Like a Lloyd and Harry criminal pair from the movie Dumb and Dumber, two men arrested in Ho-Ho-Kus this week may also have been behind the recent uptick in Sloatsburg burglaries. According to sources, similarities in various burglaries in Saddle River, Ho-Ho-Kus, Sloatsburg, and other municipalities, could link the duo, who were charged with pilfering small items such as an iPad, jewelry and cash.
The reported break-ins involved not only similar small items taken but also homes were burgled in the daytime, left unlocked or had a broken window as entry point.
Burglary suspects apprehended in Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ this week may be the culprits behind the recent spate of Sloatsburg burglaries.
According to Cliffview Pilot, both men are being held on $15,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail.
One of the bungling burglars held up Sterlington Station in Sloatsburg last June in a daylight robbery where he stormed in to the deli brandishing what turned out to be a BB gun. After grabbing petty cash from the register, the robber rode off on his bicycle back to his then apartment on nearby Apple Street, and later went to jail, after being caught and convicted of the burglary.
Apparently some lessons are hard learned.
Crime blog CliffViewPilot.com reported that the two men apprehended this week in the Ho-Ho-Kus robbery were caught when a local police sergeant spotted a “suspicious-looking” car with New York license plates parked on a small drive off Franklin Turnpike near Rt. 17. The passenger in the car reportedly told the officer that the driver was out in the woods somewhere “relieving himself.” After calling for backup, a Bergen County Sheriff’s K9 unit tracked the other man to a house on Edgewood Drive.
NorthJersey.com also reported the incident.
Ramapo Police Detective Mark Emma discusses Sloatsburg burglaries at Village Board meeting
Ho-Ho-Kus Police Chief John Wanamaker told Cliffview Pilot that officers found “a broken window, along with an iPad, earrings and cash that apparently had been dropped or discarded by whoever stole them.”
“A lot of towns are looking at these guys,” Wanamaker said in the Cliffview Pilot article. “There could be more charges.”
Several weeks before the suspects were apprehended, Ramapo Police Chief Peter Brower attended a Sloatsburg Village Board meeting to update the village on the late summer spate of local break-ins. Detective Lieutenant Mark Emma told the board that the police were following leads and had several suspects under investigation. The increased police scrutiny in the area, plus the presence of numerous construction and utility crews, apparently quelled additional criminal mischief in Sloatsburg.
NorthJersey.com reported a recent rise in burglaries in Ho-Ho-Kus and Saddle River. Currently, authorities have not named the criminal pair, as various jurisdictions are investigating whether the two are indeed the culprits behind many of the recent municipal petty burglaries.
