36°
It was the 28th time in just the past 14 months that someone had either succeeded or attempted to snatch pricey perfumes from the Ulta store in The Shoppes at DePiero Farm, Montvale Police Chief Douglas McDowell said after Wednesday's arrest.
It was the sixth time already this year, he said.
Lateek Lamount Newton, 28, of New York got out of a grey Nissan Altima with a temporary Georgia license tag and a taillight out that was parked in front of the store in the early evening of March 8.
A similar vehicle had been identified in similar thefts at Ulta stores in the Northeast, investigators elsewhere said.
Newton "was in the store all of nine minutes" before fleeing with the merchandise in the Altima, McDowell said.
Authorities at the scene said he'd stuffed the fragrances into a pillow case and ran.
On a hunch, a borough officer went to the James Gandolfini Service Area on the Garden State Parkway. He spotted the Nissan, which the chief said was parked across three spaces.
Seeing him, Newton bailed out and ran across the parkway, where two waiting officers chased him down on foot, McDowell said.
The Altima was impounded, a search warrant was obtained and police retrieved the stolen goods from the back seat, he said.
Newton had been arrested for shoplifting in East Rutherford on Feb. 20. A judge in Hackensack released him from the Bergen County Jail less than 24 hours later, records show.
This time was even quicker.
Newton was charged by Montvale police with shoplifting, receiving stolen property and obstruction and sent to the county lockup.
A judge freed him before the day was even over, records show.
Ulta stores continue to be frequent shoplifting targets, particularly in and around Bergen County.
Three weeks ago, two heavyset women snatched $3,500 worth of fragrances from the Ulta at the Bergen Town Center, then fled in a rented U-Haul truck.
SEE: Plump Fragrance Thieves Flee Bergen Mall Ulta In U-Haul, Store's 3rd Big Theft In Two Months
Earlier last month, a trio of thieves pursued by Maywood police dropped $12,000 worth of perfume at the Town Center before one of them was captured.
SEE: Fleeing Mall Thieves Pursued By Maywood PD Dump $12,000 Worth Of Fragrances
Three others snatched $800 worth of fragrances from the same store late last year.
SEE: Snatch-And-Grab Thieves Flee Mall Store With $800 Worth Of Fragrances
Click here to follow Daily Voice Pascack Valley and receive free news updates.
