Paterson teens charged in lodi carjacking after months-long investigation — Police light, crime scene - Stock photo.

LODI, N.J. — Authorities have arrested an 18-year-old Paterson man and a 17-year-old juvenile from Passaic County in connection with a March carjacking incident in Lodi, officials announced Wednesday.

According to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella, Davon White and the juvenile face multiple charges following a joint investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Lodi Police Department. The incident took place on March 12 at approximately 10 p.m. outside a commercial business on Route 46 West.

Investigators said the victim was alerted by witnesses that his vehicle was being stolen. The victim ran out of the business and jumped on the hood of the car as it sat at a red light. When the light turned green, the car continued driving with the victim still on the hood. Shortly after, the victim fell off and the suspects fled with the stolen vehicle.

Following the incident, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad launched a three-month investigation in coordination with Lodi police. With assistance from the Paterson Police Department, authorities recovered the stolen vehicle and identified White and the juvenile as the suspects.

Charges filed against both suspects

On June 6, detectives took the 17-year-old juvenile into custody. The juvenile was charged with first-degree carjacking, second-degree robbery, and third-degree theft by unlawful taking, among other offenses. The juvenile remains in a detention center pending court proceedings.

Later that same day, White, who was already being held at the Bergen County Jail on unrelated charges, was served with new charges connected to the carjacking. These include first-degree carjacking, first-degree use of a juvenile to commit a crime, second-degree robbery, third-degree theft by unlawful taking, and third-degree altering a motor vehicle.

Both suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty, Prosecutor Musella emphasized.

Authorities credited multiple agencies, including the Lodi, Paterson, and Haledon police departments, as well as the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, for their cooperation in the investigation.

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