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Jermaine Campbell, 26, was arrested on Monday, June 30, after a staff member spotted him trying to break into the fast-casual burger joint on Route 17 South around 10:30 p.m., Paramus Police Chief Robert Guidetti said.
The drama began two days earlier, on Saturday, June 28, when the Shake Shack general manager called police to report a burglary in progress after spotting someone on the restaurant’s surveillance system. Police said the footage showed a man “unlawfully entering the restaurant after hours on multiple occasions,” where he was seen “operating the grill to cook food, walking through the premises, and removing merchandise.”
An investigation led by Detective Tom Holden quickly identified the suspect as Campbell, police said.
Campbell returned to the location two days later and tried to break in again, police said. A staff member who was there called police immediately. Officer Nick Tanelli found Campbell hiding nearby, police said, “wearing a Shake Shack t-shirt and in possession of a chef’s hat.”
Campbell was arrested and charged with burglary and theft. He was booked into the Bergen County Jail, authorities said.
Later the same day, Paramus Police responded to a second commercial burglary at 1 Kalisa Way. Officer Christopher Bores met with the complainant, who showed surveillance footage of Campbell inside the building after hours earlier that day. Investigators believe Campbell may have been using the building to sleep, according to police.
This is far from Campbell's first run-in with the law. He was arrested in 2022 at the Bergen Town Center after stealing a Mercedes, as previously reported by Daily Voice. He was charged with criminal trespassing in Paramus on Feb. 28, and again on back-to-back days (Nov. 7, 2024, and Nov. 8, 2024) in Wayne and Hackensack, court records show.
The investigation remains active. Anyone with information is asked to contact Paramus Police at (201) 262-3400, extension 1457.
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