By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Bergen County announced the arrests of Kali J. Carter, 49, of East Orange, and Demetrius D. Hale, 49, of Bergenfield, on various charges related to a series of burglaries across northern New Jersey.
Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella stated the arrests are the result of a months-long investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck.
According to officials, a residential burglary pattern affected multiple New York and New Jersey jurisdictions from December 2023 through June 2024.
Early on, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Crime Reduction Unit, which was formed in late 2023 as a new initiative to address inter-jurisdictional crimes, began analyzing crime data, trends, and modus operandi of unsolved burglaries across the region, authorities say.
Officials said this collaborative review by law enforcement from Bergen County led investigators to believe that a large cross-section of similar incidents was all connected.
In particular, a series of burglaries appeared to fit an emerging pattern across Bergen County, Essex County, and Morris County, as well as similar activity in New York, officials say.
Officials stated that the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Crime Reduction Unit activated the assistance of its companion resource, the Crime Reduction Task Force—a group of municipal law enforcement officers from across Bergen County—who worked together over many weeks to eventually identify the vehicle and suspects involved.
According to officials, detectives determined that Kali J. Carter and Demetrius D. Hale engaged in a burglary spree across northern New Jersey for nearly seven months in Bergen County, Essex County, and Morris County, based on a complex and diligent investigation that required physical surveillance, as well as a careful review of video footage and cellular phone records.
Authorities say that ultimately, detectives from the Bergen County Crime Reduction Task Force connected 18 unsolved burglaries and one attempted burglary, all of which spanned three New Jersey counties, and identified Carter and Hale as the suspects responsible.
On Tuesday, August 27, 2024, with the assistance of the Bergen County Regional SWAT Team, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Crime Reduction Task Force executed search warrants at the residences of Kali J. Carter in East Orange, and Demetrius D. Hale in Bergenfield, officials say.
Officials said both men were located at their respective residences and taken into custody without incident by detectives from the Bergen County Crime Reduction Task Force.
During the course of the court-authorized searches, detectives recovered a .380 caliber semiautomatic Bersa Thunder handgun from Carter's residence, officials say.
As a result of the investigation,authorities say, on Tuesday, August 27, Kali J. Carter and Demetrius D. Hale were remanded to the Bergen County Jail.
Officials stayed each were charged with 16 counts of various burglary and theft offenses for incidents that occurred in Bergen County, including:
January 2024
• Residential burglary in Ho-Ho-Kus
• Residential burglary in Hackensack
• Residential burglary in Paramus
• Two residential burglaries in Ridgewood
February 2024
• Residential burglary in Hasbrouck Heights
March 2024
• Residential burglary in Hackensack
June 2024
• Residential burglary in the Township of Washington
• Residential burglary in Leonia
• Residential burglary in Wyckoff
• Residential burglary in Hackensack
According to officials, on Wednesday, August 28, based on the results of the Bergen County Crime Reduction Task Force investigation – and thanks to the coordination of law enforcement in both Essex County and Morris County – the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office further charged Kali J. Carter, and Demetrius D. Hale with 11 additional counts each of various burglary and theft offenses for out-of-county incidents.
Officials say those charges included:
January 2024
• Residential burglary in Chatham Borough, Morris County
• Attempted Residential burglary in West Orange, Essex County
February 2024
• Residential burglary in West Orange, Essex County
March 2024
• Residential burglary in Livingston, Essex County
June 2024
• Two Residential burglaries in West Orange, Essex County
• Residential burglary in Parsippany, Morris County
• Residential burglary in Verona, Essex County
Lastly, on Wednesday, August 28, in light of the weapon recovered by detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office during the search of Carter's residence, and with the coordination of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Kali J. Carter, was additionally charged with one count of first-degree possession of a firearm, and one count of second-degree certain persons not to have weapons, officials said.
Therefore, and beyond the two aforementioned weapon offenses, Kali J. Carter remains in the custody of the Bergen County Jail awaiting a detention hearing, having been charged as described above with a total of 18 counts of third-degree burglary, one count of attempted burglary, four counts of second-degree theft, and four counts of third-degree theft, officials stated.
According to officials, Carter's charges encompass all the crimes committed in Bergen County, Essex County, and Morris County.
Likewise, Demetrius D. Hale remains in the custody of the Bergen County Jail, awaiting a detention hearing. He has been charged as described above with a total of 18 counts of third-degree burglary, one count of attempted burglary, four counts of second-degree theft, and four counts of third-degree theft, authorities say.
Officials stated Hale's charges encompass all of the crimes committed across Bergen County, Essex County, and Morris County.