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Alterek McCeary, 29, of East Orange was charged with burglary, theft and conspiracy, Deputy Police Chief Vincent Capano said.
The owner not only didn't lock the BMW X7, Lamborghini Huracan or Mercedes G-Wagon: He also fell asleep after leaving the key fobs inside one of them and the garage door open.
Authorities recovered all three, which initially were impounded and examined by the Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification, which turned up a pair of fingerprint matches, Capano said.
SEE: 3 Luxury Vehicles Stolen From Same Cliffside Home, Arrest Made
A fingerprint lifted from the SUV led detectives to Alshalik Sweat, 22, of Newark, the deputy chief said. A print from the Lambo matched McCeary's, he said.
Sweat has an extensive criminal history, including a host of arrests in various Essex County towns, as well as another following a Paramus police stolen car chase four years ago, records show.
McCeary was involved in a pursuit himself in Monmouth County in 2018 that ended with his arrest and those of two accomplices after they bailed out of a stolen BMW on the Garden State Parkway.
The sedan had been snatched from a home in Cresskill, police said at the time.
SEE: Alleged Burglars Arrested (Red Bank Green)
Newark police arrested Sweat while East Orange police nabbed McCeary, Capano said.
Cliffside Park police charged Sweat with burglary, theft and conspiracy and sent him to the Bergen County Jail only to have a judge in Hackensack release him less than 24 hours later under the provisions of New Jersey's 2017 bail reform law.
McCeary got the same treatment for similar charges. He was booked into the Bergen County lockup on Friday, March 25 and ordered released by a judge the same day.
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