49°
Weird, for sure. But it didn't end there.
The driver -- identified as Jose Mauricio CardozaRivera, 46 -- had been accused of grabbing a boy the day before in Little Ferry.
The Maywood DPW worker told police on Thursday that CarodozaRivera got out and grabbed him by the arm, trying to pull him into his car.
He said he shook loose and retreated to his truck, but CardozaRivera opened the door and climbed in.
The worker bolted out the driver's side and made it to freedom, then called police.
Responding officers found CardozaRivera standing on a borough resident's porch several blocks away, Police Chief Terence Kenny said.
They took him to headquarters, where he threw a cup of water at an officer, the chief said.
It was the second incident in roughly 16 hours involving CardozaRivera, authorities said.
On Wednesday, police said, he went to a baseball complex across from his Little Ferry apartment and asked a coach for help moving furniture.
The coach sent two teenage boys over, Little Ferry Police Chief James Walters said.
Once they got there, the chief said, CardozaRivera grabbed one of the boys by the arm and said: "I want to hug you. I want to be with you."
Police charged CardozaRivera with child endangerment and harassment, Walters said. They then released him under New Jersey's 2017 bail reform law.
CardozaRivera was sent to the Bergen County Jail on Thursday following the incident in Maywood.
He remains there pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, luring, burglary (for entering the truck) and simple assault.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Marlton-Evesham and receive free news updates.
