Both Circle Brake on Lexington Avenue and CP's Deli on Main Avenue had been broken into -- their front glass doors smashed -- within an hour of one another the night of Dec. 19, Detective Lt. Robert Bracken said Thursday.
Proceeds from the Circle Brake office burglary were still being tallied, he said, adding that a security gate blocked the bandit from getting any further.
Working with City of Passaic detectives, investigators pegged 57-year-old Billy Joe Holmes of Paterson as their suspect.
Aware that Holmes was wanted, Clifton Officer Jessenia Levy stopped his Ford F-150 as it headed down Main Avenue around 1:30 a.m. Dec. 21, Bracken said.
Holmes, who had drugs in the car, was charged with two counts of burglary and turned over to Passaic police for processing on charges out of their jurisdiction, the lieutenant said.
Holmes remained held Thursday in the Passaic County Jail pending further court action following a detention hearing.
"He remains a suspect in at least one other commercial burglary that occurred at a business on Main Avenue last month," Bracken said.
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