Middlesex County Pair Charged After Off-Duty Officer Disrupts Burglary: Police

Howell, NJ -- Nicholas Bondarew was just driving along when he saw something that just didn't seem right.

As he drove down Hulses Corner Road in the Freewood Acres section of Howell, he saw a man wearing a backpack beating a hasty retreat from the yard of a nearby home.

So the off-duty Howell Township patrolman followed his instincts and began following the man.

In the end Bondarew helped his fellow officers track down and arrest three men who being sought in connection with an attempted burglary of a 70-year-old man's home that happened just as Bondarew was driving by, Police Chief Andrew Kudrick Jr. said.

The men -- Jamesburg residents Freddy Valera-Palomino, 44, of Colletti Court, and Miguel Paredes-Aquino, 39, of Pergola Street, and Rolando Lopez, 27, of Zlotkin Circle, Freehold -- all are being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institute, Freehold Township, in lieu of bail, Detective Sgt. Christian Antunez said.

Bail was set at $75,000 for Paredes-Aquino with a 10 percent option, who also is being held on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer, Antunez said. Paredes-Aquino also is a deported felon, he said.

Bail for Lopez and Valera-Palomino was set at $50,000 each, both with a 10 percent option. Valera-Palominoalso is being held on an ICE detainer, Antunez said.

The incident occurred about 11 a.m. on June 16, Antunez said.

Bondarew, who was off-duty and in his personal vehicle, was driving along Hulses Corner Road near the Freewood Acres section when he saw the man with the backpack hurrying away from the house. Bondarew saw the man walk down Hulses Corner Road and down Freewood Street, so Bondarew turned at the next street, Antunez said. He saw the man get into the front passenger seat of a Ford Escape that was parked nearby, and then Bondarew followed the car and saw it stop in the middle of the road near the Freewood Acres convenience store, where the passenger frantically waved a third man over to the car. That man got in the back seat, Antunez said, and drove south on Route 9.

Bondarew continued to follow the car down Route 9 while relaying what he'd seen to Howell police dispatchers, Antunez said.

Howell Patrolmen Omri Spiegel and Scott Brooks, as well as Cpl. Riaz Motani, caught up to the Ford Escape near Estelle Lane in Howell and pulled the car over, he said.

Valera-Palomino was driving and Paredes-Aquino was in the front seat, while Lopez was in the back seat, Antunez said.

The three had conflicting stories which included being in the area to do “landscaping work,” he said. A backpack was seen in the vehicle in the backseat, he said, and Paredes-Aquino -- whom Bondarew identified as the man he initially saw walking out of the yard wearing a backpack -- said the backpack was his, Antunez said.

Paredes-Aquino provided consent to search the backpack, which yielded a crowbar and large flat-head screwdriver, tools commonly used in forced-entry burglaries, Antunez said.

While Bondarew was following the Ford Escape, a 70-year-old Hulses Corner Road homeowner called police to report that someone had tried to break into his home, Antunez said.

The man told Detective Cpl. Nancy Carroll and Patrolman John Lopez that a Hispanic male rang his doorbell while a second Hispanic male attempted to pry his window open, all while he was home, Antunez said. The homeowner confronted the two and called 9-1-1, he said. As man with the backpack -- later identified as Paredes-Aquino -- began walking away he told the homeowner he would “do work” on his driveway, Antunez said.

The homeowner's description of the males matched Lopez and Paredes-Aquino, he said.

Lopez, Valera-Palomino and Paredes-Aquino all were arrested and charged with criminal attempt to commit burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary and possession of burglary tools, Antunez said.

"False stories such as the “driveway” story are common for burglars when confronted by homeowners and the public is reminded to always be vigilant," Kudrick said.

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