Georgia Man & Juvenile Awaiting Extradition To Face Charges In Cliffside Park Home Invasion Burglary

Wednesday, January 28, 2026,6:45 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

CLIFFSIDE PARK, NJ.- Last Tuesday, following a months-long investigation, a 24-year-old Lithonia, Georgia, man and an 18-year-old, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, were taken into custody and jailed, pending extradition to Bergen County, New Jersey, after being charged in connection with allegedly committing an armed home invasion last year in Cliffside Park, New Jersey.

     According to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella, on Friday, May 9, 2025, just shortly before 9:00 p.m., members of the Cliffside Park Police Department responded to a report of an armed burglary in progress at a residence located on Columbia Avenue in Cliffside Park, New Jersey.

     Upon arrival, Responding Police Officers learned that the suspects had already fled the residence and the immediate area. During the initial investigation, Police Officers reviewed home video surveillance cameras that showed three masked suspects, two of them armed with handguns, burglarizing the home. Further review of the video surveillance footage confirmed that the three suspects stole high-end purses before fleeing the scene in a black Kia Sorento.

     During the months-long investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Squad, in conjunction with the Cliffside Park Police Department, Detectives identified the suspect vehicle and determined that Deterrielynn T. Lewis, 24, of Lithonia, Georgia, and at the time a 17-year-old juvenile male as two of the three suspects who allegedly committed the armed home invasion.

     Accordingly, on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, with the assistance of the DeKalb County, Georgia Police Department, Detectives of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office arrested Lewis near his Lithonia home and formally charged him with one count of first-degree Home Invasion Burglary; first-degree Use of a Juvenile to Commit a Criminal Offense; second-degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon; second-degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose; and second-degree Theft of Removable Property. 

     Lewis was processed on the charges and lodged in the DeKalb County, Georgia, County Jail as a fugitive from justice pending extradition back to Bergen County, New Jersey.

     Additionally, the juvenile suspect, already in custody in Georgia on an unrelated matter, was charged with juvenile delinquency on the charges of first-degree Home Invasion Burglary; second-degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon; second-degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose; and second-degree Theft of Movable Property. The teen, now 18 years old, was served with the charges while in the custody of Georgia authorities, pending extradition back to Bergen County, New Jersey.

“The rules of the court require us to include a statement that states: The charges outlined in this publication are merely accusations, and the defendant and or defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.”