Officers in the Secaucus Police Department's Anti-Crime Unit were patrolling near the Rodeway Inn Motel on Route 3, around 9:05 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, when they noticed a 2021 BMW 540i pull into the parking lot, Police Chief Dennis Miller said.
Verly Antenor, 21, of Roselle Park, was behind the wheel, police said. He got out of the car and went into the motel for a few minutes, and then left with Arthur Garlick and Laura Probst, Miller said.
The trio got into the BMW, but Garlick and Probst got out after a couple of minutes, and went back into the motel. Antenor, meanwhile, left the parking lot and headed east on Route 3, the chief said.
The anti-crime unit stopped the car upon noticing heavily-tinted windows and a cracked windshield. During the motor vehicle stop, detectives noticed the “SOS” button within the vehicle was pulled from the ceiling, along with a trim piece in the rear of the vehicle.
"Both of these pieces are commonly removed by auto thieves to disable a vehicle’s GPS," Miller said.
A review of the car's VIN number confirmed it had been stolen out of Morristown on Sept. 23, 2022, police said. Detectives also inspected the VIN label on the driver’s side door, which had misspellings on it giving the inference it was fake.
"During a search of the vehicle, a large quantity of evidence of fraudulent bank activity along with personal identifying information of various persons were seized," Miller said "Additionally, three forged Georgia Temporary Registrations were seized.
Antenor was placed under arrest.
Officers returned to the Rodeway Inn and found Garlick and Probst, who both were arrested on outstanding warrants, Miller said. A search of the hotel room durned of 45 wax folds of heroin and drug paraphernalia, the chief said.
- Verly Antenor was charged with Receiving Stolen Property [2C:20-7a], Alteration of Motor Vehicle VIN [2C:17-6(b)], Trafficking in Personal Identifying Information of Another Person [2C:21-17.3b(2)], three counts of Possession of Fraudulent Driver’s Licenses [2C:21-2.1(d)], Possession of a Fraudulent VIN Card [2C:21-2.3(c)], Possession of False Government Document [2C:21-2.1(c)], Falsifying of Records [2C:21-4a], Credit Card Theft [2C:21-6c(1)] . He was lodged in the Hudson County Jail.
- Arthur Garlick, 31, of Paterson, was charged with Possession of CDS [2C:35-10a(1)] and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia [2C:36-2]. He had an outstanding warrant issued from Parsippany with a bail of $2,500.00, two warrants from Pompton Lakes each with a bail of $750.00 and two warrants from Paramus and one from Haledon, each with a bail of $500.00. He was lodged in the Hudson County Jail.
- Laura Probst, 29, of Paterson had an outstanding warrant issued from Paterson with a bail of $750.00 and a warrant issued from Parsippany Troy Hills with a bail of $1,500.00. She was released on her own recognizance.
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