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Three different customers who bought high-end electronics at the mall’s Apple store were followed to their next destination, where burglars broke into their vehicles and stole their purchases, Paramus Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said.
It's happened elsewhere in the tri-state area, as well, the chief said.
Detective Jack Cacamis identified a vehicle and several suspects whom authorities believe to belong to the group of South American thieves.
Then they staked out several area stores.
It was shortly before 4:30 p.m. this past Tuesday, Dec. 20, when a Nissan Versa – bearing bogus license plates -- pulled in.
A couple from the Corona section of Queens got out, went into the mall and were seized by Cacamis, Detective Lt. Tom Schroeder and Detective Matt McGuire as they emerged a short time later.
In their car, police found a center punch, screwdrivers and rubber gloves, among other burglary tools, the chief said.
The driver, Fernando Tabares-Ramirez, 46, at first falsely identified himself using a bogus Guatemalan passport, he said.
Both he and his passenger, Geraldine Tabares-Lopez, 27, were charged with auto burglary, conspiracy and possession of burglary tools, he said.
Almost immediately after both were booked into the Bergen County Jail, ICE swept in.
Agents scooped up Tabares-Ramirez and brought him to Newark, where a deportation hearing was being scheduled in U.S. District Court, records show.
Tabares Lopez – who, like him, is listed as a Colombian national – hasn’t had any detainers placed on her as of Thursday. She remained held in the county lockup.
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