A man riding a stolen e-scooter was busted with cocaine, mushrooms, and burglary tools after he failed to obey a traffic stop in Guttenberg, police said.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Yesterday at about 4:33 p.m., Police Officer Marc Greenwood, of the Guttenberg Police Department’s Patrol Division, attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop for a male driving a scooter who committed various motor vehicle violations, according to Police Lt. Aleksandar Ramadanovic.
The male on the scooter failed to stop and eluded Greenwood, driving into North Bergen.
As a result, the Guttenberg PD relayed this information to our surrounding jurisdictions and we were quickly notified by the North Bergen Police Department that they had located the scooter we attempted to stop.
Members of the Guttenberg PD Patrol Division and Criminal Investigations Bureau immediately responded. Our officers then uncovered that the scooter was stolen from Jersey City.
Given the location of the scooter in proximity to the surrounding area near 70th Street and Bergenwood Avenue, a perimeter security was quickly established, during which officers discovered a backpack and shoes on a nearby rooftop.
Then, a vacant property near the belongings found was observed to have a broken window, leading our officers to believe the suspect had entered that property.
With the assistance of K-9 officers from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, our officers and detectives began methodically clearing the vacant property, where they located and arrested Felix R. Astacio-Leon, 29, of Jersey City.
He was confirmed to be the driver of the stolen scooter.
A subsequent search incident to his arrest led to the recovery of several capsules containing a white powdery substance, believed to be cocaine, psilocybin (mushrooms), as well as burglary tools.
Astacio-Leon was then transported to the Guttenberg Police Department for his arrest processing, where he was charged with receiving a stolen motor vehicle, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, eluding, possession of burglary tools, and possession of psilocybin.
Upon the completion of his arrest processing, Astacio-Leon was issued his complaint warrant, various summonses for traffic violations, and then lodged in the Hudson County Correctional Center.
“I would like to thank my officers and detectives for relentlessly pursuing criminal offenders, who continue to pose risks to our community,” added Chief Frank Pelaez.
“I would also like to thank the North Bergen Police Department and the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office for assisting us with this investigation and providing us the necessary resources to bring this incident to a safe resolution.”
If anyone has any information pertaining to this incident, they are encouraged to contact the Guttenberg Police Department at 201-868-3300 or email: Lt. Steven Diaz at sdiaz@guttenbergpolice.org or Det. Sgt. Marcin at Rysiec mrysiec@guttenbergpolice.org.
