Belleville Resident Sees Stranger Inside Home, Calls Cops: PD

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Belleville officers arrested an East Orange man after he allegedly entered a Washington Avenue home last month. Authorities later found the man in possession of several items that he admitted taking from multiple locations throughout town, police said.

According to the Belleville Police Department, a homeowner called officers around 2:12 a.m. on Sept. 23 after they saw an unknown man inside their residence via a surveillance camera.

After arriving on the scene, officers met with the victim, who said that the man had fled the area through backyards on Joralemon Street. When officers checked the home, they found the front door and a rear window open.

No items were missing from the home, police said.

Later that morning, Belleville officers saw a man fitting the description of the suspected intruder walking on Washington Avenue. Officers stopped the man – later identified as Andre Boykin, 26, of East Orange – and took him into custody.

When police searched a backpack in Boykin’s possession, they found “numerous items” which he admitted that he took from “various locations in town,” authorities said.

Police arrested Boykin and charged him with burglary, receiving stolen property and possession of burglary tools.

Keep updated with local public safety alerts at the Patch Belleville-Nutley Facebook page. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo: Shutterstock