Hackensack, NJ – Teen Girl Arrested in Bloomberg’s Car Theft

Hackensack, NJ – Police have arrested a 17-year-old girl involved in the assault on one of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s personal employees and carjacking.

A male suspect is still at large, according to Capt. Frank Lomia of the police department in Hackensack, New Jersey, where the carjacking took place Wednesday morning.    A member of Bloomberg’s personal staff, Gradimir Bosnjak, was beaten and forced out of the mayor’s Lexus while parked in the car, waiting to pick up another employee.
Police say the girl approached Bosnjak’s window, and moments later the male jumped into the passenger seat and punched him in the face.    After a scuffle, the pair of carjackers then sped away. Police found the vehicle about two hours later, abandoned in nearby Fair Lawn.    The girl, whose name was not released because she is a juvenile, was described as a recent runaway from her home in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Police said she had been reported missing days earlier.    She is said to be cooperating with the investigation and was charged with aggravated assault and carjacking last night.

The teen was also charged with theft because a briefcase, cell phone and digital camera belonging to Bloomberg’s employee are still missing.    Lomia said Friday that the suspects initially approached Bosnjak because they needed money to get to Paterson, New Jersey, where they were staying, but then decided to steal the car.    The mayor’s spokesman today said the mayor thanks the Hackensack Police Department for their hard work.