2 Charged In 13-Town North Jersey Burglary Spree: Bergen County Prosecutor

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Two men have been charged in a 7-month burglary spree that included homes in Ridgewood, Wyckoff, Paramus, and at least 10 other towns in Bergen, Essex, and Morris counties, prosecutors said.

Kali J. Carter, 49, of East Orange and Demetrius D. Hale, 49, of Bergenfield were arrested last Thursday on charges "related to a series of burglaries across northern New Jersey," the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office announced on Friday.

Homes were broken into and burglarized in from December 2023 through June 2024, prosecurors said.

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Crime Reduction Unit, which was formed in late 2023 to address interjurisdictional crimes, began analyzing recent unsolved burglaries and their methods, prosecutors said.

"This collaborative review by law enforcement from Bergen County led investigators to believe that a large cross-section of similar incidents was all connected," prosecutors said. "In particular, a series of burglaries appeared to fit an emerging pattern across Bergen County, Essex County, and Morris County, as well as similar activity in New York."

The Crime Reduction Unit and many other law enforcement agencies investigated for months.

"Based on a complex and diligent investigation that required physical surveillance, as well as a careful review of videofootage and cellular phone records, detectives determined that" Carter and Hale engaged in a burglary spree for almost seven months in Bergen, Essex, and Morris County, including 18 burglaries and an attempted burglary, they said.

On Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, with the assistance of the Bergen County Regional SWAT Team, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Crime Reduction Task Force executed search warrants at the residences of Carter in East Orange and Hale in Bergenfield.

They were arrested at their homes and brought to the Bergen County Correctional Facility.

During the searches, detectives recovered a .380 caliber semiautomatic Bersa Thunder handgun from Carter's residence, prosecutors said.

Each man was charged with 16 counts of burglary and theft offenses just for incidents that occurred in Bergen County, including Ridgewood, Wyckoff, Ho-Ho-Kus, Hackensack., Paramus, Hasbrouck Heights, Washington Towship, and Leonia.

After they were arrested in Bergen County, they were charged with an additional 11 countes of burglary and theft-related offenses for crimes in Chatham, West Orange, Livingston, Verona, and Parsippany.

“Thanks to the relentless and diligent work of the newly formed Crime Reduction Unit, and the considerable countywide resource that we have named the Crime Reduction TaskForce, it is once again clear how collaboration among county and municipal law enforcement agencies can have a direct impact on complex cases,” said Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella. “While some investigations are resolved quickly, others require the patience and perseverance of our law enforcement officers and detectives from multiple agencies who work tirelessly to follow every lead, analyze evidence, and piece together pattern crimes."

First Assistant Prosecutor Heather Suffin said, “Whether the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office files one charge or 56 counts of various criminal charges in a given case, the dedicated assistant prosecutors, detectives, analysts, and professional staff of this office will capitalize on our excellent relationships with area law enforcement to partner up, and ensure that public safety remains the top priority.”

Musella thanked the many law enforcement agencies that had a hand in the investigation.