Serial burglar, suspected accomplice nabbed for stealing from Trenton stores during pandemic
TRENTON » While Trentonians are locked down in their homes, an alleged kleptomaniac went on a burglary spree during the global coronavirus outbreak.
Cristian Castro, 19, was nabbed this week by city police after he was caught riding away on a bike early Monday morning with a black bag in tow containing a cash register, police said.
Castro is accused of stealing the register from a bar on the 1000 block of South Broad Street.
He faces charges for burglarizing nine city businesses, mostly bars and liquor stores, in the last three weeks, Trenton Police Lt. Jason Kmiec said.
Police were hot on his trail and finally wrangled Castro around 4 a.m. Monday night, as he pedaled away from the bar.
Castro confessed to stealing another eight stores and is suspected in at least four more burglaries, cops said. They didn’t have a figure yet for the pandemic pilferer’s exploits.
Castro’s alleged MO was to take cash registers, power tools and anything else of value that he could later hawk for a couple bucks, cops said.
But, for whatever reason, he wasn’t jacking liquor bottles during the heists, Kmiec said.
Police also locked up Kevin Garcia Cabrera, 22, who they suspect is an accomplice in the burglaries, the same day.
He has only been charged so far with a March 23 burglary of a bar on the 300 block of Emory Avenue, Kmiec said.
The bar owner told cops her establishment was ransacked of three electronic cash registers and $1,400 in cash. Cops are still investigating to tie Cabrera to more thefts.
Anyone with information is asked to call Trenton Sgt. Christopher Kurfuss at 609989-4086