Police made two arrests of men they said burglarized vehicles in Union over the weekend.
According to Union Police, on Sunday, November 25th, at about 10:00 PM Police headquarters received a 9-1-1 call from a resident on Minute Arms Road who reported someone went into his parked car and rummaged through it.
Police say the caller stated that his neighbor has a surveillance camera that captured the suspects as they left the area.
Responding officers went to the area and began to search for the three suspects seen on video. Officials say officers found other unlocked cars that had been burglarized and continued to search for the suspects.
Officers Chris Connors and Elijah Carter found and arrested Akmid Henderson on Huntington Road.
Police say Carter saw approaching police officers and dropped a backpack and walked away from it. This backpack contained items that appeared to have been stolen from car burglaries.
Officers Antoine Colbert and Luis Santiago found Engelbel Bonano on Galloping Hill Road and arrested him. Police say Bonano was in possession of a pair of Uggs boot that were stolen from another victim in the area.
Officials say Engelbel Bonano, 22, is from Fulton Street, Elizabeth and Akmid Henderson, 18, Central Avenue East Orange.
Police charged both men with the burglaries to several unlocked cars. They both had prior arrest warrants and were sent to the Union County Jail pending a custody hearing police said.
The lead Detective for this investigation is John Oliveira. If you have any information on this or any other crime, the Detectives can be reached at 908-851-5030.
“We ask that residents lock their car doors when they park their cars. We have periodic waves of motor vehicle burglaries that can be prevented by simply locking the car doors. Bonano matches the description of someone who was caught on surveillance pulling on car door handles over the summer in the area of Kean University.
One of the arrestees admitted to Detective Oliveira that they chose to come to Union because they know many people don’t lock their car doors. This problem is not unique to Union, but does have an easy solution. Also, we have seen an increase in cars warming up that were stolen.
Don’t leave your car unattended while warming up unless you have the keys with you and the car is locked” police officials said.