48°
Nothing was reported in the Palisade Avenue basement window break-in last Sept. 16, leading police to suspect the intruder - captured on surveillance video walking away in a yellow sweater -- "was scared away before he had the opportunity to commit a theft," Capt. Scott Tamagny told Daily Voice.
Called to the scene, Detective Eddie Alicea of the sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification found the fingerprints, then got a match from a criminal database last week to Juan E. Gomez, Tamagny said.
Detective Sgt. Christopher Garris and Detective Michael Jennings tracked down Gomez on Wednesday, the captain said.
"He was wearing the same yellow sweater," he said.
Gomez was released under the 2017 New Jersey bail reform law pending a detention hearing.
Click here to follow Daily Voice South Passaic and receive free news updates.
