Crime & Safety
Cops Arrest Two Essex County Men for ATM Smash-and-Grab Spree
Prosecutor: Suspects used truck to smash store doors down and steal 10 cash machines in Bloomfield, Maplewood and Newark.
Police have arrested two Newark men for their alleged roles in a smash-and-grab ATM robbery spree that spanned across Essex County along the Route 21 corridor.
According to a release from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Levell Burnett, 38, and Mark Smith, 32, were arrested on Tuesday in connection with 10 separate ATM thefts that netted “significant sums of cash,” dating back to November.
The pair allegedly used a truck to smash through the doors of several local businesses to snatch the ATMs inside, authorities stated.
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The machines were taken to locations in Newark on Frelinghuysen Avenue and on Route 78.
Newark Police Director Eugene Venable stated that the damage caused during the incidents has been “extremely difficult on local businesses.”
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According to the ECPO, the incidents took place at the following locations:
- Sudz King Laundromat in Maplewood
- Dunkin Donuts in Bloomfield
- Park Place News, Any Garment Cleaners, Applebee’s, Checkers Restaurant, Jersey Fried Chicken and Crown Fried Chicken in Newark
- Buy Rite Liquors in Kearny
- Wonder Bagel in Jersey City
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