Jersey City men busted for shoplifting after citizens followed them
Jersey City NJ May 14 2017 A pair of Jersey City men were busted for shoplifting Tuesday at Newport Centre mall after a traffic cop spotted one of them with stolen merchandise under his jacket, police said.
At about 10:30 a.m., a Port Authority police officer was directing traffic at Marin Boulevard and 12th Street when two pedestrians told the officer that two shoplifting suspects were at Marin Boulevard and 10th Street, Port Authority police spokesman Joe Pentangelo said.
The witness reported that the suspects left the mall with merchandise under their jackets that still had price tags attached. The officer then found one of the suspects taking clothing out from under his jacket and try to hide it beneath a vehicle at the corner of Pavonia and Erie streets, Pentangelo said.
The man was placed under arrested and Sears personnel verified he and another man were spotted on surveillance video shoplifting the merchandise, Pentangelo said.
Melvin Jones, 43, of Rutgers Avenue, and Timothy Smith, 36, of Bergen Avenue, were then arrested and charged with theft following the incident.
Pentangelo said the pair stole $473 worth of athletic clothes, which was all recovered by police.
