Hackensack police say a man dragged a woman into a vehicle by her hair not once, but twice, during an argument that ended with officers tracking the pair down at a home on Berdan Place. The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Tevin Stephenson of Hackensack, now faces kidnapping and robbery charges and is being held at the Bergen County Jail.
According to Daily Voice, officers responded to the 200 block of Central Avenue on Sunday, Nov. 8, after receiving a report of a man dragging a woman into a vehicle by her hair. Hackensack Deputy Police Chief Gregory Zisa said multiple witnesses described a dispute that ended with the woman being forced into the vehicle.
Investigators determined the woman had been forced into the vehicle at two separate locations and taken to different places during an ongoing argument, per the same account from Zisa. The investigation eventually led officers to a home on Berdan Place, where they found the woman along with Stephenson.
Phone Grabbed Mid-Call for Help
As the confrontation unfolded, Stephenson allegedly took the woman's phone while she was attempting to contact police, the report notes. Police said Stephenson and the woman knew each other and that the incident was not random.
Stephenson was charged with kidnapping and robbery and remanded to the Bergen County Jail, the station reported. The evidence provided does not indicate the current status of those charges or further detail about the woman's condition.
A Record of Past Charges
Court records cited in the report show this is not Stephenson's first run-in with law enforcement in Bergen County. He was previously charged with resisting arrest in Hackensack in October 2013, and in March 2023 he was charged in Hackensack with driving while his license or registration was suspended or revoked, along with failing to obey a traffic control device. The license case is listed under a time-payment status, while the traffic violation is marked disposed.
The article also points to a February 2018 charge in Garfield for a suspended or revoked license, as well as a July 2017 citation in Englewood for driving or parking an unregistered vehicle, driving with an expired license, and failing to possess a driver's license or registration. Court records show a broader history of traffic-related charges tied to his name.
Past Hackensack Kidnapping Cases
The city has seen other kidnapping-related incidents in recent years. In August 2022, a Good Samaritan helped stop a knifepoint kidnapping and robbery of a woman on a Hackensack street after hearing her scream, according to NJ.com. In February 2023, officers reportedly saw a victim being dragged behind a building near Hudson Street, leading to kidnapping and simple assault charges against Omer Alvarado, as detailed by NJ.com.
