Clark Judge, 49, cut himself breaking a window at J&R Lobster and Seafood in a Route 59 strip mall, leaving blood behind, while taking the tails and the safe, with $500 inside, authorities said.
After linking the burglary to Judge, Ramapo police contacted their Mahwah counterparts, who found a car he’d been driving parked on First Street, Mahwah Police Chief James N. Batelli said.
Officer Christopher Fasulo ended up following the car, whose driver eventually pulled into the parking lot of a Franklin Turnpike store, Batelli said.
Ramapo police met their township colleagues there, and together they went with Fasulo and Mahwah Detective Eric Larsen back to the First Street house, the chief said.
They found Judge there, he said.
“After being advised of his rights, Judge admitted to burglarizing Lobster and Seafood,” Batelli said. “He stated the items were in the garage of the residence.”
The items were retrieved and members of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Identification collected evidence, he said.
Mahwah police charged Judge with possession of stolen property, then turned him over to Morris County sheriff’s officers on a child support warrant.
Ramapo authorities were moving to extradite him, the chief said.
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