Officer John Reuter and Ajax stopped 41-year-old Garcia Santiago on 8th Street just before 2 p.m. Friday after the female homeowner screamed and scared him off as he walked in through her back door, Police Chief Keith Bendul said this afternoon.
Santiago, who was wearing a blue colored polo shirt and a green baseball cap, “was unable to explain his reasons for being in that area other than looking for his girlfriend,” after being dropped off in Fort Lee by bus the night before, the chief said.
He was also drunk, carrying women’s underwear and wanted on a fugitive warrant by New York State Police, Bendul said.
Santiago had been looking at the homeowner through her window before walking in, the chief said.
A Forest Road woman told police a similar incident happened to her the night before but that the man peering in through her kitchen window fled after trying to open the kitchen door.
Santiago was charged in that incident, as well.
He was being held $5,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail, charged with burglary, two counts of peering, criminal trespassing and being a fugitive from justice.
Fort Lee police, meanwhile, are asking any residents who had similar experiences to call them: (201) 592-3510
MUGSHOT: Courtesty FORT LEE PD
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