement with his trainer and then stole the truck while that person was completing a delivery order inside the Sandwich Shoppe on Danbury Road, said Wilton Police Lt. Robert Kluk.  When Pesantez pulled out of the parking lot he narrowly missed hitting several cars before heading northbound on I-95 where he was stopped by Connecticut State Police…

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by Kathy Reakes
Stamford, CT
Police & Fire
Ex-Bank Robber Caught Stealing Running Car In Stamford, Police Say Ex-Bank Robber Caught Stealing Running Car In Stamford, Police Say
Ex-Bank Robber Caught Stealing Running Car In Stamford, Police Say An ex-bank robber wanted by police for stealing a car last summer was nabbed by Stamford Police after stealing a running car from a grocery store. The incident took place around 11:45 a.m. Sunday at the La Marqueta Grocery store when the owner of a 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe called to report that someone had stolen his running vehicle while he was inside the store, said Sgt. Jennifer Pinto. Shortly after the reported theft, Officer David Squitieri began looking for the Tahoe and happened to spot it near I-95 at the intersection of Grenhart Road traveling west, Pinto said. Squitieri chased the ve…

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by Kathy Reakes