Given how many cameras there are in Lyndhurst, it’s probably not the wisest idea to throw a lit cigarette into a mailbox — let alone while wearing a loud yellow track suit. But for one Nutley man, that’s precisely what he did — making tracking him down a lot easier, to say the very least, from his yellowness.
According to Lyndhurst Police Department Public-Information Officer Capt. Paul F. Haggerty:
On Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, at 11:22 a.m., Lyndhurst patrol units were dispatched to 436 Valley Brook Ave., the Lyndhurst Branch of the United States Post Office, on report of a man who threw a lit cigarette into a mailbox, starting a fire. The caller and eyewitness described the suspect as wearing a yellow track suit who was seen walking west on Valley Brook Avenue.
Upon police arrival, the fire was extinguished by postal employees, who reported the cigarette and two damaged pieces of mail remained in the mailbox.
Lyndhurst detectives, along with detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutors Office’s Major Crimes Arson Unit, responded to the scene to launch an investigation. While detectives were on scene, surveillance footage was obtained from a nearby business by a Lyndhurst officer who retraced Kainey’s path with the assistance of surveillance cameras on town hall/police headquarters. The footage, which depicted the suspect, confirmed he was traveling in the direction that reported, making him easily identifiable from his yellow attire.
Detectives recalled familiarity of the side profile and facial features of Bryan Kainey, 39, of Nutley.
After collaborating with surrounding police departments, Nutley officers confirmed it was Kainey. Armed with this information in hand, detectives confirmed a previous interaction with Kainey in Lyndhurst in 2016.
Detectives continued following Kainey’s path, tracking him into Nutley with additional surveillance footage.
Eventually, surveillance footage was retrieved in Nutley, which showed Kainey leaving his residence earlier in the day wearing the unique yellow track suit. Nutley PD made multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact Kainey at his residence.
A complaint warrant was eventually issued charging Kainey with endangering another person and criminal mischief.
On Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, officers responded to the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark to apprehend Kainey, who was in custody for an unrelated charge, and they transported him to the Bergen County Jail, Hackensack, on the aforementioned warrant.
“This is another prime example of our agency’s strong partnerships with our community and local businesses, whose cooperation provided us with the necessary surveillance footage to solve another case. I would also like to extend our department’s gratitude to the Nutley Police Department for their assistance in closing this case,” Lyndhurst Police Chief Richard L. Jarvis Jr. said.
