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Officers responding to a fraud-in-progress call from the Chase Bank branch on Kinderkamack Road last Thursday arrested Alexander Percy, 40, of Queens on the spot, Police Chief William Wicker said.
Moments earlier, Percy “attempted to wire-transfer $14,000 from an identity theft victim to an unknown account,” Wicker said.
He was carrying a bogus Illinois driver’s license and a Discover credit card with the ID theft victim's personal information on it, the chief said.
With help from witnesses, officers stopped a vehicle driven by a second defendant, Ismael Pichardo, 20, of Queens a short time later, Wicker said.
Pichardo was arrested without incident, but a third man, 21-year-old Tariq Roach of the Bronx ran across Oradell Avenue, the chief said.
Sgt. David Gangemi and Officer Kyle Costa chased Roach while Officer Richard Liguori stayed with Pichardo.
Wicker was among several officers who search for Roach, eventually finding him trying to hide in a Park Avenue resident's shed.
Roach fought with his pursuers but was quickly subdued and taken into custody, the chief said.
It turned out that Mahwah police had arrested Roach for similar crimes in August, after which he was booked into the Bergen County Jail. A judge released him under New Jersey’s 2017 bail reform law less than 24 hours later, records show.
Roach remained held in the county lockup this time, along with Percy and Pichardo. Charges include ID theft, cashing bad checks and impersonation.
Roach also was charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.
All three were still in the BCJ on Wednesday, nearly a week after the incident.
Wicker thanked the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, the Bergen County Regional SWAT team and police from Emerson, Paramus, Haworth and New Milford for their assistance in the case.
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