Alleged Hoboken Burglar Found ‘Sweating Profusely’: Police

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken police have arrested a man that officers believe may be responsible for several burglaries in the city, authorities said.

According to the Hoboken Police Department, officers received a call on March 2 from a resident who said that he saw an unknown man in his Willow Avenue apartment while viewing security cameras from a remote location. The caller was able to relay a photo of the alleged intruder to police.

Officers responded to investigate the alleged burglary, setting up a perimeter around the Willow Avenue apartment building at 4:28 p.m. The officers found “pry marks” on multiple door frames, then heard “movement” on the third-floor stairwell. There, they found the alleged burglar, Fernando Rosario, 42, of Hoboken, who was “sweating profusely,” police said.

One of the officers recognized Rosario and knew that he didn’t live in the building. He matched the caller’s photo and description, police said.

After placing Rosario under arrest and searching him, police found a flathead screwdriver and a Hudson Share customer access card that was “bent and worn down on both sides,” items that police said are “commonly used as burglar tools when attempting to forcibly gain entry into a secured structure.”

Rosario also possessed multiple items of jewelry believed to be proceeds from burglaries, two zip lock bags of marijuana and four glass cartridges containing suspected marijuana oil, police stated.

A tenant from one of the burglarized apartments was able to positively identify two items of jewelry that belonged to him, police said. In addition, one of the other alleged victims was able to identify multiple pieces of her jewelry, including a college school ring with an inscribed name and a charm with initials.

Hoboken police investigators later charged Rosario with multiple other burglaries in the city, authorities said.

In all, police charged Rosario with five counts of burglary, four counts of theft of movable property, three counts of burglar tools, criminal mischief, possession of a CDS (marijuana) and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Keep updated with local public safety alerts at the Patch Hoboken Facebook page.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com