An inept accused home burglar blundered thrice when he was reportedly practicing his craft in the Church Square area on April 16, according to the Harrison Police Department.
To begin with, police said, the crime was committed during the afternoon, when there was still plenty of light out.
Next, police noted, the suspect was caught red-handed at the scene holding a tool of his illicit trade.
And finally, while he probably didn’t know it, the target he’d allegedly picked turned out to be the home of a local cop.
According to the police account, here’s how the incident played out:
At 2:52 p.m., HPD Officer Joseph Carr was sent to the Church Square area on a report of a burglary suspect in custody where, upon arriving, he found the suspect, Rolando Febles, 43, of Elizabeth, detained by Det. Corey Karas.
Just as the detective was coming out of his house, his brother drove up and noticed that the gate was unlocked and the detective discovered the lock was missing, police said.
After closing the gate and walking out of view, the detective spotted a stranger opening the gate and exiting the alleyway with the lock in his hand, said police, who added that the molding and door frame in the rear slider door of the back patio had been pried.
Police learned that the suspect, Febles, was also wanted on an active burglary warrant from the Essex County Sheriff’s Office.
Febles, was arrested and charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools. A search incident to arrest revealed a black Apple Watch, reported stolen in a separate burglary, on the suspect, police said.
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Meanwhile, in a separate residential burglary on April 15, police responded to a Cleveland Ave. location, at 7:52 p.m., on a report that someone’s apartment was broken into.
The victim told police that sometime between 7 a.m. and 7:45 p.m., someone had pried open his first-floor apartment door and, indeed, police said the entrance door showed visible signs of forced entry.
Police said that the interior was disheveled and that the victim reported his 47-inch LG TV, valued at $1,000, missing from the living room, as was a $350 Apple Watch, gone from a night stand next to his bed.
