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The employee said he heard glass break around 9:30 p.m. and saw one of the two intruders in the lobby of the hotel, which is still closed after a fire a year ago, Police Chief Michael Foligno told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this morning.
The 6-foot-tall burglar, who was wearing a black hoodie, headed toward the basement and the employee called police, the chief said.
Police were establishing a perimeter moments later when Officer Shad Giacomarro grabbed 45-year-old Darryl Williamson of Paterson trying to climb a back fence, Foligno said.
After learning that he had an accomplice, Elmwood Park police searched the hotel with a Bergen County Sheriff’s K-9 unit with negative results, he said.
The owner said Williamson “was hanging around the building earlier in the day and was asked to leave the property,” the chief said.
Williamson was released on a court summons charging him with defiant trespass.
The investigation was continuing, however, and additional charges could be filed once the owner completes an inventory to determine what, if anything, was missing.
Anyone with information that could help the investigation is asked to call Elmwood Park PD: (201) 796-0700.
ALSO SEE: Firefighters find rooms empty after Route 46 motel blaze in Elmwood Park
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