Teen, 15, Broke Into 3 Fair Lawn Stores: Police

FAIR LAWN, NJ - A 15-year-old boy faces charges after police say he broke into three stores in Fair Lawn and stole items such as lottery tickets and state vehicle inspection stickers.

Sgt. Brian Metzler said the teen - who is from New York, NY - was taken into custody by Nassau County Police on Wednesday following an investigation into the local burglaries.

According to Metzler, on Feb. 21 police received reports of three burglaries that occurred during the overnight hours at the following locations:

• At New Breed Paintball (7-05 Fair Lawn Avenue), the glass had been attempted to be broken to gain entry but was unsuccessful.
• At the BP Gas Station (20-11 Fair Lawn Avenue), a video surveillance system showed a black male enter the business by breaking the glass on the front door with an unknown tool at 3:30 a.m., take an undetermined amount of cash, cigarettes, scratch-off lottery tickets & state vehicle inspection stickers, then exit the business and leave in a light-colored vehicle.
• At Best Cleaners (22-06 Morlot Avenue), officers found the glass on the front door smashed with approximately $100 taken from the register.

Fair Lawn Detective Paul Donohue and Detective Lt. Tim O'Shaughnessy launched an investigation and determined the vehicle used by the burglar - a white Dodge Challenger Hellcat - was reported stolen out of Nassau County, New York.

The detectives responded to Nassau County and interviewed a 15-year-old boy after he'd been arrest by Nassau County Police in connection with an incident on Long Island, Metzler said.

The teen admitted to breaking into three stores in Fair Lawn and police recovered lottery tickets, inspection stickers and bolt cutters from him, the sergeant said.

He will be charged as a juvenile with two counts of burglary, one count of attempted burglary, two counts of theft, two counts of criminal mischief and one count of possession of burglary tools, Metzler said.