It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the Lyndhurst Police Department and it’s all yielded several significant arrests.
The first incident took place Wednesday, June 28, 2023, shortly before 3 p.m., when the Lyndhurst PD received a report from the manager of Citizens Bank, 123 Ridge Road, who told them there was a man on the premises fraudulently attempting to open an account using false documents, Det. Lt. Vincent Auteri, of the LPD, told The Observer.
According to Auteri:
The man was subsequently denied service and he said he would contact the bank at a later date to schedule an appointment to return with the proper information and credentials.
On Friday, June 30, the bank contacted the Lyndhurst PD to report the subject was scheduled to return later in the day. As a result, Det. Nick Abruscato set up surveillance in the area. Shortly thereafter, Det. Abruscato observed a vehicle pull up to the front of the bank and the subject proceeded directly into the bank.
Det. Abruscato was ultimately joined by Officer Anthony Morreale and they both followed the suspect into the bank. They were greeted by bank personnel, who subsequently directed them to the suspect. At that point, Det. Abruscato confirmed the documents presented to the bank were fraudulent and he and Officer Morreale subsequently placed the suspect under arrest.
Det. Abruscato identified him as 28-year-old Devonte Jackson, of the Bronx.
While the pair of officers were in the bank, Sgt. Phil Reina and Officers William Kapp and Robert Litterio executed a motor vehicle stop of the vehicle which had dropped Jackson off at the bank. Further investigation revealed the driver had no connection to the fraud and was released.
In addition to the fraudulent documents, Jackson was found to be in possession of credit cards and identification in the names of several others and he was charged with identity theft, possession of a stolen credit card (five counts), uttering a false government document and possession of a false government document (two counts).
Eight days earlier, on Thursday, June 22, 2023, a local restaurant on the 600 block of Stuyvesant Avenue reported the theft of cooking oil. The proprietor reviewed surveillance video and determined on June 6, at approximately 6:30 a.m., two unidentified men entered the property and without authorization removed a cooking oil drum and loaded it into a passenger van.
Det. Chris Cuneo tracked the van to Dwan Myles, 46, of Newark and the investigation revealed that he would go from business to business looking to purchase cooking oil which he would then sell to a recycling company. Further investigation revealed the second party captured on the surveillance video was employed by Myles and he had no knowledge of the criminal act, believing the restaurant was simply a client.
Over the following days, Myles learned investigators were looking for him and he subsequently turned himself in. Myles was charged with burglary and theft before being released.
On Monday, July 3, 2023, Lyndhurst police officers responded to ShopRite, 540 New York Ave., to investigate a report of a shoplifting in-progress. ShopRite loss prevention also reported they recognized the suspect as a habitual shoplifter.
A description of the suspect was dispatched to the responding officers, who had converged on the area. Additionally, the loss-prevention manager reported the suspect had taken an assortment of items ranging from soap to packaged meat, which he had concealed in a backpack and duffle bag.
Shortly thereafter, Officer Michael Scalese observed a man matching the description of the suspect walking away from the store and down a residential block. As Officer Scalese approached the suspect, while in his marked police vehicle, the suspect started to increase his pace in the direction of the Lyndhurst train station.
Officer Scalese eventually confronted the suspect between a parked motor vehicle and the property line of a residential home. Officer Scalese was joined by Officer Michael Carrino, at which time both officers discovered the suspect to be in possession of the stolen items.
Officers Scalese and Carrino then placed the suspect, later identified as Michael Scalici, 34, of Nutley, under arrest without incident.
Scalici was charged with shoplifting before being released.
The stolen items totaled $200+.
Finally, on Tuesday, July 4, 2023, Officer Michael Carrino was alerted to the presence of a stolen rental van that had entered the township. Shortly thereafter, Officer Carrino located the van and was able to execute a motor vehicle stop on Orient Way and Valley Brook Avenue without incident. The van had been stolen out of Jersey City nearly a year ago — in early July 2022.
The driver of the van, identified as Kishon Moses, 24, of New York City, was questioned about the vehicle and claimed he had no knowledge the van had been stolen. He further said he assumed possession after he rented it from a third party.
Moses was charged with receiving stolen property before being released.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.