Police Chase Down Alleged CVS Shoplifter for Second Consecutive Month

For the second straight month, Fair Lawn officers chased down a Garfield man who had shoplifted hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from the River Road CVS, police said.

Cops caught up with Shawn Bunch, 39, on East 18th Street in Paterson after he fled the CVS on foot with over $200 of stolen deodorant on April 20, Sgt. Brian Metzler said. Bunch, who was also allegedly found with two Home Depot credit cards not in his name that were tied to an earlier burglary in Paterson, was charged with shoplifting, eluding, contempt of court, trespassing and receiving stolen property.

Bunch, whom police said has racked up 41 arrests and 21 felony convictions to date, was also wanted in Clifton and Paterson municipal courts on shoplifting charges, Metzler said.

Officer Sean Macys, who chased Bunch to a Paterson backyard in the April 20 incident where he was ultimately found hiding underneath a set of steps, said he also chased — and eventually caught — Bunch following a theft from CVS during a snowstorm last month.

In the March incident, Macys said he responded to the CVS on a report of an active shoplifter and found Bunch still in the store. When Bunch saw Macys, he made a break for it, dumping some of the proceeds he had accumulated as he ran, the officer said.

“I chased him all the way across the parking lot, across River Road by Lucky’s Steak House, where I tackled him and handcuffed him,” Macys said.

The March incident was considered a third-degree offense because Bunch had taken $625 worth of merchandise, Macys said.

Bunch remains in Bergen County Jail in lieu of bail, according to prison records.

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