Nutley Package Theft Arrest Means New Deployment Tactics Are Working: Police Director

NUTLEY, NJ — Nutley police have arrested a pair of Newark residents suspected of stealing more than 30 packages from locations throughout town, a sign that the department’s new deployment tactics are working, authorities say.

According to a Nutley Police Department news release sent on Wednesday, the township has recently seen a “high volume of package thefts” from residents’ homes.

On Wednesday, police received a call around 2 p.m. from a local resident about a stolen package. Undercover detectives stopped a silver 2010 Mazda SUV on Hopper Avenue, finding the vehicle “full of shipping packages,” authorities said.

Officers found the two Newark residents - Mauricio Guaman, 33, and Grace Cardenas, 33 – in possession of more than 30 packages that allegedly didn’t belong to them, police said.

Authorities charged Guaman and Cardenas with third-degree theft and released them pending a court appearance.

Nutley Police Director Alphonse Petracco said that the arrest is a “classic example of deploying officers at a time and place where crime was occurring.”

“We have implemented a program that identifies, crime trends and directs manpower to the areas projected,” Petracco said. “Last week we deployed undercover officers to area locations identified as probable targets, which resulted in four arrests with actors possessing over $6,000 worth of goods from a shoplifting spree.”

It’s an example of the department’s attempt to “work smarter,” Petracco said.

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