Assigned to pick up a prisoner from Paterson who was wanted on a borough warrant, Detectives Brian Rypkema and Anthony Lugo realized he fit the description of a car burglar caught on surveillance video last month.
The victim of the St. Valentine’s Day break-in on 34th Street reported $5 in change and an umbrella swiped from a vehicle, Sgt. Brian Metzler said.
The resident showed police video of the thief captured by a Ring doorbell, Metzler said.
The detectives, after identifying 29-year-old Andre Waterman of Closter, as their suspect, charged him with burglary and theft, the sergeant said.
Waterman, who was wanted on a shoplifting warrant, spent three days in the Bergen County Jail before a judge ordered his release pending further court action.
Waterman’s record includes several drug-related shoplifting arrests over the past three years in Fair Lawn, Hackensack, Allendale and Paterson.
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