HACKENSACK, NJ — A landscaper has been arrested in connection with two residential burglaries, including one in which a 13-year-old girl was home alone.
Armando Echevarria, 45, of Hackensack, was arrested and charged with burglary, theft and possession of burglar tools, according to the Hackensack Police Department.
On Jan. 8 at 10:39 a.m., Echevarria entered an unlocked front door of an apartment in a two-family dwelling on Union Street, police said.
While rummaging through the rooms, he encountered the young girl sleeping, and she was awoken by his flashlight, police said.
He quickly exited her room and fled the apartment with two 18-carat gold necklaces worth several thousand dollars, police said.
Surveillance video showed the suspect flee in a black Kia Soul, police said.
The department’s CCTV system and Automated License Plate Reader System were used to identify and locate the vehicle, police said.
Police stopped the Kia and seized gloves and a pry bar from the front seat, and Echevarria was arrested.
Detective Matthew DeBonis identified Echevarria as the suspect of another burglary that occurred a few blocks away on Nov. 15, in which he climbed through a bedroom window and took several pieces of jewelry, police said.
Echevarria was remanded to Bergen County Jail on complaint warrants.
