Around 7:08 PM on January 17, 2025, Officers Nicholas Squillaci and Andres Segovia with the Elmwood Park Police Department responded to a report of a shoplifting at the ShopRite (180 Broadway). Officer Squillaci first arrived on scene and made contact with store employees inside the loss prevention office. He was informed that they only scanned a portion of the merchandise in their shopping cart before attempting to leave with additional unpaid merchandise. Once they were apprehended at the entrance, they were detained by store security until the police arrived. The alleged shoplifters did not have any identification, but they were eventually identified as 19-year-old Bryannah Ponce-Pena and 19-year-old Ziara Matute. The items they attempted to steal included spaghetti, sauce, and avocados. The total value of items that Ziara and Bryannah attempted to steal was determined to be $137.77. After the officers gathered additional information from store employees, both Ziara and Bryannah were placed under arrest. Each alleged shoplifter was transported separately to the Elmwood Park Police Department for further processing. Ziara and Bryannah were each charged with shoplifting under 2C:20-11B(5) and eventually released with summonses pending their court appearances. Court records indicate that on March 18, 2025, Ziara and Bryannah both pleaded guilty to shoplifting. As a result of their guilty pleas, each individual was fined a total of $483, with the possibility of conditional dismissal after 12 months. ---------------------------------------------- Please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and consider supporting this channel (email us for more information). Our content is shared for educational and news gathering purposes. We are in compliance with YouTube's Fair Use Policy because we edit several long clips into a concise story. This is similar to other law enforcement channels on YouTube. All videos and case documents were obtained pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (P.L. 2024, c.16). Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty. The New Jersey Supreme Court has previously affirmed in Salzano v. North Jersey Media Group, 993 A.2d 778 (2010) that “The fair-report privilege reflects the judgment that the need, in a self-governing society, for free-flowing information about matters of public interest outweighs concerns over the uncompensated injury to a person's reputation.” This video advances a compelling public interest. The summary of events was based on records that are “open to public view through open access to public records” as defined in the Salzano case. In Ramos v. Flowers, 429 N.J. Super. 13, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court has also affirmed the right to film law enforcement interactions.

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