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The carts began vanishing from the parking lot of the West Passaic Street supermarket on March 27, Rochelle Park Police Capt. James M. DePreta said.By early this week, 140 were gone, the captain said.
Total value: $28,000 (or $200 per).
Reviewing surveillance video with supermarket security, Rochelle Park Detective Sgt. Jared Shatkin and Detective Nick Mercoun identified a distinctive red 2003 Ford Econoline van, DePreta said.
It was shortly after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 9 when the van pulled into the lot again.
Officers quickly moved in and seized Alfredo Rodriguez along with Hector Cortes, 54, of Newark, DePreta said.
In the back of the van they found five carts, he said.
Rodriguez, who's listed in criminal records as a Cuban national living in Elizabeth, had an outstanding warrant out of Edgewater.
Cortes had outstanding warrants out of Clark and Elizabeth.
Both men were charged with theft, receiving stolen property, possession of burglary tools, and possession of property derived from criminal activity, the captain said.
They remained held Wednesday in the Bergen County Jail pending first appearances in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
Detectives, meanwhile, are trying to determine how many of the 140 missing carts are tied to the pair.
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