WAYNE, N.J. – A North Carolina man was arrested early Monday morning after officers found him inside a stolen vehicle parked outside a local electronics store, according to the Wayne Police Department.
The incident occurred around 1:12 a.m. on September 9, 2025, when Officer Nicole Mott noticed a Genesis G70 parked outside PC Richards—a car that hadn’t been there earlier when the store was open.
Officer Mott’s patrol car’s automatic license plate reader flagged the vehicle as stolen out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. She called for backup, and Officers Steven Martell and Maciej Wesolowski responded to assist.
Upon confirming the stolen status through Wayne Police Headquarters, officers approached the car and found a man inside. He was ordered to exit the vehicle and was placed under arrest.
A search of the car uncovered a large amount of jewelry and a credit card that did not belong to the suspect. Police say the man admitted to taking the running vehicle and attempting to use the stolen credit card.
The suspect was identified as Ricardo D. Cousins, 31, of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He has been charged with:
Theft of a motor vehicle
Receiving stolen property
Credit card fraud
Additionally, police discovered multiple active arrest warrants for Cousins from Atlantic County, Atlantic City, and Parsippany, New Jersey.
He was transported to the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office Jail Intake Hub for processing.
