It was just a week ago when we reminded the public about how foolish it is to even consider entering Lyndhurst in a hot vehicle since there are license plate readers and cameras all over the township. And yet here we are, once again, with another instance of two people who probably didn’t realize they were about to enter a town where they were all but guaranteed to be in handcuffs shortly thereafter.
It all went down Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, at approximately 5:20 a.m., when Capt. Paul Haggerty, the Lyndhurst Police Department’s public-information officer, said the department received information from the Nutley Police Department about a stolen vehicle possibly entering Lyndhurst at the intersection of Kingsland and Riverside avenues via the DeJessa Memorial Bridge.
The stolen vehicle, a black 2019 Hyundai Sonata with a Pennsylvania registration, was reportedly stolen in South Brunswick.
As patrol units began to converge on the area, a Lyndhurst fixed Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Camera alerted police in real time the vehicle was passing the intersection of Ridge Road and Union Avenue traveling north.
Officer Michael Scalese located the vehicle a short time later, where he observed it traveling south on Stuyvesant Avenue as it stopped for a red traffic light at the intersection with Kingsland Avenue. Using sound judgment, Officer Scalese waited to engage and relayed this information over to his colleagues using his police radio in an effort to setup a coordinated takedown of the vehicle and in an effort to mitigate a pursuit.
Moments later, Sgt. William Kapp and Officers Mark Rivera, Anthony Giaquinto and James Colacci joined Officer Scalese as they converged on the vehicle before the driver and occupant had a chance to react.
The driver, Breyonshe Wedd, of South Hill, Virginia, and the front seat passenger, Veelique Farrior-Harris, of Newark, were immediately taken into custody without incident and the vehicle was recovered.
Wedd and Ferrier-Harris were charged with one count of receiving a stolen motor vehicle.
Farrier-Harris was also found to have an active warrant out of the Parsippany Troy Hills Municipal Court for obstructing the administration of law.
Wedd was released after receiving her criminal complaint summons while Farrier-Harris was transported to the Bergen County Jail following New Jersey bail reform procedures.
“We commend the officers involved for their coordinated efforts in using vehicular pursuit mitigation techniques and technology to safely apprehend both individuals before they had a chance to react and place themselves, the officers, or the public in danger,” Haggerty said.
Learn more about the writer ...
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.