While on routine patrol, Officer J. Schwarz observed a vehicle that is routinely operated by a known shoplifter, that was parked in a parking lot near a local grocery store. The suspect, a 48-year-old male from Westwood, NJ, was observed pushing a grocery cart full of items which were being stored freely in the cart instead of the reusable shopping bags that he had present, through the parking lot to his vehicle.  The officer got in contact with the store’s Loss Prevention who confirmed the defendant shoplifting $256 of miscellaneous grocery items. The absentee defendant was charged by Officer Schwarz for Shoplifting (4th Deg.) with a mandatory court appearance date in the Central Judicial Processing (CJP) Court in Hackensack. 
**A charge is not a conviction. All persons are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Charges can be amended or dismissed **