Crime & Safety
Police Intercept Alleged Burglars in Pine Brook Road Neighborhood
North Bergen man turned over to Morris County Jail on burglary, theft charges.
Joel Batista, 30, of North Bergen, was charged with burglary and theft Friday, after Montville police found him on Pine Brook Road while investigating reports of a suspicious vehicle and an attempted burglary in the neighborhood, police said.
Police were responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle with two men in it parked on Pine Brook Road late Friday afternoon, when reports of an attempted break-in, as well as a confirmed burglary on Horseneck Road, were also received.
Police said Batista was found on Pine Brook Road, in an area where they also discovered a house with a damaged front door, which appeared to have been partially pushed in. Further investigation located the vehicle, with a second man waiting in it, who was taken into custody and released pending further investigation.
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Fairfield and Montville police investigated the Horseneck Road property which had been burglarized, but details on items taken have not been released.
Batista was turned over to the Morris County Jail, where he is being held on $25,000 bail with no 10 percent option.
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