By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Somerset County announced the arrest of Emmanuel Tolentino (pictured), 26, Scotch Plains, concerning several commercial burglaries between November 26, 2024, and December 2, 2024, in Somerset County.
Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald stated that a seventeen-year-old male from Roselle was also charged in two of the commercial burglaries.
According to Somerset County officials, on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at approximately 9:20 p.m., a commercial business located on U.S. Hwy 206 in Somerville was burglarized.
The burglary was captured on video surveillance and the rear door of the business was pried open to gain entry. Upon entering the store, the individual targeted the cash registers, taking a sum of U.S. currency before fleeing the area, SCPO officials stated. Officers from the Somerville Police Department responded to the scene to investigate.
Prosecutor McDonald stated on Friday, November 29, 2024, at approximately 1:45 a.m., a commercial business located on US Hwy 22 East in Green Brook was burglarized. The rear door to the business was pried open to gain entry.
Once inside, the cash registers and office area were broken into using a pry tool. A sum of U.S. currency was taken from this location, Somerset County authorities said. Officers from the Green Brook Township Police Department responded to the scene to investigate.
According to SCPO authorities, on the same date, Friday, November 29, 2024, at 2:04 a.m., an attempted burglary occurred at a U.S. Hwy 22 West business in North Plainfield. An alarm was activated when the door to the business was pried open, causing the suspect to flee the area.
Somerset County officials say that at 2:10 a.m., forced entry was made into another business located on Route 22 West in North Plainfield. A crowbar was used to open the cash register and a sum of U.S currency was stolen from the location. Officers from the North Plainfield Police Department responded to the scene to investigate.
On Monday, December 2, 2024, at approximately 9:15 p.m., the same commercial business located on U.S. Hwy 206 in Somerville that was burglarized on November 26, 20204, was burglarized again, SCPO officials said.
Somerset County officials stated that a pry tool was used to gain entry through the rear door and a sum of U.S currency was removed from the cash registers and the business office. Officers from the Somerville Police Department responded to investigate.
Prosecutor McDonald stated that on Monday, December 2, 2024, at approximately 10:07 p.m., three commercial burglaries were committed at a strip mall on Washington Valley Road in Bridgewater. Two individuals were captured on video surveillance.
During these burglaries, the rear and side doors of the businesses were pried open, according to Somerset County officials.
During one of the burglaries, SCPO authorities said an individual is seen using a small crowbar to open the cash register.
A sum of U.S. currency was stolen in total from all three stores, Somerset County officials said. The actors also attempted to gain entry to other stores located in the strip mall but were unsuccessful. Officers from the Bridgewater Township Police Department responded to the scene to investigate.
According to SCPO officials, on the same date, Monday, December 2, 2024, at 10:48 p.m., a commercial business located on Washington Valley Road in Warren Township was burglarized. Entry was gained by prying the side door to the business open. A sum of U.S. currency was taken from the cash register.
The burglary was captured on surveillance footage, which depicted two individuals who matched the description of the same two individuals that committed the burglaries in Bridgewater, approximately twenty minutes earlier, Somerset County officials say.
Officers from the Warren Township Police Department responded to investigate.
The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Burglary Unit conducted a joint investigation with officers/detectives from the Somerville Police Department, Green Brook Township Police Department, North Plainfield Police Department, Bridgewater Police Department and the Warren Township Police Department, according to SCPO authorities.
SCPO officials stated that the investigation led to identifying both individuals responsible for the burglaries.
The individual committing the burglaries was identified as Emmanuel Tolentino, according to Somerset County authorities. The second individual involved was identified as a seventeen-year-old male from Roselle.
Somerset County officials said that on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, Emmanuel Tolentino was arrested by officers from the Green Brook Township Police Department without incident in Green Brook for the burglary committed on November 29, 2024.
Defendant Tolentino was charged with 3rd degree Burglary, 3rd degree Theft, 4th degree Criminal Mischief, and Possession of Burglary tools, a disorderly person’s offense. Defendant Tolentino was lodged in at the Somerset County Jail and later released, SCPO authorities said.
SCPO officials said further investigation was conducted by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Burglary Task Force, which resulted in additional information and investigative leads, which led to additional arrests by other agencies.
According to Somerset County officials, on Monday, December 9, 2024, Tolentino was arrested by members of the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and the Warren Township Police Department in Green Brook Township without incident.
Defendant Tolentino was charged with 3rd degree Burglary, 3rd degree Theft, 4th degree Criminal Mischief, and Possession of Burglary tools, a disorderly person’s offense for the burglary that occurred in Warren Township on December 2, 2024, according to SCPO authorities. Defendant Tolentino was released pending a court date in this matter.
Somerset County officials said that on January 23, 2025, a complaint summons was generated by the Bridgewater Township Police Department for a seventeen-year-old juvenile male from Roselle for three counts of 3rd degree Burglary, three counts of 3rd degree Criminal Mischief, 3rd degree Theft of Moveable Property and Theft of Movable Property, a disorderly person’s offense for his involvement in the burglaries that occurred in the Township of Bridgewater on December 2, 2024.
According to SCPO authorities, on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, Emmanuel Tolentino was arrested in Scotch Plains by Bridgewater Township Police Department and charged with three counts of 3rd degree Burglary, one count of 3rd degree Theft, one count of Theft, a disorderly person’s offense and three counts of Criminal Mischief, a disorderly person’s offense for the burglaries committed in Bridgewater on December 2, 2024.
Defendant Tolentino was lodged in the Somerset County Jail pending a court hearing, Somerset County officials say.
According to Somerset County officials, on January 30, 2025, while lodged in the Somerset County Jail, officers from the Somerville Police Department served defendant Tolentino with a complaint for charges of two counts of 3rd degree Burglary, two counts of 4th degree Theft, two counts of 4th degree Criminal Mischief and two counts of Possession of Burglary Tools, a disorderly person’s offense stemming from the two burglaries that occurred in Somerville on November 26, 2024 and on December 2, 2024.
Defendant Tolentino was released from jail later that day, officials stated.
Somerset County authorities said that on February 5, 2025, Warren Township Police Department were approved to charge the seventeen-year-old male from Roselle, on a complaint summons for one count of 3rd degree Burglary, 3rd degree Theft, and Criminal Mischief, a disorderly person’s offense for his involvement in the burglary that occurred in Warren Township on December 2, 2024.
Defendant Tolentino has also been charged by officers from the North Plainfield Police Department with two counts of 3rd degree Burglary, one count of 3rd degree Theft and one count of 3rd degree Criminal Mischief for the burglary and attempted burglary that occurred in North Plainfield on November 29, 2024, according to SCPO officials.
SCPO officials say defendant Tolentino has not been served with this criminal complaint and is wanted for these charges.
Authorities are asking anyone with information leading to the whereabouts of defendant Tolentino to contact either the North Plainfield Police Department or the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, Somerset County officials stated.