Fair Lawn lieutenant makes arrest in stolen U-Haul theft

A Fair Lawn police lieutenant who answered a call of a stolen rental truck in Paterson ended up recovering it — and arresting the accused thief, who already was wanted by police in the city, Hawthorne and Union City.

Photo Credit: *Cliffview Pilot File Photo*

Jerry DeMarco

04/23/2013 2:24 p.m.

Lt. James Corcoran was patroling the Paterson border when the alert went out of a truck stolen from Shield Self-Storage on 24th Street around 4 a.m., Sgt. Brian Metzler told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

Moments after speaking with the owner — and seeing the front-door glass-broken — Corcoran spotted the stolen rig barreling down Lincoln Avenue in Hawthorne, the sergeant said.

Heriberto Torres couldn’t provide a driver’s license or rental agreement after Corcoran stopped him on River Street and Fifth Street, Metzler said.

A checked turned up the warrants, he said.

Corcoran also found a screwdriver with a bent head in the truck, indicating it possibly was used in a break-in, the sergeant added.

Hawthorne police said surveillance footage pegs Torres, 34, to the burglary of a bagel shop in town — and shows him driving off in the U-Haul.

Torres was being held on $35,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail, charged by Fair Lawn authorities with receiving stolen property (the U-Haul) and bail jumping (in connection with Union City warrants for skipping court).

Additional charges are expected from Hawthorne and Paterson police, Metzler said.

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