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Malik Teel, 36, must serve at least six years — and possibly eight — before he’ll be eligible for parole.
Presiding Superior Court Judge Liliana DeAvila-Silebi said she felt for his family.
“I can tell they really love you,” she told Teel. “But you are not complying with the law, and that has certain consequences.
“You have seven priors,” the judge added, noting that Teel was on parole for smuggling cellphones into Northern State Prison when he stole the SUV and led the chase. “And your actions caused a risk of death or injury to other motorists.”
New Jersey State Police troopers chased Teel down Route 17, onto Route 3 west to Clifton and up northbound Route 21 before flipping the $90,000 vehicle onto its side at Main Avenue and Prospect Street in Passaic.
Defense attorney Jared Maccei told the judge that his client regrets what he did.
“[H]e has been nothing but respectful and has expressed nothing but remorse from his actions,” said Maccei, seeking a five-year sentence. “I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what he does when he’s released.”
Teel had done well after being released from prison then went astray again more than a year ago after the death of his mother, Teel’s father, Larry Clemmons, told the judge
“He has not always been a model citizen,” Larry Clemmons, told the judge, “but he is a good kid.
“When he got back out [of prison], he was doing everything he was supposed to do,” the father said. “Things took a turn for the worse when his mother passed. And now he has daughters graduating from school and they need their father.
“I’m not saying he’s not responsible,” he added, “but people make mistakes.”
Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Keith Travers countered that Teel had seven prior felony convictions before last year’s incident, which began after he got a ride to Ramsey to steal the Range Rover.
“Certainly, we can’t have people stealing motor vehicles and leading the police on a merry pursuit, because it is so dangerous,” Travers said, adding that Teel was making phone calls while speeding down the highway to someone he’d been in touch with while in prison.
“This didn’t just happen,” the prosecutor said. “He called that same number from jail, and we know he didn’t go there alone that day to steal that car. He was most likely doing it for profit.”
In addition to the prison sentence, Teel will have his driver’s license suspended for two years and pay several fines after he’s released.
Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Keith Travers, defense attorney Jared Maccei, Malik Teel (STORY / PHOTO: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia)
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