YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A Passaic man who led police on a daylong manhunt after crashing a van following a domestic dispute was charged with carjacking today by Garfield police, who revealed new details of the crime.
Dexter Mouzone, 47, already was being held on trespassing and resisting arrest charges after Garfield police found him hiding in an attic after breaking into a Palisade Avenue apartment yesterday.
Today, Garfield police added the carjacking charge, which boosted his bail to $150,000.
Mouzone got into the passenger door of a Cambridge Avenue resident and pushed him, trying to take his keys, moments after he crashed a van on nearby River Drive and Summit Street, Detective Capt. Darren Sucorowski said tonight.
Passaic police said they chased Mouzone into Garfield after they responded to a domestic violence incident and he took off around 8 a.m. yesterday.
To that point, Mouzone was last seen on Hepworth Place, east of Cambridge Avenue, near where he was eventually found.
A nearby elementary school remained on lockdown for nearly six hours and law enforcement officers from several different agencies broke down a perimeter when a uniformed sergeant was approached by the tenant whose apartment Mouzone was found in.
READ: Garfield woman leads police to carjack suspect hiding in attic