MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, Chief of Detectives Christoph Kimker, Morris County Sheriff James Gannon, Hanover Township Police Chief Michael Loock, and Parsippany-Troy Hills Acting Police Chief Richard Pantina announce the guilty pleas of Isaac Zackery-Barnes, 24, Newark.
On September 22, 2020, a Hanover Township Police Officer initiated a pursuit of Zackery-Barnes, after Zackery-Barnes failed to yield to the officer’s commands to stop driving what later turned out to be a stolen motor vehicle from Nutley, Essex County. Zackery-Barnes created a risk of injury or death when he fled the scene, having swerved between lanes of traffic. At times he traveled on the wrong side of the roadway, ran a red light, left the roadway, hit a curb, all before continuing to an on-ramp to Route 287, where two tires were subsequently blown out as a result of his dangerous conduct. The pursuit ultimately terminated in Parsippany-Troy Hills, and the defendant was arrested following a short investigation.
Following the arrest of Zackery-Barnes, members of the Hanover Township Police Department reached out to members of the Morris County Auto Theft Task Force to assist with the investigation, and to coordinate with agencies from neighboring counties, as this investigation involved a stolen motor vehicle.
On November 17, 2021, the Honorable Stephen J. Taylor, P.J.Cr., accepted Zackery-Barnes’ pleas of guilt to second-degree eluding a police officer, and third-degree receiving stolen property, for operating the stolen vehicle during the police pursuit. The State is recommending that Zackery-Barnes be sentenced to ten years in prison on the eluding charge and five years concurrent in prison on the receiving stolen property charge. Barnes also agreed to pay restitution to the victim. Zackery-Barnes is scheduled for sentencing on January 6, 2022.
This resolution was the result of excellent police work by the Hanover Township Police Department, the Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department, the Morris County Auto Theft Task Force, and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Intelligence Unit.
The prosecution of this matter was handled by Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Kelly of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Special Operation’s Division and Sgt. Thomas Joiner, who directly supervises the County Auto Theft Task Force. The ATTF was formed in 2019 to combat the growing number of motor vehicle thefts in Morris County.
