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Officer Michael Christiansen was on patrol on July 3 when he got a LoJack ping that a stolen vehicle was in the area, Detective Capt. Timothy Torell told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
He and Officer John Peterson tracked the signal to the rear yard of a Howland Avenue home, where they found it coming from a 2010 Yamaha motorcycle reported stolen out of Secaucus.
They also found a 2007 Honda motorcycle reported stolen out of Paterson last August, a 2006 F-350 Ford pickup truck reported stolen out of Linden on July 1 and a 2010 Ford 350 van reported stolen in March out of Elizabeth, along with various chop-shop tools scattered around, Torell said.
Detectives Zellvon Lucas and Ana Bedoya learned that Robert “Greg” Callahan, 53, and 31-year-old Gregory “Greg Junior” Lewis (both above) bolted just before the officers arrived and have deliberately ducked authorities since, the captain said.
The premises was sealed and guarded, then searched on the Fourth of July after detectives obtained a warrant, he said. The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office’s Crime Scene Unit collected evidence.
In addition to the vehicles, detectives located a $1500 snowblower that had been stolen in Clifton during the height of a January storm, Torell said.
They also determined that vehicle identification numbers had been altered and obscured and license plates swapped so they stolen vehicles could be operated on the street without detection, he said.
Special agents from the NICB (National Insurance Crime Bureau) were called in to help find the rightful owners, the captain said.
Callahn and Lewis, who he said have operated out of Teaneck and Englewood, are both charged with five counts each of receiving stolen property and two each of altering and obscuring VIN numbers, as well as possession of burglary tools and maintaining a premises for illegal activity.
“This is a very active and ongoing investigation that stretches throughout the State of New Jersey and beyond,” Torell said. “There are numerous motorcycle and auto theft cases that are being looked at now very carefully as a result of some great police work and the use of vehicle anti-theft products.
“Motorcycle thefts occur all the time and it’s not unusual for thieves to simply pull up to parked full-size cycles and literally just toss them into vans and pick-ups exactly like the ones we seized in our investigation,” he added.
“Luckily, the owner of the one in our case was outfitted with LoJack,” the captain said.
Anyone who has information that can help police find Callahan and Lewis is asked to call Bergenfield/Englewood/Hackensack/Teaneck CrimeStoppers: 1-844-466-6789.
All calls are eligible for rewards and will remain confidential.
DL PHOTOS: Courtesy ENGLEWOOD PD
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