New Jersey man accused of Pearl River house burglary, as cops hunt second suspect

By STEVE LIEBERMAN AND JANE LERNER
THE JOURNAL NEWS


(Original publication: November 9, 2007)
PEARL RIVER - The two men who triggered a manhunt and school lockdowns on Wednesday are suspected in more than two dozen burglaries in Bergen County, N.J., police said yesterday.


One of the suspects, Diego Alejandro Serna, 27, remained jailed yesterday on felony burglary charges as police in Orangetown and New Jersey sought his alleged accomplice, Eleo Gonzalez. Both are from Englewood, N.J.


Authorities said the two are suspects in dozens of burglaries in Bergen County and that they hit a Pearl River house Wednesday. Police captured Serna, 27 after a Brown Drive resident reported seeing two men acting suspiciously near the Veterans Parkway house.


The resident was a retired New York City police officer.


"He saw them, got suspicious and called the cops," Orangetown Detective Stephen Toth said yesterday. "If he doesn't call, they go in, get out and we probably don't get them."


When Orangetown Police Officers Joel Spoelstra and Kerri Schiller got to the home, they found Serna and another man trying to flee with items taken from the residence, Detective Lt. John McAndrew said yesterday.


They chased Serna for blocks before capturing him, Toth said.


The second man, believed to be Gonzalez, escaped as police searched the woods.


Rockland County's police helicopter searched from the air. Schools went into lockdown because of police reports of a chase and search.


Police found a car registered to Gonzalez near the house, Toth said. Officers found about eight iPods, two laptop computers, traveler's checks and other items in the car, Toth said.


The electronic equipment and other items were reportedly stolen Wednesday from houses in Maywood and Rochelle Park in Bergen County, Toth said.


Serna gave police a statement concerning the Orangetown incident and those in New Jersey, Toth said. Toth and other Orangetown detectives met with officers of a half-dozen Bergen police departments.


The pair are suspected of committing 25 to 30 Bergen burglaries, police officials said.


Police believe the suspects operated by staking out homes in Bergen County, then ringing doorbells to see if anyone was home.


If no one answered, they went to the rear of the house and pried open a door or broke a window to get inside, Toth said.


Toth said they stole primarily electronic equipment, jewelry and cash.


"They came to Orangetown and got caught," Toth said.


Serna, who lives at 120 Grand Ave. in Englewood, is charged in Orangetown with second-degree burglary, fourth-degree grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. He was being held on $35,000 bail in the Rockland County jail. He also faces charges in New Jersey.


Serna, a citizen of Colombia, is living in this country illegally, McAndrew said. He apparently entered the country legally but overstayed his visa. He lives in the New Jersey community with his mother, police said.


McAndrew said police had contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the primary enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.


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