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Jorge Lopez, 18, of Spring Valley lost his Nike slides breaking into a home and stole a pair of footwear to try and make his getaway, Police Chief Stephen Jaffe said.
He was riding away on a stolen bicycle when township officers grabbed Lopez and found him carrying stolen jewelry and other items, the chief said.
Responding to several 911 calls, Officers Michael Cleary, Joe Alvarez, Martin Kilroy, Timothy Letavish, Chris Lupo, John Rodriguez and Sgt. Stacy Conley all rushed to Johnson Avenue in the west section of town and immediately established a perimeter, Jaffe said.
Residents said a DPW worker spotted Lopez, who’d ducked into a backyard when he saw police.
Lopez moments earlier had broken into a number of cars, as well as a nearby home, climbing in through the bathroom window off a second floor deck, Jaffe said.
The homeowner found a half-empty soda can on her bedroom dresser and pair of Nike slides – one in the bathroom and one that apparently fell on the deck when he climbed through the window, the chief said.
The house had been ransacked, he said, adding that Lopez had snatched a pair of shoes after losing his slides.
Police charged Lopez with burglary, theft and criminal mischief, as well as having a small amount of pot and drug paraphernalia.
They released him pending an Aug. 14 Municipal Court hearing.
The Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification collected evidence.
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