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The First Street homeowner told police she arrived home the afternoon of July 1 to find a man standing in her yard.
“When she asked him what his purpose was for being there, he said he lived next door,” Deputy Police Chief Gregory Halstead said.
“The resident then noticed that her living room window was wide open,” Halstead said. “Knowing that she had not left it like that, she immediately became suspicious.”
She rushed inside and found a burglar wearing a t-shirt over his head exiting her son’s bedroom, the deputy chief said.
He bolted toward the kitchen with the homeowner on his heels, then jumped out an open kitchen window.
A good Samaritan also tried to grab the intruder, Halstead said, but he got away with several thousand dollars worth of clothing, jewelry and cash.
Temporarily, anyway.
City detectives teamed up with members of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification, which collected evidence.
Together, they identified 19-year-old Gianni Brown of Mattlage Place as their suspect.
Detectives conducted a warranted search of Brown’s home and arrested him after finding items taken in the First Street break-in, among other valuables, Halstead said.
Also arrested was repeat offender Trevaughn Sammuels Whiteside, 21, who the deputy chief said was carrying a switchblade, pot and both Xanax and Oxycodone apparently intended for sale.
Whiteside has been arrested and freed
That includes two March arrests in Englewood – four days apart -- for burglary, obstruction and drug and weapons offenses.
Each time, a judge ordered Whiteside released the same day.
Last year, another judge ordered Whiteside released less than 24 hours after Englewood police charged him with assault and criminal mischief.
Whiteside was also arrested in Englewood in October 2017 and September 2016, both times on drug charges.
He and Brown remained held Friday in the Bergen County Jail. Both are charged with drug offenses.
In addition, Brown is also charged with burglary, theft and receiving stolen property. Whiteside is also charged with weapons possession and money laundering.
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