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A homeowner flagged down Officer Robert Bauer on Jackson Place around 12:49 a.m. saying he’d scared off a man trying to get into two cars in driveway, Police Chief Richard Behrens said.
Bauer radioed a description of the burglar to Officer Sean Mulligan, who spotted a vehicle with its brake lights shining in the driveway of a Joseph Street home, Behrens said.
A man seated behind the wheel matched the description given by the resident, he said.
As Mulligan approached, the man – identified as Erik L. Kelly, 47, of Paterson – he got out of the vehicle and ran, Behrens said.
The officer quickly caught up to him, the chief said, but Kelly refused his commands, repeatedly shouting “shoot me!”
Bauer and Carlstadt Police Officer Matthew Bartlett arrived and Kelly was taken into custody without further incident.
Police linked Kelly to the attempted burglaries of four other vehicles on Concord Street.
They charged him with burglary, resisting arrest, obstruction and six counts of attempted burglary, then released him on a summons pending a June 8 first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
Behrens reminded owners to lock their vehicles and never leave their keys in fobs inside no matter where they park.
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