KEARNY, NJ — A man accused of repeat shoplifting ran over a police officer while fleeing the scene in a vehicle last month, sparking a multi-agency search that ended with his arrest in Newark, the Kearny Police Department announced Thursday.

On March 28, 2025, officers responded to a shoplifting call at the Passaic Avenue Shopping Plaza, where a suspect was seen loading garbage bags full of merchandise into a vehicle parked in a fire lane. When police confronted him, the man refused to stop and a physical struggle followed.

During the attempted arrest, the suspect allegedly accelerated and struck the officer with his vehicle before fleeing over the Clay Street Bridge into Newark. The officer was hospitalized with injuries later determined to be non-life-threatening.

Several hours later, the Newark Police Department located the suspect’s vehicle in the Clinton Hill neighborhood. The car was seized, and the suspect was arrested and returned to Kearny.

Suspect faces multiple charges

Ashod R. Holt, 28, of East Orange, was identified as the driver. He faces an extensive list of charges including robbery, eluding, three counts of aggravated assault, assault by auto, and shoplifting. Additional offenses include causing injury while driving with a suspended license, endangering another person, and eight traffic violations.

The vehicle’s owner was also charged for allowing Holt, a revoked-license driver, to operate the car. Holt was transported to the Hudson County Correctional Center, and police executed a search warrant on the vehicle, recovering evidence linking him to the incident.

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