The homeowner was out of state when his brother alerted police to what was happening at the Chelsea Street residence just off Midland Avenue shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday, Paramus Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said.
Officers Slavko Bajovic and Officer Don Liu stopped the suspects’ 2013 Nissan Rogue before they could drive off, the chief said.
A New Jersey license plate had been placed over one from Mississippi, he said.
The driver, Edwin Gaitan-Joya, 40, and passenger, Yubi Orjuela, 47, were both wearing hoods, hats and surgical masks over their faces, Ehrenberg said.
They’d broken into the home through a bathroom window before ransacking several rooms, he said.
Police charged Gaitan-Joya and Orjuela – both from Jackson Heights, Queens -- with burglary and conspiracy.
They sent both to the Bergen County Jail, where they remained held on Monday pending first appearances in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Washington Township and receive free news updates.