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The 3 a.m. standoff capped a crime spree during which the same man and an accomplice burglarized a local restaurant and a California man stole a $7,000 bicycle after smashing the front window of a downtown bike shop, among other offenses, they said.
It began after Joseph Farfan, 34, of Anaheim, CA stole the bicycle from Fusion Cycles on Washington Street around 1:30 a.m. this past Monday, Tenafly Police Capt. Michael deMoncada said.
Surveillance video captured images of Farfan and his vehicle, deMoncada said.
Officer Matthew Savitsky canvassed the area and found the stolen bicycle hidden behind a dumpster next to another downtown business, the captain said.
Sgt. Donato Monte spotted the car a short time later and arrested Farfan, who was charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief and released pending a hearing.
Surveillance video recorded during another burglary two days later showed two bandits in masks and gloves breaking in through the rear door of a West Railroad Avenue restaurant around 2:50 a.m., deMoncada said.
Both “can be seen searching for valuables before ultimately taking the cash register drawer containing approximately $200 in cash and exiting through the same rear door,” he said.
Police were investigating that break-in when one resident on Thursday reported an overnight home burglary on Country Club Road, while another reported his son’s scooter stolen from a Palmer Avenue porch.
Doorbell footage showed the scooter thief with a mask covering part of his face, which nonetheless was familiar to Officer Thomas Casper, deMoncada said.
Based on his fellow officer’s description, Lt. Adam Kopesky seized Ryan Ettienne, 19, of Tenafly on Tenafly Road around 3 a.m. Friday, the captain said. Ettienne was wearing the same clothing as in the doorbell video, he said.
It turned out that Ettienne and accomplice Gerardo Salguero-Galvez, 25, also of Tenafly, “were in the process of committing a burglary in that same neighborhood” when Kopesky grabbed him, deMoncada said.
He pointed them to Country Club Road, where police found Salguero-Galvez burglarizing the same house as the night before, the captain said.
Officer found Salguero-Galvez on the second floor, he said.
He “brandished a large kitchen knife and refused officers’ commands to drop it,” deMoncada said. “A brief stand-off ensued, but officers were able to resolve the encounter peacefully and take [Salguero-Galvez] into custody. “
A subsequent search of his home turned up a cache of stolen items -- including clothing, electronics, and tools taken from the Country Club Road – as well as the stolen Palmer Avenue scooter and at least one item taken from delivered packages that had been stolen from separate porches on George Street before dawn, the captain said.
The total of the pirated online purchases was $450, he said.
Police linked Ettienne and Mr. Salguero-Galvez to the restaurant burglary, as well.
Etienne was charged with three counts of burglary and six counts of theft, while Salguero-Galvez was charged with three count so burglary, five of theft and weapons offenses.
Both were released on summonses pending court hearings.
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