Totowa, NJ - Paterson man Takes Sheriff's SUV on Joyride
Thursday, July 13, 2006
TOTOWA -- A man in a stolen car got out and drove off in a county sheriff's
vehicle after its driver had stepped out to get cash at a bank, authorities
said.
At 7:40 p.m. Tuesday, Cappy Morelli, director of the sheriff's workshop, stopped
at the Wachovia Bank on Union Avenue, got out of the unmarked 2004 Ford
Expedition that he was driving and walked to an ATM, leaving the vehicle
running, said Bill Maer, a county Sheriff's Department spokesman.
Jose Rosado, 37, of Paterson, drove up in a Nissan Sentra, got out and got
into Morelli's SUV, Maer said. He then took the Sheriff's Department vehicle on
a joyride, ditching it on Braun Street in Paterson, Maer said.
Maer said the Sheriff's Department responded immediately to the theft and
arrested Rosado at Main and Washington streets 20 minutes after he allegedly
took the Expedition.
Rosado was charged with various counts of theft and possession of stolen
materials and equipment stemming from the theft of the Expedition, Maer said.
Additional charges may be forthcoming, authorities said.
Maer said that the department had no established policy against leaving a car
running while the occupant steps out. He also said he could not recall any other
vehicle that had been stolen from the Sheriff's Department.
The workshop provides construction and trades jobs for jail inmates, he said.
The Ford Expedition was not among the most popular vehicles chosen by thieves,
according to the Smart Motorist Web site. Hondas and Toyotas top the list.