Drivers who park their Honda Civics in Harrison can rest a little easier now that police say they’ve applied the brakes to the habits of at least one suspected car thief.
Carlos Lopez, 38, of Newark, was arrested Feb. 21 at Second St. and Railroad Ave. in connection with the disappearance of at least four Honda Civics over a period of some three weeks.
Three of those missing Civics were later found on the same block (Parker St.) where Lopez lives, according to police.
At the time of his apprehension by Officer Joe Carr, Lopez was checking out cars in a private parking lot. Under the suspect’s jacket, police said they found a small tire iron which, police surmise, Lopez used to break the windows of several vehicles in Harrison that were burglarized over the past few weeks.
Lopez was also recognized by Det. Sgt. Ed Markowski as the same man Markowski observed driving a stolen Honda Civic in town on Jan. 25. Because police hadn’t yet been informed that the vehicle had been reported stolen, Markowski had no reason to stop the driver at the time he saw the vehicle.
Lopez was charged with possession of burglary tools (the tire iron) and receiving stolen property (the Civic stolen Jan. 25).
Police additionally charged Lopez with the theft of the Civics that police recovered from Newark: a 2000 Civic reported stolen Dec. 31 and recovered Jan. 5; another 2000 Civic stolen Feb. 7 and recovered Feb. 15; and a 1999 Civic stolen Feb. 17 and recovered Feb. 21.
Police believe that Lopez simply took the cars for joyrides rather than with any intent to strip them and sell the parts.
Lopez could be in deeper trouble since, at the time of his arrest, he was on parole from having served time in prison for burglary offenses. State Dept. of Corrections records show that Lopez was convicted in February 2010, sentenced in May 2010 and released Nov. 10, 2011.
Lopez is now in Hudson County Jail, Kearny, awaiting court action on his most recent criminal charges.
Meanwhile, Honda Civics continue to be targeted by burglars.
On Feb. 20, a Civic parked on Sussex St. under Rt. 280 was broken into and a GPS unit taken and a 1999 Civic parked in the municipal lot on Essex St. was forcibly entered and its ignition was damaged in an apparent effort by the burglar to steal the vehicle, police said.
And on Feb. 17, police said someone broke into a 2004 Civic while it was parked on Sussex St. beneath Rt. 280 and took a portable GPS unit and assorted Chinese currency.
In other incidents logged by Harrison Police over the past week:
Feb. 21
Police arrested Alexander Harkes, 27, of Kearny, after he was reported shoplifting items from a Frank Rodgers Blvd. pharmacy. Harkes also was wanted on an outstanding warrant issued by the Hudson County Sheriff ’s Dept. He was turned over to the sheriff ’s office for incarceration.
Jose Dones, 37, of Hoboken, was arrested at Second and Essex Sts. on an outstanding Hoboken warrant and was turned over to Hoboken P.D. after failing to post $2,000 bail.
Saqib Perwaiz, 24, of Harrison, was arrested at Second and Warren Sts. on an outstanding North Arlington warrant. He was freed after posting $500 bail.
Feb. 20
A homeless man, identified by police as David Jackson, 49, who witnesses said was begging for money near Roosevelt Park, was arrested on an outstanding warrant from Newark. He was released by Newark P.D. shortly afterward. He’d been previously busted for disorderly conduct on Feb. 16 after police said he was yelling, tearing papers off a wall and smashing a bottle in Holy Cross Church. For those actions, he was issued a summons and released.
Feb. 18
Police stopped a vehicle operated by Charles Huntley, 35, of East Newark, after the driver allegedly made an improper turn onto Cleveland Ave. from Rt. 280. After learning that Huntley had outstanding traffic warrants from Newark, police arrested him on the warrants, ticketed him for the motor vehicle infraction and freed him after he posted $250 bail.
An intruder broke into a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 while it was parked overnight on Passaic Ave. and removed the ignition in an apparent attempt to steal the vehicle.
Two vehicles parked in the 200 block of Sussex St. and four vehicles parked in the 200 block of Warren St. were broken into while parked overnight.
Feb. 17
Someone shoplifted about 16 cans of Red Bull energy drink from a Harrison Ave. gas station and then fled on a bicycle over the Bridge St. Bridge into Newark.
A 2004 Honda Accord was broken into while it was parked on Warren St. under Rt. 280. Police were uncertain whether anything had been stolen.
Feb. 16
An intruder forced open the door to a third-floor apartment on Central Ave. and, during an investigation of the burglary, police arrested Jonathan Perez, 20, a second-floor resident, for an outstanding Harrison warrant. Perez posted bail and was released.
– Ron Leir
