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Lyndhurst officers spotted Jose R. Reyes in a stolen 2022 Isuzuz box truck around 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 1, Lyndhurst Police Detective Lt. Vincent Auteri said.
Officer Robert Litterio was the one who spotted the stolen truck at Riverside and Rutherford Avenues. Joined by Officer Vincent Dorio, the duo approached the truck and tried several times to convince Reyes to exit the vehicle.
That's when Reyes, 41, of Hawthorne, drove off, Auteri said.
Litterio returned to his marked patrol vehicle and pursued the truck, now joined by Officer Anthony Giaquinto. The pursuit began east on Rutherford Avenue from Riverside Avenue, before the suspect vehicle entered Route 3 east. Reyes continued onto Routes 1&9 South and into Jersey City, then Route 139, Auteri said.
Reyes then made an abrupt turn onto Coles Street in Jersey City and proceeded onto Route 78 via the Newark Bay extension. The truck proceeded through the toll booth, at which time the officers were joined by New Jersey State Police troopers.
It didn't end there.
Reyes continued on Route 78 for approximately 54 miles before the truck ran out of gas at mile marker 26 in Somerset County. The pursuit never exceeded speeds of 60 mph.
Officers Litterio and Giaquinto, along with a host of troopers, approached the stolen truck and arrested Reyes.
A search of the stolen truck revealed turned up heroin and crack cocaine, drug paraphernalia, burglary tools, multiple smartphones, and a large quantity of cash, Auteri said.
Reyes was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for an evaluation before being released to the custody of the Lyndhurst Police Department. He was charged with Receiving Stolen Property, Eluding, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Burglary Tools, and two counts of Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance. Reyes also had outstanding warrants out of Fair Lawn and Roxbury.
Reyes was also issued 15 traffic citations before being remanding the Bergen County Jail. The truck had been stolen out of Belleville on Aug. 31, 2024.
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