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Carlos M. Martinez Amaya wasn't only charged with burglarizing the Mahwah Bar & Grill, Ernie’s Ice Cream and the Fardale Deli & Mini Mart (twice).
He's also accused of commercial burglaries in Upper Saddle River and Franklin Township and with pointing a gun at someone.
Minimal proceeds were taken during break-ins the same night, March 31, at Ernie’s on Franklin Turnpike and the mini-mart on Wyckoff Avenue in Fardale, Mahwah Police Capt. Guido Bussinelli said.
Surveillance images linked Martinez Amaya to both burglaries, as well as to an April 13 break-in at Elmer’s Country Store at East Saddle River Road and Lake Street in Upper Saddle River, the captain said.
Martinez Amaya was also captured on video during a June 1 break-in at the Mahwah Bar and Grill on Island Road, Bussinelli said.
A burglar alarm apparently scared him off.
Video showed Martinez Amaya returning to the Fardale mini-mart on June 16, once again forcing his way in through a side door, the captain said.
Working together, detectives from Mahwah and Upper Saddle River identified Martinez Amaya.
Detective Sgt. Eric Larsen and Detective Christopher Fasulo went to his last known address, in Mahwah, and learned that he’d moved from the area, Bussinelli said.
They also discovered that he’d threatened someone with a gun before leaving, the captain said.
A warrant was obtained and Spring Valley police arrested Martinez Amaya.
He was extradited and booked into the Bergen County Jail on his 23rd birthday last Thursday, Sept. 14. Martinez Amaya remained there on Monday, charged with aggravated assault, weapons offenses and multiple counts of burglary and theft.
Franklin Lakes police charged Martinez Amaya with a commercial burglary at the Franklin Lakes Towne East shopping center on Franklin Avenue on June 16, Capt. Mark McCombs said.
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