According to Guttenberg Lt. Joel Magenheimer, the incident began when a resident of the three-story apartment building noticed four men loitering suspiciously outside a building located at 75 68th St., around 6:30 p.m. on June 29.
"The resident said that one man was trying to open a first-floor window and gain entrance through the window," Magenheimer said. "She said that one had climbed through the window, so she called the police."
Magenheimer said that while one entered through the window, he opened the door for another, while the other two maintained a lookout on the street.
After the call went out, a Guttenberg patrol car responded to the call and arrived on the scene in the matter of minutes.
"The first patrol car apprehended the two men who were standing outside," Magenheimer said. "The other two who were inside of the apartment [allegedly] tried to flee."
A foot pursuit ensued and one of the would-be thieves was captured a few 100 yards from the apartment. "The other guy took off," Magenheimer said. "At first, he was not captured."
However, while the three others, two men and a 16-year-old juvenile, were being processed, one of the apprehended men received a cell phone call. It was the fourth suspect calling the juvenile, because he wanted his cell phone returned.
"He told the juvenile that he would meet him at his house [in West New York] and that's when he was apprehended, because the West New York police were waiting for him," Magenheimer said.
All teenagers
Gabriel Torres, 18, of West New York, was the last suspect to be apprehended. Also arrested were Armando Ruiz, 18, of West New York, Carlos Valdez, 19, of West New York, and the 16-year-old juvenile.
They were all charged with burglary and theft, resisting arrest, and conspiracy to commit a crime. The three adult males were sent to the Hudson County Jail, where bail was set at $12,500 for Valdez and $10,000 for Ruiz and Torres. All three did not get the 10 percent cash bail option, because all three had prior records, all for theft and burglary.
Two men allegedly had fled with two laptop computers, which were not recovered during the arrest procedure. "They allegedly ditched the computers in an alley, but we were not able to recover the computers," Magenheimer said. "Either they had accomplices who found the computers and knew where they were dumped, or other people found them and took them."
Guttenberg Police Sgt. Charles Hughes and Police Officers Michael Meawad and Franco Delucia were integral in the arrests of the four men.
"But we got help from the witness who was the first to call," Magenheimer said. "She was alert and made the difference."
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at either OGSMAR@aol.com or jhague@hudsonreporter.com
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