A Jersey City man who fell asleep behind the wheel of a car probably should have thought better about that decision since the plates on his car were reportedly stolen, Det. Lt. Vincent Auteri, the Lyndhurst PD’s public-information officer said.
On Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, at approximately 2:11 a.m., Officer Mark Rivera was on patrol in the area of the 100 block of Court Avenue when he came across a Dodge Caliber which was parked and running and missing a driver’s side mirror. Additionally, Officer Rivera believed the vehicle was unoccupied and when he made an inquiry into the vehicle registration, he learned the vehicle’s license plates had been recently stolen from a vehicle of a similar make and model in New York.
As a result, Officer Rivera approached the vehicle at which time he found Jeremy Vega, 29, of Jersey City, asleep and fully reclined in the driver’s seat. Officer Rivera was joined by Officer Michael Carrino at that time. The officers were able to wake Vega, who appeared startled at first by the presence of the officers. Vega refused to open the door or roll down the window while being verbally combative with officers.
Vega ultimately opened the door and was subsequently placed under arrest. When questioned about the stolen license plates, he claimed he recently purchased the vehicle and he did not put the plates on the car. Since Vega’s arrest, an investigation to determine if he was alone prior to being discovered by Officer Rivera, or if he had been casing the neighborhood, was inconclusive.
Vega was charged with receiving stolen property and remanded to the Bergen County Jail, Hackensack.
The Lyndhurst Police Department reminds all residents to make sure doors to homes and vehicles are locked and secure before retiring for the night.
Learn more about the writer ...
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.