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Steven Ariel Fong, 23 and Waldy Perez-Rivas, 20, have each been charged with with theft and weapons offenses, along with unlawful purpose and possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine following an undercover operation Friday, July 12, Wayne Police Cap. Dan Daly said.
A Laurel Drive homeowner called police last Friday saying he had been awaiting a delivery of multiple cell phones, which he was monitoring via the FedEx tracking link. A few weeks earlier, a shipment of cell phones was stolen from the man's front porch as soon as it was delivered, according to Daly.
The resident said that he saw multiple vehicles containing young men that he did not recognize slowly passing his house as the delivery time approached. Members of the Wayne Police Detective Bureau responded and conducted surveillance in the area and uniformed members of the Wayne Police Patrol Division waited in a nearby neighborhood. Detective Lt. Vincent Ricciardelli placed himself inside the target residence.
Meanwhile, Special Operations Unit Detective Jon Donado was positioned in the area in an unmarked vehicle and provided intelligence to waiting officers. Detective Donado saw a FedEx driver deliver two packages to the front door of the target residence. Within minutes, a vehicle stopped in front of the home and the passenger got out while the driver waited in the car with the engine running.
The passenger approached the packages on the porch just as Ricciardelli exited the home arrested him. Multiple officers converged on the scene and approached the driver, detained him, and arrested him, Daly said.
Detective Tom Cydzik proceeded after another suspicious vehicle in the area with members of the Patrol Division. The driver tried to slip his handcuffs and attempted to maneuver himself for a possible escape until he was physically restrained against the back of the suspect vehicle.
Officers observed the driver’s cell phone was open to a directional application that took him to the target address, Daly said. A boxed package with a shipping label was observed in the backseat, and a pouch-type bag with a cross body strap and a zipper was seen positioned between the driver’s seat and door with the zipper facing up for immediate access, according to Daly.
The bag was zipped tight around a narrow, firm object, which officers recognized immediately as a potential firearm.
A search of the suspect vehicle resulted in the recovery of a Ruger .380 caliber handgun which held a loaded 15 round magazine. The package in the vehicle was found to have been stolen from a residence in Wayne the previous day, Daly said.
Fong and Perez-Rivas were charged with Attempted Theft, Conspiracy to Commit Theft, Receiving Stolen Property, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purpose and Possession of a Large Capacity Ammunition Magazine. Waldy Perez-Rivas was additionally charged with Obstructing a Governmental Function.
Both were charged on warrants and taken to the Passaic County Jail pending detention hearings.
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