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Marc C. Rainey (MUGSHOT: Wyckoff PD)
The citizen called police at 9:30 last night to report a suspicious-looking vehicle parked on Ravine Avenue.
Having just finished speaking with residents at borough hall about an increase in area burglaries, Police Chief Benjamin Fox headed to the scene along with Lt. David Murphy and Detective. Sgt. Joseph Soto. They were joined by police Sgt. Jack McEwan and Officers William Plisich and Kevin Kasak.
As Plisich drove down Ravine Avenue, he saw the headlights of the vehicle described by the resident go on and the car drove away. Within moments, he’d stopped the car on Route 208.
The driver, Marc C. Rainey of East Forest Avenue, told Plisich he was lost, Fox said.
Back in the neighborhood, the chief and McEwan checked area homes and found a door forced open.
“Most every room in the home had been ransacked, and a pillowcase filled with jewelry had been left on the floor,” Fox said.
They notified Plisich, who took Rainey into custody. Inside the car he found gloves and two ninja-styled ski masks, the chief said.
Believing another person was involved, local police called in the Bergen County Police K-9 unit and received help from police in Hawthorne, Midland Park, Ridgewood and Franklin Lakes.
“My only regret is that we did not get the second guy, although this is still under investigation,” Fox said this morning.
Evidence at the scene was taken by the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Rainey was released on April 29 from Rahway State Prison, where he’d been held since September 2009 on narcotics and weapons possession convictions.
“At the meeting we [emphasized] that we want residents to call us about anything they think is suspicious,” Fox said this morning. “Quite often it is citizen observations and their willingness to call the police department that leads to burglar arrests.”
Rainey is being held on $10,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail, charged with burglary, theft, and possession of burglar tools.
Meanwhile, police continue to search for a second burglar, who apparently rented the car Rainey was driving.
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