Cranford Police Recover Stolen Weapons

In the early morning hours of May 7, the responded to a Hickory Street address on the report of a residential burglary. During the course of the burglary, seven firearms, ammunition and various personal belongings were stolen from the home.

Detective Ryan Greco processed the crime scene and was successful in collecting physical evidence that would prove critical in identifying the actors. While Cranford Detectives were investigating the case, the Belleville and Nutley Police Departments assisted with a break in the case.

On the evening of May 8, the Belleville and Nutley Police pursued a vehicle that had been carjacked in East Orange on May 5. The suspects were wanted in connection with a string of armed robberies with a shotgun, a second attempted carjacking, and burglaries from motor vehicles in both Belleville and Nutley. The pursuit ended after the vehicle crashed in Belleville. A foot pursuit
ensued and the two suspects, Yusuf Shark, 19 and Devon Bailey, 20, both from East Orange, were apprehended. A .45 caliber handgun and a shotgun were recovered inside the carjacked vehicle. The weapons were two of the seven taken from the residential burglary in Cranford.

Cranford Police Detective Greco developed information through his investigation that the proceeds of the burglary, including the five missing weapons and ammunition were being stored at a Shepard Avenue address in East Orange. On May 10, Cranford and East Orange Police Detectives executed a search warrant at the East Orange location and recovered the remaining five firearms, the ammunition and most of the victim’s stolen personal items.

Both Shark and Bailey have numerous charges now pending in Belleville, Nutley, and East Orange, and are the focus of active investigations in several other jurisdictions. In Cranford, the pair are charged with burglary, theft, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes. Both Shark and Bailey are being held in the Essex County Jail pending a New Jersey Superior Court date in Union County. They are each being held on $100,000 Bail with no 10 percent for the Cranford charges.

“It took only hours for these stolen weapons to be used in multiple violent crimes; however, through the swift and diligent work of the Cranford Police
Department’s Investigative Division these suspects were apprehended and all the guns recovered," Cranford Police Chief Eric G. Mason said. "The inter-agency cooperation between Cranford and the Nutley and Belleville Police Departments was instrumental in resolving this case and ensuring that no one else fell victim to their crime spree."

This information was obtained from the Cranford Police Department. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.

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