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BY TOM CLANCEY
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—A suspect in the Sept. 29 Rita’s Ice store robbery in Englewood—when a knife-wielding man scuffled with the West Palisade Avenue store’s owner and stole cash—was arrested after he allegedly stole a car Nov. 5 and led cops on a brief chase, before they noticed his similarity to the perpetrator captured on video surveillance.
John Terrell Wiley, 33, of Englewood, was arrested Nov. 5 and is facing charges of first degree armed robbery, second degree fleeing and eluding police in a motor vehicle, aggravated assault on a police officer and two counts of third degree auto theft, said Englewood Detective Capt. Timothy Torell.
Wiley was captured after he allegedly took off in a 2018 Grand Cherokee that another Englewood resident left running and unlocked near West Palisade Avenue on Nov. 5 at 9:35 a.m., Torell said. With the victim immediately calling police, Officer Jerel Hammond soon spotted the vehicle parked and running on Columbus Avenue, less than a mile from where it was stolen, Torell said.
Hammond approached the vehicle—that’s when a male driver hit the gas, “causing Officer Hammond to have to jump out of the way to avoid being struck,” Torell said.
After the stolen vehicle initially eluded pursuing police units, it struck curbing and wires, and the suspect jumped from the Jeep and fled on foot behind some homes, Torell said. Lt. Matthew DeLaRosa arrested Wiley near Mackay Park; a hat and coat Wiley had been wearing at the time of the theft was located by Sgt. Oscar Hernandez hidden behind a home a short distance from the crash scene, Torell said.
With Wiley in custody, Patrol Officer Bill Regitz recognized his resemblance to the assailant in the Rita’s Ice armed robbery, and he was turned over to detectives for further investigation, said Torell.
“As a result, through a combination of area security system footage, witness statements, physical evidence, along with statements Wiley made himself to both patrol officers and detectives during his arrest, a search warrant was conducted on an residence in the King Gardens apartment complex” that Wiley had been staying at recently, said Torell.
During the search, a scarf used in both the Rita’s and a Jan. 30 armed robbery at 7-Eleven was recovered, Torell said.
“This was a classic example of excellent police work by the different divisions within our department and a true testament to the dedication of the officers serving the Englewood community,” said Torell.
Charges stem from four incidents in 2018
Wiley is facing charges related to the alleged car theft and subsequent police chase on Nov. 5, and from the Sept. 29 Rita’s Ice store robbery.
The two other incidents Torell described to Northern Valley Press occurred on Jan. 30 and April 25.
Torell said on Jan. 30 an unknown assailant committed armed robbery at the 7-Eleven on West Palisade Avenue and Tenafly Road in the city’s central business district. The assailant was caught on video “calmly walking alone on the east side of Bennett Road,” crossing West Palisade Avenue, then bursting into the convenience store armed with what appeared to be a handgun, Torell said. The assailant jumped the counter, grabbed a store clerk and forced him to open the register, talking off running—wearing a distinctive scarf—with several hundred dollars, Torell said.
The April 25 incident saw an unknown assailant get into a unattended running vehicle on West Palisade Avenue and take off with the car and over $1,500 worth of valuables, Torell said. The car was later recovered in Queens, N.Y., by the New York Police Department, but the property was not recovered.
“Altogether, Detectives charged Wiley in all four incidents and the case will be forwarded to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office for further disposition,” said Torell.
Wiley, who is also charged with a series of weapons-related offenses, has significant ties to both Queens, N.Y., and Chicago, said Torell. He’s being held at the Bergen County Jail awaiting a detention hearing in Central Judicial Processing Court.