Two men suspected of shoplifting in Lyndhurst are now behind bars, but it wasn’t easy to get one of them there from the outset, Lyndhurst PD Det. Capt. Vincent Auteri said.
On Monday, May 19, 2025, at around 4 p.m., officers from the Lyndhurst Police Department responded to a business, located on the 400 block of Valley Brook Avenue, on a report of a shoplifting in progress involving two suspects who fled the scene on foot toward Grant Avenue.
Upon arrival, Officer Michael D’Alessandro conducted a canvas of the area and located a man matching the suspect description near Valley Brook and Cleveland avenues. The man, later identified as Raymond Jackson, 57, of Hackensack, was questioned at the scene and claimed to be in the area attempting to rent a car after browsing inside a local store.
A subsequent identification by store loss-prevention staff, and a review of surveillance video, confirmed Jackson’s involvement in the theft of merchandise valued at $249.90. He was placed under arrest and charged with shoplifting and conspiracy to commit shoplifting. A search incident to arrest yielded a Saturn car key and further investigation revealed an active municipal warrant for Jackson out of South Brunswick Township. He was transported to the Bergen County Jail, Hackensack, without incident.
Approximately an hour later, Officer D’Alessandro located a Saturn SUV registered to Jackson in a parking lot on Grant Avenue, adjacent to the store. Officer D’Alessandro was joined by Sgt. Richard Jasinski and Officer Vincent Dinicola. A man inside the vehicle, identified as James M. Davis, 49, of Brooklyn, was detained for further investigation. During that time, Davis became physically combative, resisting officers and kicking Officer D’Alessandro during the struggle. Davis was ultimately subdued and placed under arrest. Officer D’Alessandro and Sgt. Jasinski sustained minor injuries during the encounter.
A search incident to arrest revealed Davis was in possession of 19 individual packages of a crystal rock substance believed to be cocaine, drug paraphernalia, mace and other miscellaneous items. A search of the vehicle revealed additional shoplifted merchandise along with a Connecticut license plate.
Davis was charged with shoplifting, resisting arrest, obstruction, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was evaluated for a minor injury and subsequently transported to Hackensack University Medical Center before being lodged in the Bergen County Jail.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served 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 social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, 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 Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.