Four males from Paterson — two adults, two juveniles — were up to no good last month, and the intuition of a Lyndhurst police officer paid off — they were casing for Hondas to steal — resulting in the arrest of all the aforementioned, Det. Lt. Vincent Auteri, the Lyndhurst PD’s public-information officer said.
On Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, at approximately 2:54 a.m., Officer Thomas Seickendick was on patrol in the area of Riverside and Post avenues when he observed a vehicle double parked on Post Avenue. As Officer Seickendick turned onto Post Avenue, he observed a vehicle, which he determined to be a silver Honda Civic, drive away with its lights off.
Officer Seickendick then observed a man dressed in all black, with the hood from his sweatshirt draped over his head, approach a Honda sedan parked curbside on Post Avenue. Officer Seickendick then approached the man on foot and learned he was wearing a ski mask.
Officer Seickendick was told by the man he had just been dropped off by a taxi and was going to visit a friend, although he was unable to provide the address of the friend’s whereabouts. Officer Seickendick was able to identify the man as a 17-year-old Paterson boy.
Shortly thereafter, Officer Nicollette Villani arrived and, as Officer Seickendick was speaking with the juvenile, she learned the juvenile was in possession of a latex glove. Additionally, the officers discovered him to be in possession of a screwdriver and a folding knife.
As Officers Seickendick and Villani were dealing with the juvenile, Officers Glenn Flora and James Colacci were patrolling the area looking for the silver Honda. Moments later, they located the vehicle traveling in the area of Stuyvesant and Forest avenues without a license plate.
Officers Flora and Colacci stopped the vehicle and learned it was occupied by two men and one boy. The driver claimed to be going to his girlfriend’s house but said he didn’t know her address. The driver did not have a driver’s license and provided a fictitious name.
At that point, Sgt. William Kapp and Officer Michael LeStrange arrived on scene to assist. All the occupants were then removed from the vehicle. During that process, officers discovered a defaced prescription medicine bottle, latex gloves, a screwdriver, two digital vehicle key programming and duplicator devices and several secondary market vehicle key fobs.
As a result, the two adults, Aston Grullon Guzman, 19, and Adrian Lora-Rodriguez, 18, were placed under arrest and conveyed to police headquarters for possession of burglar tools, possession of a control dangerous substance, unlawful possession of a weapon and hindering.
The two juveniles, both of Paterson, were taken into custody for safekeeping and pending charges.
During the course of the investigation, Dets. Joseph White and Matthew Giunta were able to track the actions of the four suspects and their vehicle while it was in Lyndhurst. Their meticulous and persistent effort uncovered evidence that confirmed the four males were working together in identifying Honda vehicles in the area in preparation for theft.
Grullon Guzman was charged with possession of a control dangerous substance, possession of burglar tools, possession of a motor vehicle master key and unlawful possession of a weapon. Lora-Rodriguez was charged with hindering apprehension, possession of burglar tools, possession of a motor vehicle master key and unlawful possession of a weapon. Both men were released, pending court.
The two juveniles were released into the custody of their guardians, pending charges.
On Dec. 11, 2024, the two juveniles were charged with possession of burglar tools, unlawful possession of a weapon, and unlawful possession of vehicle master keys.
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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.