Thieving Essex Couple Who Came, Fled In Uber Caught By Lyndhurst Police, Authorities Say

Teamwork helped Lyndhurst police nab a shoplifting Essex County couple who tried to flee in an Uber, authorities said.

Chrisann Shaffer, Jeffrey Uhrig
Photo Credit: *MUGSHOTS: Courtesy LYNDHURST PD*

04/02/2020 5:00 p.m.

Chrisann Shaffer, 40, Bloomfield and Jeffrey Uhrig, 45, Newark, took a different Uber to the Walgreens on Valley Brook Avenue and ran off with a bundle of stolen merchandise after an employee caught them on Wednesday, Detective Sgt. Vincent Auteri said.

Both ran past the waiting Uber and temporarily vanished, Auteri said.

Detective William Kapp radioed ahead after learning that they apparently grabbed another Uber, the lieutenant said.

Sgt. Phil Reina spotted and stopped the vehicle soon after on Chase Avenue near Kingsland Avenue, Auteri said.

Sgt. Steve Passamano and Officers Elizabeth Hollenbeck and Officer Michael D'Alessandro joined Reina, who said he found the couple in the back seat with $200 worth of stolen baby formula, nail polish and shampoo -- products ordinarily sold to bodegas for drug money.

Shaffer and Uhrig were processed and released pending a court hearing on shoplifting and eluding charges, among other counts.

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