Instagram helps Pequannock police nab alleged fleeing motorcyclist

MORRISTOWN - A Pequannock police officer posed as an avid motorcyclist on Instagram to befriend and converse with a Wanaque man who is accused of eluding police in 2015 on his motorcycle at speeds up to 160 miles per hour while recording the ride on a helmet-mounted GoPro camera, according to pretrial testimony Tuesday.

Anthony D'Arrigo, now 21, of the Haskell section of Wanaque in Passaic County, appeared before Superior Court Judge Stephen Taylor in Morristown for motions on whether his admissions to eluding police on Dec. 10, 2015 on his 2005 Honda CBR 600 motorcycle can be used against him, and whether police lawfully seized evidence from him.

Taylor did not rule on Tuesday or hear arguments, giving defense lawyer Michael Kelly time to research his belief that police needed a search warrant to access D'Arrigo's Instagram account.

"You're saying a detective can't access a public posting?" Taylor inquired of Kelly, asking him to identify case law that says police need a warrant to gather information from an online Instagram posting. The judge noted that police did not retrieve information from the service provider for D'Arrigo's Instagram account. He set D'Arrigo's next court hearing for March 7.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Caitlyn Kelly said the state's plea offer to D'Arrigo to resolve a charge of eluding police in Pequannock on Dec. 10, 2015 is a sentence of three years in state prison, with no minimum period of time to be served before parole consideration. D'Arrigo had attended Ramapo College, majoring in law and society, and was a pole vaulter on the college's track and field team.

Called as a witness by Caitlyn Kelly, Pequannock Officer William Juliano said that police received an anonymous tip about the eluding incident that directed them to a video clip that was posted on YouTube. The video clip identified the poster as ty600rr, included an Instagram link, and said the full video of the eluding episode would be posted soon. On Dec. 27, 2015, Juliano said, he looked at YouTube again and checked out the Instagram link that showed the profile and image of a person who fit the description of the motorcycle that led police on the pursuit on Dec. 10, 2015.

Juliano said he used his personal Instagram account to send a friend request to the motorcyclist on Instagram. That account holder accepted him as a friend and they conversed via Instagram messenger. Juliano said he pretended that his son had mistakenly sent the friend request but they chatted about motorcycles.  Juliano said the account holder - who authorities allege was Anthony D'Arrigo - told Juliano he had a video online about a chase that occurred after he did a wheelie on his motorcycle in Pequannock.

"He said he didn't stop because he wants to remain a ghost in that town," Juliano testified, saying that D'Arrigo gave him his phone number.

After receiving legal permission to conduct a "consensual intercept" - a police-initiated telephone conversation that is recorded by one party - Juliano called D'Arrigo in January 2016, talked about trying to buy a motorcycle, and expressed admiration about the eluding incident. The recorded phone conversation was played Tuesday for the judge.

"You hit 160 (mph) on 287, right?"  Juliano asked.

"Yeah," D'Arrigo replied.

Though authorities allege that Anthony D'Arrigo is the person who spoke to Juliano, the defense lawyer pointed out that Juliano only knew he was talking to a person named Tony.

On tape, Tony told Juliano that he saw flashing lights from police cars after he did a wheelie on the highway and that the GoPro camera on his helmet recorded the events.

"Oh, that's awesome," Juliano said, as Tony described how he avoided the pursuing police. He said he did a U-turn on the highway, sped down side streets and, back on Route 287, encountered another police car that he managed to escape from.

"I thought, 'Really? Another (expletive) cop?'" Tony said on tape.

"You got a pair of brass ones," Juliano complimented him.

After the recorded conversation, police in April obtained arrest and search warrants for Anthony D'Arrigo and went to his home in Wanaque on April 6, 2016 to speak to him. Pequannock Detective Sgt. Kevin Nelson testified Tuesday that D'Arrigo waived his rights to remain silent or speak to a lawyer and was "very calm, very polite, very relaxed" in admitting that he was the motorcyclist who eluded police.

A videotape of the police interrogation of D'Arrigo in April 2016 was played for the judge. For reasons that were not explained in court, D'Arrigo had a broken leg and was walking on crutches at that time.

On tape, D'Arrigo told police he had been doing a wheelie on the highway and then saw flashing police lights. He said he was wearing headphones and couldn't hear sirens.

"I was just freaking out. I was just scared," he said, explaining why he didn't stop.

D'Arrigo told police that an acquaintance named Tyler who belongs to the same gym asked if he could have the GoPro video of the chase.

"He was trying to make a name for himself," D'Arrigo told police in the interview. "I just gave it to him."

Though the defense lawyer wants the statements and seized evidence suppressed, D'Arrigo is seen on tape laughing and talking easily with police and offered to lead them to a friend's house in Butler, where he had stowed the motorcycle.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com. 

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