'Superman Impersonator' Charged in Englewood Nightclub Burglary

A caped burglar wearing grocery bags on his head was arrested Sunday after he stole more than $4,000 from an Englewood nightclub that had fired him days earlier, police said Tuesday.

Victor Gabriel Ingles, a 20-year-old city resident, smashed a glass door at the Night’s Lounge on West Palisade Avenue and was captured on security cameras punching in a code to the cash register that only he and a few employees knew, according to police.

Ingles grabbed the cash and took off running when police responded to a 9-1-1 call shortly before 5 a.m., Englewood Detective Capt. Timothy Torell said. Although the alleged burglar was able to elude pursuing officers, he managed to drop most of the money during his hasty escape across several city blocks.  

Englewood Detective Chris Kedersha and detectives from the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department arrived and started investigating the scene, Torell said in a statement. When Kedersha and club management watched security camera footage, they spotted a man resembling Ingles.

“The burglar had put a couple of yellow Shoprite bags over his head and some type of red towel or cape over the top half of his body, presumably to hide the bright purple shirt he was wearing that everyone knew he owned,” the captain said. “He looked like a Superman impersonator having a bad hair day.”

Kedersha already had a warrant out for Ingles for failing to appear in court on charges of serving alcohol to a minor at another bar, and investigators caught up with him a short time later at his Lafayette Place apartment, police said. Detectives found the pair of jeans he was wearing in the video, along with a fresh tear and dried blood.

Ingles led detectives to a church where he managed to stash a few hundreds dollars of stolen loot he didn’t drop during the chase, according to Torell.

"I’m thinking ‘rocket scientist’ is probably not listed anywhere on Victor’s resumé," he said.