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On Wednesday, Jan. 10, Ricardo Perez was arrested after police say he stole holiday gifts from an apartment complex he worked at and attempted to hide the security footage of his larceny, Bayonne police said.
On Saturday, Dec. 23, a woman reported two shopping bags containing holiday gifts and her paycheck and mail were removed from the lobby of her apartment complex, police said. The Bayonne Police Detective Bureau attempted to review video surveillance but had trouble recovering the footage, officers said.
Perez, the building maintenance worker, was called to assist but said he was unable to retrieve the footage and the surveillance equipment needed to be repaired, police said.
After several unsuccessful attempts at contacting Perez, the woman went to the video room and found the equipment forcibly removed from the room, police said.
Her mail was also found torn up in the trash in an office only Perez and one other person had access to, police said. Perez said he did not know where the surveillance equipment was and it may have been thrown out, police said.
Perez was charged with theft, criminal mischief and evidence tampering, police said.
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