By: Richard L. Smith
An 18-year-old Newark man was arrested early Sunday morning after police responded to a report of a suspicious person inside a vehicle parked at a Brookwood Drive residence.
According to authorities, officers were dispatched to the area at approximately 2:19 a.m. after a resident reported hearing a vehicle alarm sounding outside the home.
The caller told police that after checking outside, he observed an unknown male sitting inside his daughter’s vehicle.
The resident reported that the suspect exited the vehicle and fled northbound on Brookwood Drive.
While canvassing the surrounding area, responding officers located and stopped an individual matching the suspect’s description.
Police identified the individual as Pedro Ortega, 18, of Newark.
The caller told officers he never lost sight of the suspect from the moment the individual exited the vehicle until police made the stop.
Ortega was taken into custody and transported to police headquarters, where he was processed and charged with criminal trespassing under New Jersey statute 2C:18-3.