In response to an increase in motor vehicle burglaries and thefts in Secaucus and throughout the State of New Jersey, members of the Secaucus Police Department Patrol Division and detectives from the Secaucus Police Anti-Crime Unit forged a task force, under the supervision of Detective Sergeant Matthew Ford, during the overnight hours, to combat these crimes.
On June 9, 2023 at 5:03 A.M., Police Officer Jason Mitchell observed a black-colored Kia Forte come off the Maple Street Ramp from Route 3 West turn onto Radio Avenue. The vehicle had no lights on and the four occupants were wearing black ski masks. While awaiting other police units to get in position to make a safe stop of the vehicle, to alleviate having a vehicular pursuit, Police Officer Mitchell surveilled the vehicle to the area of Millridge Road. The vehicle then travelled toward Paterson Plank Road from Hops Lane where an attempt was made to stop it.
The vehicle refused to stop and accelerated onto Paterson Plank Road and attempted to go around multiple police vehicles in the area of 1536 Paterson Plank Road. At this time, the Kia Forte lost control on the property of Hillcrest, striking an unmarked police vehicle. After crashing the vehicle, all four occupants fled on foot.
A request for mutual aid was broadcasted to assist in containing the “north end” area of town, while a search for the suspects was underway. Police and K-9 personnel from Weehawken, North Bergen, Union City, New Jersey Transit, Little Ferry, Cliffside Park, East Rutherford, Ridgefield and the Hudson and Bergen County Sheriff’s Office all responded.
With the assistance of the Little Ferry Police K-9, a 14-year-old male, of Newark, was arrested after he was found hiding in the yard of a Fischer Avenue residence. At the time of his arrest the 14-year-old was found in possession of credit cards belonging to other people. A 16-year-old male, of Newark, was apprehended by Secaucus Police in the yard of a Hagan Place residence. The 16-year-old male had a large screwdriver in his possession at the time of his arrest. Secaucus Police Officers pursued the driver of the vehicle, a 17-year-old male, of Newark and a fourth unidentified male onto Fairview Avenue, where the 17-year-old male was tackled to the ground and arrested.
An exhaustive search was conducted for the fourth male suspect to no avail. The Kia Forte had its ignition punched and was confirmed to have been stolen from Irvington earlier in that morning. A knife and a window glass punch, presumably to be used as burglar tools, were found inside the stolen vehicle.
All of the juvenile males were charged with Receiving Stolen Property 2C:20-7, Obstructing Administration of Law 2C:29-1, Resisting Arrest 2C:29-2 and Possession of Burglar Tools 2C:5-5. The 17-year-old male was additionally charged with Eluding 2C:29-2. The 14-year-old male was additionally charged with Possession of Credit Cards 2C:21-6.
Detectives from the Maplewood Police Department took custody of the 16-year-old male for an incident that took place within their jurisdiction. The 14-year-old male was released to the custody of his mother. It was discovered that the 17-year-old male had a monitoring bracelet attached to his ankle since he was released after being charged with several crimes in March 2023. The 17-year-old male was lodged in the Union County Juvenile Detention Facility.
“I want to commend all of my personnel for preventing another plethora of thefts of our residents’ property,” Chief Dennis Miller said. “I especially want to thank all of the responding police agencies for their response to our call for assistance. That police response is a clear indication that police officers want to catch criminals and want to do their job, but it remains frustrating that criminals, especially juveniles, continue to commit crimes without being held accountable. The question that should be answered here is how does a juvenile with an ankle monitoring bracelet attached go out to commit additional crimes? This is a clear example of a juvenile justice system that needs to be evaluated.”
