BAYONNE – A 39-year-old North Bergen man employed at the Alexan CityView apartments here has been arrested by Bayonne Police for an alleged burglary and theft at an apartment at the complex, according to police.
The North Bergen man has been employed as a maintenance engineer at Alexan since November of last year.
There have been 13 burglaries at the complex since Feb. 23, police officials said.
Since none of the burglaries showed signs of forced entry, police early on believed that the crimes were an “inside job,” according to a statement issued by Bayonne Police Lt. Janine Foy.
Perez allegedly had access to master keys and key fobs, which allowed access to the entire complex, including apartments, the police statement said.
The break in the case came on June 30, when Bayonne detectives recovered numerous items taken from the burglaries at a Union City pawn shop. All the jewelry recovered from the pawn shop was allegedly sold to it by the maintenance engineer, according to the police statement.
The man was arrested on July 1, and his bail was set at $50,000 with a 10-percent cash option. He was remanded to the Hudson County Jail.
He was charged with the burglary and theft of an apartment reported on June 24, when he allegedly was observed entering and exiting an apartment where a wedding ring was taken, the police statement said. He was also charged with receiving stolen property from a burglary and theft reported on June 23. “Numerous pieces” of jewelry taken from that burglary were recovered from the pawn shop, according to the statement.
On July 8, he was charged with an additional five counts of receiving stolen property. Those burglary and thefts occurred on April 5, April 11 , June 11, and June 24.
Onsite video from the Alexan aided in the investigation.
“The case was solved by the tireless work of detectives; canvassing, interviewing, following up on leads, and searching pawn shops throughout the county,” said Capt. Robert Geisler of the Bayonne Detective Bureau.
The value of property stolen was $135,885. The value of property recovered to date is $13,550.
The department’s investigation is continuing regarding the unsolved burglaries and thefts at the complex, and the man is a suspect in those, the police statement said.