Two men have been arrested in connection with 10 ATM crash and grab burglaries in the region, including one incident in Maplewood.
“Working cooperatively with our law enforcement partners we were able to arrest two men who we believe were responsible for multiple incidents of crashing into businesses, grabbing automatic teller machines and fleeing with significant sums of cash,’’ said Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray. “These arrests are significant but the investigation is continuing.’’
Yesterday, following a six-month investigation by a Joint Task Force comprised of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, New Jersey State Police, the FBI, Newark Police, and Bloomfield Police, Levell Burnett, 38, and Mark Smith, 32, both of Newark were arrested without incident. Burnett was arrested on South 8th Street in Newark. Smith was arrested at his home on Columbia Avenue, also in Newark.
Burnett is charged in 10 incidents in Newark, Bloomfield, Maplewood, Jersey City and Kearny. Smith is charged with nine incidents in Newark, Bloomfield, Maplewood, Jersey City and Kearny. Both men are charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit burglary, theft of an ATM and criminal mischief.
The incidents that led to the arrests occurred from October 2014 though late January 2015. The businesses include Sudz King Laundromat in Maplewood, as well as Buy Rite Liquors in Kearny, Wonder Bagel in Jersey City and Dunkin Donuts in Bloomfield. In Newark, they are accused of burglarizing Park Place News, Any Garment Cleaners, Applebee’s, Checkers Restaurant, Jersey Fried Chicken and Newark Crown Fried Chicken. The Sudz King incident took place on October 10, 2014.
In most of the cases the men allegedly used a pickup truck to crash into the front of the business and then took the ATM machine. The machines were taken to locations in Newark on Frelinghuysen Avenue and on Route 78.
