Wayne Neighbor's Call Leads To Car Burglary Arrest

Thanks to a citizen’s call, a Wayne police officer seized a car burglar who’d just swiped a laptop, authorities said.

03/29/2022 8:30 a.m.

Officer Diego Ocampo was responding to a vehicle burglary call from Riverview Drive when he spotted Anthony Cole of Rahway on the lower end of Valley Road shortly after 11:30 p.m. Sunday, March 27, Detective Capt. Dan Daly said.

Cole, 41, was fumbling with a backpack before the officer stopped him, Daly said.

Officer Donald Cook spotted the laptop in the grass nearby, the captain said.

Turned out it belonged to a neighborhood resident who confirmed moments later that it had been stolen from his vehicle, he said.

Cole was arrested after he admitted taking the laptop and also trying to get into another vehicle that prompted the call to police.

Cole was charged with burglary, theft, attempted burglary and possession of drug paraphernalia and sent to the Passaic County Jail to await a detention hearing.

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