SECAUCUS, NJ — A Union City man driving a stolen car and suspected of shoplifting at the Secaucus Kohl’s jumped into the Hackensack River last Friday.
This happened last Friday, Feb. 23: At 9:30 a.m. that day, loss-prevention officers from the Kohl’s reported to Secaucus Police that a man committed a theft at their store and was fleeing the area in a 2011 gray Mitsubishi Lancer.
The suspect car drove around two marked Secaucus Police cars and went down a one-way street to flee onto Rt. 3 west.
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Police Officer Salvatore Manente Jr. was monitoring radio transmissions and positioned himself on Rt. 3 west. He saw the Mitsubishi Lancer travelling recklessly at a high rate of speed. He attempted to pull the car over, however the driver, identified as Gregory Calvo, 53, of Union City, disregarded the signal to stop and accelerated at a high rate of speed, headed west.
While turning around in East Rutherford near Metlife stadium, Manente Jr. came upon the gray Mitsubishi Lancer, as it had just struck a guardrail underneath the Berry’s Creek bridge.
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Calvo exited the vehicle, fled on foot into the marshy Meadowlands and then jumped into Berry’s Creek, a little creek off the Hackensack River on the American Dream side of the river.
Secaucus Police launched its unmanned aerial drone to maintain an overhead visual of Calvo as he was drifting in the current. After being in the frigid water for almost fifteen minutes, Calvo was pulled from the water and placed under arrest by police officers and New Jersey State Troopers. He was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center for treatment.
The gray Mitsubishi Lancer was found to have been stolen from Union City early that morning. A search of the vehicle uncovered stolen property and burglar’s tools.
“I am proud to be part of a profession that generates such an overwhelming response when a call for assistance is broadcast,” Chief Dennis Miller said. “This incident is another example that the Secaucus Police Department will work tirelessly to apprehend criminals, despite their desperate attempts to evade capture. I want to thank the New Jersey State Police, and East Rutherford, Rutherford and Carlstadt Police Departments, along with Hudson Regional Hospital EMS for their assistance.”
Calvo was charged with Obstructing the Administration of Law [2C:29-1(a)], Resisting Arrest [2C:29-2a(2)], Shoplifting [2C:20-11b(1)], Receiving a Stolen Motor Vehicle [2C:20-10.2] Eluding [2C:29-2(b)] and Possession of Burglar Tools [2C:5-5a(2)].
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