Cliffside PD: Essex Man Caught Trying To Cash Bogus Check After Parking Illegally Outside Bank

Police Officer Steve Mantilla had a feeling something wasn't right when he spotted the Mercedes C-Class in a frequently-violated no-parking zone in front of the Wells Fargo Bank on Anderson Avenue, Deputy Police Chief Vincent Capano said.

Mantilla ran the license plate and discovered an alert for the sedan after its driver eluded State Police, Capano said.

Charles C. Okeke, 19, of East Orange emerged from the bank and approached Mantilla, who brought him back inside and learned that he'd just tried to cash a fraudulent check for $8,988.93, the deputy chief said.

Okeke -- who was also wanted on a warrant out of Greenwich, CT -- struggled when backups arrived and helped take him into custody, Capano said.

He was charged with resisting arrest and various counts involving the bum check, then sent to the Bergen County Jail, where he remained Wednesday, April 6, Capano said.

The incident comes two weeks after an ID thief left a car containing a loaded gun and $71,000 in cash parked outside another Cliffside Park bank as he, too, tried to cash a bogus check (SEE: $71K, Gun Found In Illegally Parked Car As ID Thief Tries To Cash Bum Check).

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