On September 28th at approximately 5pm, Ptl. Raymond Cassella received a SPEN radio broadcast from Montclair Police reporting that they had broken off a pursuit of a Dodge Ram pickup truck that was reported stolen from Belleville. The vehicle was last seen entering Cedar Grove in the area of East Bradford Avenue. Ptl. Cassella located the vehicle on the border of Verona. He attempted to stop the vehicle, at which point the operator sped away eluding him. Ptl. Cassella briefly pursued the vehicle, however the pursuit was then terminated due to public safety. A short time later, West Caldwell Police reported that they had located the vehicle abandoned on the side of the road as well as a female nearby matching Ptl. Cassella’s description of the operator. Ptl. Cassella responded to West Caldwell and placed the driver under arrest. She was later identified as Vanessa Shaarawy, a 36-year-old female from Kearny. At the time of her arrest, she was in possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia. She also had an outstanding warrant from the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. Additionally, Shaarawy was in possession of jewelry that was determined to be proceeds from a vehicle burglary in Dunnellen, NJ. She was charged with numerous offenses including receiving stolen property, eluding and reckless driving. The stolen vehicle and jewelry were both returned to their respective owners. Shaarawy was transported to the Essex County Jail.
