Man Charged With Stolen Car After Secaucus Police Create 'Power Shift'

SECAUCUS, NJ — At 8:02 p.m. Tuesday night, Oct. 24, Police Officer Justin Machno was patrolling the area of the Extended Stay hotel at 1 Meadowland Parkway. While on patrol, he observed an occupied Chevy pick-up idling in the parking lot. After discovering the pick-up truck had been reported stolen earlier in the day from Warwick, Rhode Island, its driver Haashim Bee, 38, of Providence, Rhode Island was placed under arrest.

Bee was charged Receiving a Stolen Vehicle [2C:20-10.2a]. He also was found to have an active warrant for his arrest from Hanover, NJ with a bail in the amount of $2,500. After posting bail, he was released with a requirement to appear in court.

This comes after another incident last Tuesday, Oct. 17: At 2:47 a.m. Police Officer Jude Masullo, while on patrol in the area of 24 Meadowlands Parkway, observed a man loading a piece of construction equipment onto a trailer that was attached to his pick-up truck.

This is a lot that is currently abandoned.

Once the man saw the patrol car, he fled the area in his car. Behind the building, Masullo located two stolen construction vehicles and trailers, which were stolen during the month of October.

No arrests were made in that case; his car was not pursued by police and that investigation is ongoing. Police did not say if the two cases are connected. However, both involved a pick-up truck.

Police Chief Dennis Miller said the two incidents, and the one arrest, were the result of extra police officers added to what he calls the "Power Shift."

"Secaucus Mayor Gonnelli and the town Council have been extremely supportive of my requests to hire additional police officers to expand our ranks. In lieu of adding manpower to our specialized units, the 'Power Shift' was created to supplement manpower in the Patrol Division, which is the backbone of any police department," said Chief Miller. "Patrolmen assigned to the 'Power Shift' overlap the evening and night shifts and focus on proactive policing during the times when crime is more prevalent."

"The members of 'Power Shift' have already proven to be successful by making numerous arrests thus far and interrupting criminal activity that was afoot," he said. "I am proud of the Power Shift’s results thus far, but the two cases detailed herein are only a representative examples of how hard they work and I am thankful for their dedication.”

Both cases are still ongoing and additional arrests will follow, said Secaucus Miller.