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Officers on foot patrol amid a rash of thefts from vehicles in the Athenia neighborhood watched as Alissa Stella, 46, of Clifton “walked down a driveway on Marrion Street, entered an unlocked vehicle and rummaged through it” shortly before 3:30 a.m. Thursday, Detective Sgt. Robert Anderson said.
They grabbed her as she walked away with some loose change, he said.
Stella “struggled and attempted to pull away from the arresting officers as she was being handcuffed,” Anderson said.
Police charged her with burglary, theft and resisting arrest and sent her to the Bergen County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Less than two hours earlier, officers responding to a call of two men entering unlocked vehicles nabbed Onyx Calderon, 19, and Yulian Paulino-Rivera, 18, both of Paterson, on Valley Road near Taylor Street.
Officers found them carrying proceeds and linked them to seven vehicle burglaries, Anderson said.
Calderon, who at first gave them a fake name, turned out to be wanted on warrants out of Wayne and Paterson, the sergeant said.
Police charged both men with seven counts of burglary and five counts of theft. Calderon also was charged with hindering his arrest.
Anderson reminded vehicle owners to lock their doors and take their cars no matter where they park or for how long.
“These crimes of opportunity can only occur when vehicles are left unlocked,” he said.
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