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As in many of his arrests over the years, North Bergen native Fred Worthington was released after borough Detective Christopher Nichols quickly tied him to the West Central Avenue crime.
He charged Worthington with theft, conspiracy and possession of heroin, drug paraphernalia and burglary tools, Detective Sgt. William Phayre said.
Worthington, who also recently had addresses in Cliffside Park and Fairview, has been charged and convicted in several burglary and theft sprees in Hudson, Bergen, Essex and Somerset counties dating back to the 1990s, records show.
He has done jail time and avoided serious prison sentences by concentrating on drug-related shoplifting and burglaries -- stealing metal from construction areas for resale, for instance -- to help feed a drug habit, authorities said.
Worthington's also been busted breaking into homes and storage areas, among other locations, and swiping hundreds of packages of razor blades from various stores and reselling them for 33 cents on the dollar, records show.
New Jersey's bail reform law in 2017 only made it easier for judges to release him after each arrest.
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