Police arrested and charged two suspects after a joint investigation between the Bloomfield and West Orange Police Departments connected with 40 tire and rim thefts that occurred throughout the county.
Police said Mr. Wadner Ettienne and Ms. Shantau Brown of West Orange were each charged with two counts of theft and one count of conspiracy.
"The Bloomfield Police Department continues to do exceptional work and I am grateful for their dedication in catching these suspects," said Mayor Michael Venezia.
"It is important that we get criminals off the streets so that our residents can feel safe and know that their property is safe. I'd also like to thank the West Orange Police Department for their assistance in this case."
“I would like to thank Lt. Polidoro, Detective Cordi and the West Orange Police Department for working together to put an end to this investigation,” said Bloomfield Public Safety Director Samuel DeMaio.
“The suspects are responsible for thefts in our township as well as other towns throughout the county. We are making it clear that if you break the law, we will find you and there will be consequences. We will keep our residents and their property safe.”
Bloomfield Lt. Nicholas Polidoro and Detective Salvatore Cordi were assigned to investigate the tire and rim thefts that had occurred in Essex County, at which time they teamed up with West Orange Police Detectives Giovanni Loreto, Lt. John Demars, Sgt. Dennis Mccole, Detectives Daniel Valle and Ryan Funk.
“Our partnership with Bloomfield Public Safety has resulted in two alleged criminals being taken off the streets, putting an end to these thefts in our neighborhood,” said West Orange Police Chief James Abbott.
“These partnerships with local police departments allow us to share information and work together to make our communities safer. We will continue to look for ways to more effectively and efficiently root out crime in West Orange.”
After the two departments shared information, search warrants were issued for the two suspects who resided at 18 Kling St. in West Orange.
Police said on January 15 at 3:00 am, the search warrants were executed and evidence was retrieved.
The two arrestees were transported to the Essex County Correctional Facility after being processed by Bloomfield Public Safety.