64°
Detectives arrested Jose L. Cardona, 29, at an East 23rd Street apartment building in Paterson just after 7 a.m. today, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said tonight in Hackensack. Cardona was being held on $250,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail.
Woodrow Garcia Jr., 21, turned himself in to detectives at Molinelli's office four hours later and was ordered held on $100,000 bail.
Both are charged with various counts of burglary and theft.
Search warrants executed at the Paterson location and at the home Cardona and Garcia share on Sunset Drive in Woodland Park yielded burglary proceeds, the prosecutor said.
A third man was still at large, the prosecutor said just after 7:30 p.m.
Molinelli said the trio conducted a five-month burglary spree of 25 businesses in:
Glen RockRamseyWaldwickElmwood ParkSaddle BrookFair LawnRochelle ParkLodiSouth HackensackLyndhurstRutherfordRidgefieldFort LeePalisades ParkWyckoffHawthorneKearny
The break-ins "shared similarities in the manner which they were carried out," Molinelli said.
"For instance," he said, "the burglars generally targeted gas stations and auto body repair shops in the early morning hours while the stores were closed.
"[They] would gain entry into the establishments by removing the locks utilizing specialized lock-picking tools," he said.
"Once inside, they would steal among other items, diagnostic equipment, cash, and cartons of cigarettes."
The spree was stopped after members of Molinelli's Special Investigations Squad gathered a task force in July utilizing police officers from: Fair Lawn, Lodi, Elmwood Park, Saddle Brook, Paramus, Ridgefield, Fort Lee, Rutherford, Glen Rock, Waldwick, South Hackensack, Lyndhurst, Rochelle Park, Ramsey, Palisades Park, Wyckoff, Bergen County Sheriff’s Office (Criminal Investigations and K-9 unit), Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, Hawthorne, Paterson, Woodland Park and Kearny.
Both defendants are scheduled for arraignment in Superior Court in Hackensack Thursday afternoon.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hackensack and receive free news updates.
