Man Arrested for Stealing Purse from St. Catherine’s Church Parking Lot
CEDAR GROVE, NJ – An Irvington man was arrested in connection with a purse stolen from St. Catherine of Siena Church parking lot earlier this month.
On Oct. 1, police took a report of the theft of a purse — the victim left her purse in a locked vehicle while walking her child to school. According to police reports, detectives obtained video of the theft from a local business near the church. In addition, shortly after the theft there was an unsuccessful attempt to use the victim’s credit card in Newark, NJ, which provided more video footage of the suspect.
Using the business’ video, police identified the suspect’s vehicle — a lettered company vehicle. The suspect, Michael Reid, 25, was a company employee. Further investigation, revealed that Edison Police had experienced a similar incident in their jurisdiction involving Reid.
The Essex County Prosecutor’s office authorized burglary and theft charges for Cedar Grove police and a detective attempted to arrest Reid on Oct. 3 at a home in East Orange. A brief foot pursuit ensued after Reid fled from his moving vehicle, eluding police.
The prosecutor’s office authorized additional charges of resisting arrest and criminal mischief, and Reid was entered into the National Criminal Information Computer System as a wanted person. According to police reports, Reid turned himself in to East Orange police on Wednesday and was take to Essex County Jail to await a bail hearing. The Village of South Orange Police also have an interest in Reid regarding similar incident(s) in their jurisdiction.
“I would like congratulate the Cedar Grove entire detective bureau on the successful outcome of the case, noting their perseverance and professionalism,” said Chief Joseph Cirasa.
Det. John Smigelsky was the lead investigator in this case.