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The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Special Investigations Squad organized the special task force, which included detectives and uniformed officers from Bergen, Passaic and Essex counties.
By sharing information, they zeroed in on Artur Kotwica, 22, of Passaic, Grewal said.
While watching Kotwica, they identified Shaun Wilder, 27, of Old Bridge "as a possible co-conspirator in the burglary spree," he said.
On Monday, detectives followed both men to a home on Yerger Road in Fair Lawn, where they "broke into a residence but fled after activating the alarm system," Grewal said.
The pair then tried breaking into a Maywood residence on Loughlin Place but were scared off by the homeowner, he said.
Detectives found their vehicle in the vicinity of Hartwich Street in Maywood, the prosecutor said. Wilder was inside, he said.
A short time later, Kotwica got in and they drove off, Grewal said.
Detectives followed the car into Hackensack, where it was parked behind an Anderson Street high-rise apartment building around 7 p.m., he said.
Kotwica got out carrying a cloth sack containing proceeds from the Hartwich Street break-in -- and was grabbed by detecives as he tried to put the bag in the trunk, Grewal said.
Kotwica was being held on $350,000 bail and Wilder on $100,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail, charged with several counts of burglary and theft.
Grewal thanked the various participating agencies, including: the Bergen County Sheriff's Office, Lyndhurst Police Department; North Arlington Police Department; Maywood Police Department; Elmwood Park Police Department; Saddle Brook Police Department; Rutherford Police Department; Lodi Police Department; Wallington Police Department; Garfield Police Department; Hackensack Police Department; Fair Lawn Police Department; Rochelle Park Police Department; Carlstadt Police Department; Clifton Police Department; Little Falls Police Department; Nutley Police Department; Passaic Police Department; and Bloomfield Police Department.
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