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And, once again, a judge released him soon after.
Andrew Lugo, 35, of Bergenfield, has been arrested in several towns – among them, Saddle River, Hackensack, Englewood, Teaneck and Little Ferry – the past few years, records show.
Charges have included burglary, theft, receiving stolen property and drug possession.
A year ago, Bergenfield police arrested him for a host of credit card thefts during burglaries.
Lugo had already been arrested -- and released -- no fewer than three times since late April when Officer Brandon Terrizzi stopped him as he tooled down Washington Avenue shortly after 4:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 10.
The officer had seen the bolt cutters sticking out of Lugo’s backpack, Dumont Police Chief Brian Joyce explained.
Dressed all in black with a full face covering, the 5-foot-10-inch, 250-pound Lugo couldn’t give a reason for carrying the bolt cutters and had no straight answers to pointed questions, he said.
Given the circumstances, Terrizzi checked the backpack, Joyce said.
It turns out Lugo was carrying crystal meth and two used glass pipes, as well as needle-nose and channel-lock pliers and a flat-head screwdriver in addition to the bolt cutters, he said.
Lugo was arrested and charged with possession of drugs, paraphernalia and burglar tools. He also received a trio of summonses for bicycle-related violations.
Despite Lugo’s criminal record, a judge in Hackensack released him the very next day under New Jersey’s bail reform law, records show.
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