42°
Paramus and NYPD detectives teamed up to nab Gerald Williams, 45, and Tony Newton, 56, ending a spree that they said began in January.
The pair cut through the front security gate of the Kay Jewelers at the Garden State Plaza after closing time on Jan. 13 and ransacked the display cases, Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said.
The lead investigator, borough Detective Nicholas Luciano of the Special Investigations Unit -- assisted by Officer Daniel DeRienzo and detectives who included Lt. Frank Scott – tied the pair to three other break-ins at Paramus Kay Jeweler Stores and one at the Garden State Plaza’s Nordstroms, the chief said.
Over the next few months, Luciano, DeRienzo and NYPD Sgt. Robert Olson reviewed video tape collected from burglaries across New Jersey and New York, Ehrenberg said
Soon, they identified Williams and Newton in burglaries of two Kay Jewelers burglaries at the Menlo Park Mall in Edison and several that stretched to Albany, he said.
With assistance from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Intelligence Unit, they identified a stolen van used in the burglary of the Kay Jewelers at Bergen Town Center, which was later recovered in Brooklyn.
Surveillance video showed the pair committing a Sept. 29 burglary at a Garden State Plaza kiosk, Ehrenberg said. They were using the stolen van at the time, he said.
Luciano and Olson found the van the next day in Brooklyn.
Newton was in it.
After arresting him, they found Williams, whom they said is related to Newton, at his Brooklyn home.
Both were extradited to New Jersey and remained held in the Bergen County Jail, charged with various counts of burglary, theft possession of stolen property and operation of an organized retail theft enterprise.
Ehrenberg thanked the NYPD, the FBI, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and Edison police for their roles in the investigation.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Northern Highlands and receive free news updates.
