HACKENSACK—Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of 24-year-old Enajaim E. Bowman of Newark on various charges related to a series of burglaries across northern and central New Jersey — including in Hillsdale, Emerson, and River Vale.
The arrest is the result of a weeks-long investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Chief Matthew Finck; the Hackensack Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Antista; and with assistance from the Township of Union Police Department in Union County, under the direction of Police Director Chris Donnelly.
For approximately two months, during December 2024 through January 2025, multiple jurisdictions in the New Jersey and New York area were affected by a commercial burglary pattern. Members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Crime Reduction Unit began analyzing the series of incidents and established a connection between burglaries that occurred in Bergen, Middlesex, Morris and Union counties, as well as similar activity in New York.
The BCPO’s Crime Reduction Unit activated the assistance of its companion resource, the Bergen County Crime Reduction Task Force – a group of municipal law enforcement officers in Bergen County who focus on multi-jurisdictional investigations. The detectives worked together to determine that 14 Dunkin’ Donuts stores were burglarized by the same suspect during overnight hours in December 2024 and January 2025 across four New Jersey counties.
A 15th store was linked to this series, wherein the same suspect attempted to burglarize the establishment, but was unsuccessful.
In these incidents, surveillance footage depicted a lone male burglarizing – or in one case attempting to burglarize – the stores by prying locked entry doors and windows. Once inside, the burglar targeted cash registers, safes, and the managers’ offices for theft and vandalism.
- Total stolen cash: $18,627.16
- Total stolen gift cards: $140
- Total property damage: $10,000
- Grand total losses: $28,767.16
The investigation spanned several weeks and resulted in the identification of Bowman as the suspect responsible for the burglary pattern, linking him to at least the following incidents:
Pascack Valley
- 60 Broadway, Hillsdale (Jan. 19, 2025, 1:14 a.m.) – $1,465 stolen
- 130 Kinderkamack Road, Emerson (Jan. 19, 2025, 1:43 a.m.) – Attempted burglary, no entry gained
- 636 Westwood Ave., River Vale (Jan. 19, 2025, 2:05 a.m.) – $858 stolen, $1,000 in damage
Other Bergen County Locations
- 380 Essex Street, Lodi (Dec. 21, 2024, 1:36 a.m.) – $1,990.44 stolen
- 150 Passaic Street, Hackensack (Dec. 21, 2024, 1:59 a.m.) – $800 stolen, $140 in gift cards; $1,350 damage
- 25 Hackensack Ave., Hackensack (Dec. 21, 2024, 3:15 a.m.) – $1,770 stolen
- 137 Route 17 South, Paramus (Dec. 21, 2024, 3:41 a.m.) – $2,988.07 stolen
Middlesex County
- 691 US-1, Edison (Dec. 13, 2024, 12:56 a.m.) – $500 damage
- 490 US-1, Edison (Dec. 13, 2024, 1:09 a.m.) – $750 stolen, $500 damage
- 1790 Lincoln Highway, Edison (Dec. 13, 2024, 1:41 a.m.) – $2,500 stolen, $600 damage
- 1704 Woodbridge Avenue, Edison (Dec. 13, 2024, 2:11 a.m.) – $1,525 stolen, $500 damage
Morris & Union County
- 10 Ashwood Ave., Summit (Jan. 17, 2025, 1:00 a.m.) – $2,200 damage
- 118 Main St., Chatham (Jan. 17, 2025, 2:22 a.m.) – $795 stolen, $2,750 damage
- 176 Columbia Turnpike, Florham Park (Jan. 17, 2025, 3 a.m.) – $700 stolen, $600 damage
- 329 Route 10 East, East Hanover (Jan. 17, 2025, 3:45 a.m.) – $1,985.65 stolen.
