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Authorities suspect that Emmanuel Bernard, a 30-year-old Dominican national who lives in Paterson, also took a cell phone, sunglasses and gaming cartridges, as well as shoes and clothing, much of which Glen Rock police recovered.
Fair Lawn Officers Juan Rodriguez and Javier Gutierrez found Bernard on a bicycle and arguing with someone in the area of Fair Lawn Avenue and Abbott Road, Sgt. Brian Metzler said.
He reportedly told them that he’d ridden from Paterson to Ridgewood along Maple Avenue and was heading back to Paterson along Prospect Street to Fair Lawn Avenue when he was stopped.
Bernard is known to area police. His criminal history includes prior arrests out of Clifton, Haledon and mostly Fair Lawn, usually for burglary and/or theft.
Most recently, he’d been taken to the Bergen County Jail on Jan. 21 and released the next day on theft charges from earlier in the month.
This time, Bernard was released pending a hearing on charges of possession of drugs, paraphernalia and burglar tools, as well as receiving stolen property.
Glen Rock police, meanwhile, were continuing to investigate whether Bernard might be responsible for other area vehicle burglaries in addition to the one in the 500 block of Prospect Street. The burglarized vehicle had been left unlocked with the items inside, Glen Rock police said.
Fair Lawn police said they found some of the stolen items on Bernard.
Glen Rock police said they found others in a trash can at the Prospect Street/Cornwall Road bus stop.
Other vehicles in the area may have been entered, although no reports were immediately filed by victims, they said.
Residents with home video surveillance systems are asked to contact Glen Rock police if they captured any images of vehicle burglaries along Maple Avenue or Prospect Street over the past week or so. You can call borough detectives at (201) 670-3947 or 3948, they said.
All calls will be kept confidential.
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