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Francis Jose-Suarez, 20, of the Bronx was among a group trying to get into vehicles in the area of East 8th Street and Trenton Avenue shortly before 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, Lt. Robert Anderson said.
Alerted by a resident, responding officers spotted an unoccupied Dodge Charger with the motor running, the lieutenant said. Turns out it had been stolen out of Saddle Brook earlier that night, he said.
A neighbor pointed police toward the suspects in a nearby driveway, Anderson said.
Seeing the officers, they scattered, with of them scaling a fence on East 5th Street and running clear across the Garden State Parkway without being hit.
Officer Ricky Juliano, meanwhile, chased Jose-Suarez into the arms of Officer Michael Zigarelli, the lieutenant said.
Jose-Suarez hit Zigarelli in the face in a bid to escape but was quickly tackled, Anderson said.
In the Charger police found several screwdrivers, a vehicle key programmer and a mobile hotspot device, the lieutenant said. They also found another license plate also reported stolen out of Saddle Brook, he said.
Jose-Suarez remained held Thursday in the Bergen County Jail, charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, obstruction and possession of burglary tools.
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