Three supposed shoplifters from Queens — including one on parole for gun violations — were apprehended June 5 thanks to the actions of the Lyndhurst Police Department and an Assistant Special Agent in Charge from the Department of Homeland Security, Det. Lt. Vincent Auteri, of the Lyndhurst PD, tells The Observer.
That day, at around 7:30 p.m., Officers Anthony Giaquinto and Anthony Morreale and Sgt. Phil Reina were sent to the 400 block of Valley Brook Avenue on a reported shoplifting. When they arrived, they quickly hauled in two men matching the description — Chantz Bonilla, 22, and Jakyle Hall, also 22. But still at-large was Bright Pierre, 21. (We could have a field day with Pierre’s first name and the irony in this incident, but we’ll leave that to you.)
Later, Det. Nick Abruscato and Tom McSweeney later got involved in a chase on a residential street after they noticed a man who appeared to match Bright’s description. Bright reportedly hopped fences and was able to escape capture at that point.
That was, according to Auteri, until Lt. Anthony Ricigliano later spotted the bright one running into Town Hall Park. Officers Matthew Dudek and Morreale, upon learning Bright was in the park, ultimately took him into custody without further incident.
In total, the three outstanding Queens citizens had about $350 in merchandise on them.
Bright was charged with four offenses — shoplifting, resisting arrest by flight (fled on foot), obstruction (failure to stop for police) and hindering apprehension (he gave a fake name, presumably because he knew he was a convicted felon on parole.) While his two friends got to go home that night (meaning Bonilla and Hall, who were only charged with shoplifting before being sprung) Bright was remanded to the Bergen County Jail, Hackensack, on a parole violation.
Though we’re not 100% certain, that likely means he’s on his way back to Rikers Island — good luck with that.
“In addition to the great work our guys did apprehending these three, I also want to thank Assistant Special Agent in Charge Chris Musto for helping us to identify Bright Pierre,” Auteri said.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.