Gotcha! Second Fugitive From NY State Charged By Glen Rock PD In Major Retail Theft Ring

A second fugitive charged by Glen Rock detectives with participating in an organized shoplifting ring was captured by police in New York State.

Latifah Smith, 33, of Newburgh, NY, was part of an organized group that targeted local merchants, Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said.
Photo Credit: *Boyd A. Loving (file photo) / INSET: GRPD*

Jerry DeMarco

12/13/2023 11:32 a.m.

Latifah Smith, 33, of Newburgh, NY, is part of a group from New York State who targeted various borough merchants, Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said.

Ackermann's investigators earlier this month charged Miata Mitchell, 26, of Poughkeepsie with participating in an Aug. 7 group theft at the Bottle King Liquors on Prospect Street.

That same week, police in Newburgh grabbed Smith after Detective Sgt. James Calaski and Det. Lucas Doney identified her, as well, the chief said.

Smith, of Newburgh, waived extradition and was transferred from the Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen to the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack. She was charged, like Mitchell, with shoplifting as part of an organized retail theft enterprise.

Smith was quickly ordered released by a judge in Hackensack – also like Mitchell -- under New Jersey’s 2017 bail reform law, records show.

Meanwhile, the investigation continues.

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