A simple traffic violation in Tenafly turned into a motorcycle chase and then manhunt for a Hackensack man. The search extended into the backyards of Cresskill homes, police said, before the 22-year-old man was captured.
Police arrested Dean Woodfrinch, of Hackensack, on charges of eluding police, resisting arrest, aggravated assault on a police officer, burglary and 15 other counts of motor vehicle violations.
Riding a black motorcycle, the suspect sped away from Tenafly police during a motor vehicle stop Aug. 1 at about 5:30 p.m. The suspect was headed west on Columbus Avenue toward Knickerbocker Road.
"As we came around the [Merritt Memorial] Monument, I observed a black motorcycle being operated by a black male stopped on the side of Knickerbocker Road south of Pershing Place," Cresskill Patrolman Charles Franke said.
Franke and Patrolman Seth Grubecki managed to get within 30 feet of the stopped suspect. But the biker, who appeared to be fixing his motorcycle on the side of the road, jumped on the vehicle to take off again.
The suspect charged at Franke’s vehicle, nearly striking the car in the process. He then made a sharp right turn headed east on Pershing Place.
Police pursued the suspect until 10th Street, when the biker dumped his motorcycle and began running through yards.
For a few moments, officers lost track of the suspect until a 6th Street resident alerted police on foot that the suspect was attempting to hide in a neighbor’s garage.
Police surrounded the garage, which caused the suspect to flee and run toward the front yard.
The suspect then assaulted one Dumont officer who tried to stop him, police said. Other officers then tackled the suspect to the ground and handcuffed him, Franke said.
The injured officer was taken to Englewood Medical Center for a separated shoulder.
Responding police included Tenafly, Demarest, Cresskill, Haworth, Dumont, Closter, Bergenfield, Alpine and Bergen County police departments.
Woodfrinch was taken to the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack. Bail was set at $100,000.
