Cops: Woman May Be Part of Crime Ring

Police say a woman they arrested after she tried to cash a stolen check Monday is part of a larger ring.

After a car chase, the woman was found with property stolen from cars throughout New Jersey, with counterfiet plates on the vehicle she was diving, said Detective Bruce Rapp of the

Tracy Deperna, 27, of Oakland, FL faces multiple charges after trying to evade police, Rapp said.

Deperna had tried to cash a stolen check in the amount of $1,960 using stolen I.D., at the in Morris Township, Rapp said. But a suspicious teller refused the transaction, and Deperna traveled to Morris Plains and attempted to cash the check at the TD Bank on Speedwell Avenue, he said.

The teller, having been alerted to the incident at the other branch, recognized the woman and the vehicle that pulled up to the drive-in window, Rapp said. The teller called the police and told Deperna that, because of the size of the check, she would have to come inside to complete the transaction, he said.

Deperna then fled the scene, but was spotted on Mountain Way by Ptl. Jeffrey Hochman, who was responding to the bank's call, Rapp said. Hochman gave chase, eventually bringing the car to a stop on West Hanover Avenue near North Star Drive in Morris Township, Rapp said

Deperna was taken into custody and charged with providing false government identification, identity theft and impersonation, theft, eluding police, obstruction of law, possessing prescription narcotics, receiving stolen property, possessing prescription drugs not in the container it was dispensed in, failure to stop at a stop sign, careless driving, failure to keep right at an intersection, reckless driving, unsafe lane change, improper passing, failure to stop for a police vehicle, driving while suspended and counterfeit plates. Other charges are pending, police said.

It wasn't immediately clear from information provided by police why Deperna is suspected of being part of a larger organization, but police said items found in her vehicle came from break-ins throughout New Jersey, including elsewhere in Morris County. They said she may be part of a ring operating throughout the East Coast.

Deperna was taken to the Morris County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail, police said.

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