Serial NJ porch pirate found hiding under trash in dumpster, cops say

🔴 NJ man arrested again for theft

🔴 A crossing guard saw him taking packages

🔴 He was also recently arrested in Garfield

LYNDHURST — A Garfield man has been arrested for theft again.

Jaquiece Shaddeer Smith has a long history with law enforcement going back at least a decade. He was most recently arrested for stealing packages from porches in Lyndhurst, police said.

A school crossing guard saw him steal one package shortly before 3 p.m. on Jan. 24 and used his radio to contact police, according to Det. Lt. Vincent Auteri and first reported by the Daily Voice.

Chief Richard Jarvis Jr. was nearby and went up to Smith. He sprinted away and left the stolen packages behind, Auteri said.

Officers said they soon found Smith in a dumpster; he was hiding underneath the trash.

He was charged with two counts of third-degree theft for incidents on Jan. 17 and Jan. 24, according to Bergen County Jail records.

Smith has been arrested at least twelve times since 2014, records showed. He has not been released since his most recent arrest on Jan. 24.

"Serial package thief" arrested in Garfield

Smith was arrested on Jan. 2 for a series of thefts throughout Garfield around the busy Christmas holiday season, police said.

Investigators tied Smith to eight separate package thefts between Nov. 18 and Dec. 30, 2023.

Video surveillance showed Smith wearing a black NFL teams logo varsity jacket and yellow Nike sneakers at each theft, police said.

Smith was released on Jan. 10 and arrested again two weeks later.

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