Crime & Safety

Cops: Men Had Bags Full of Stolen Mall Merchandise

Police view two men stuffing bags of merchandise from stores in Willowbrook into a car then driving away.

Three Newark residents were charged with receiving stolen property when Wayne discovered bags of merchandise from the in their vehicle during a traffic stop June 22, authorities reported.

While on patrol at the mall, Officer Douglas Itjen reported watching two men on a security camera unload bags of clothes into the truck of a vehicle and return to various stores in the mall.

The men, Itjen reported, walked into Forever 21 and a short time later jogged out of the stores carrying bags full of clothes.

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The report states the men entered the vehicle and fled onto Route 46 West, where Itjen watched the vehicle not signal and make several unsafe lane changes.

Itjen conducted a motor vehicle stop and noticed full bags of clothes in the back of the vehicle with security tags still attached to them, the incident report states.

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Itjen also reported that a passenger in the vehicle, Cesar Santiago-Alvarado, had a case of beer with a few open bottles in his lap; Santiago-Alvarado admitted to drinking the beer in the vehicle, the report stated.

Itjen reported finding merchandise from Lids, Victoria’s Secret, American Eagle, and Footlocker in the vehicle.

The report states the individuals were transporting the merchandise to a nearby Wendy’s restaurant where they were going to sell the merchandise to someone.

Representatives from the stores picked up the stolen merchandise at police headquarters, according to the report.

Santiago-Alvarado, Daisy Gonzalez and Deliudnor Santana were charged with receiving stolen property. Bail was set at $5,000, with no 10 percent option.

They were transported to Passaic County Jail in lieu of not be able to post bail.

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