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Lyndhurst Police Sgt. William Kapp was on patrol on Disposal Road, which rests adjacent to the DeKorte Park complex, when he came across an older model Ford pickup truck on Sunday, Sept. 8, Detective Lt. Vincent Auteri said. The truck was parked near a secured property containing landscaping equipment.
Disposal Road is a limited access road that is closed to the public at dusk when the park closes.
As Kapp approached, he confronted a man who was pushing an ATV towards the back of the pickup truck. At that point, the man abandoned the ATV and ran into the thick marsh of the meadowlands, Auteri said. When the pickup truck began to move forward, Kapp was able to confront the driver and ordered the truck to stop.
The driver was identified as Jessica Aiken, 27, of Clifton, who Kapp would come to find out had been helping her boyfriend, Matthew Warren, 39 of Paterson, steal the ATV, according to Auteri. But Aiken gave Kapp a different story, saying Warren had gotten out of the car to "relieve himself," Auteri said.
Kapp realized Warren was the man who had bolted from the scene, and was the registered owner of the truck. Despite a search including police K9s and drones, Warren remains at large.
Kapp would also discover that the ATV belonged to a local company occupying the property on the DeKorte Park complex, police said. Authorities also determined that force had been used to enter the gated property before the ATV was removed.
Aiken was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to commit theft of an automobile, and trespassing. She was released pending a court appearance.
Warren is wanted on a warrant for burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, resisting arrest by flight, criminal trespass, and criminal mischief.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Warren is urged to contact the Lyndhurst Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at (201) 933-2900 ext. 2740. Information can also be submitted anonymously at (201) 804-9346 or by email at tips@lyndhurstnjpolice.gov.
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