Old Jail Annex, Underground Tunnels to be Secured

K. Hovnanian, developers of the old Essex County Jail Annex, told North Caldwell officials this week that steps will be taken to secure the entrance to an underground tunnel and any openings to the buildings following the latest trespassing incident that resulted in a borough officer being injured last week.

"We just asked them to expedite the demolition and they said they were going to move forward and start the process to get it removed as soon as possible," Deuer said of the Tuesday meeting.

"Myself, the fire chief and the borough engineer are meeting on Wednesday to do an inspection of the site," Deuer said, adding that they will develop a plan to secure the site.

Deuer initiated the meeting following an incident at the old jail last Friday evening in which Officer Charles Krueser fractured his ankle while searching for four individuals who were trespassing.

Marcel Grosz, 20, and two juveniles were arrested and released when they made bail that night. The fourth suspect, Seth Dupree, 22, turned himself into the North Caldwell Police Wednesday morning, Deuer said.

The four suspects, all from Bloomfield, were each charged with burglary, criminal mischief, trespassing and assault on a police officer by causing injury, Deuer said.

The suspects allegedly entered the abandoned jail through a hole in one of the walls, Deuer said. A security guard, who patrols the property, noticed flashlights in the building and notified police.

Grosz and one of the minors, who is a male, were apprehended after North Caldwell, Verona and Essex Fells police entered the building to search for them when the individuals refused to come out willingly, Deuer said.

A  juvenile female and Dupree escaped through one of the tunnels that used to connect the jail to the old hospital buildings on the Hilltop property in Cedar Grove, Deuer said. 

The girl was apprehended at a relative's home in Glen Ridge Saturday morning at about 1:30 a.m., Deuer said. 

A warrant for Dupree's arrest was issued before he surrendered this week, Deuer said.

K. Hovnanian could not be reached for comment.