Rooftop Leap, Tightrope Walk Led To Theft Of Metal In South Brunswick, Cops Say

An Essex County man climbed ladders, leaped onto a rooftop, slipped through an exhaust fan and did a tightrope walk on a pipe to steal metal from a South Brunswick warehouse, police said.

With few leads, detectives began researching former and current warehouse workers, and they figured out who had access to sport utility vehicles because one was seen late at night near the warehouse, police said.

That research led them to the Irvington man, who was taken into custody on Monday, police said.

“This suspect tried an unconventional method to commit his crime, but the determination and perseverance of the detectives is what tracked him down,’’ Chief Raymond Hayducka said in a prepared statement. “He could avoid setting off the alarm, but not avoid our department following all the leads. This is an example of the great police work our department does every day.”

According to a news release from Capt. James Ryan:

In November of 2013, some $40,000 worth of metal was reported stolen from Richmond Industries on Chris Court over the course of a month.

Slowly, company managers had realized hundreds of copper bars were missing from their warehouse.

Detectives launched an investigation, but there were no signs of forced entry and the alarm system never activated. There were few leads and after several weeks, the case grew cold.

On Sept. 25, Richmond Industries reported another theft of copper bars and scrap metal from their warehouse. Again, there were no signs of forced entry and the alarm system was never activated.

But detectives reviewed surveillance video from the area and saw an SUV near the warehouse late at night.

Detectives then researched all current and former employees to see who may have an SUV. They determined Momodu Rogers, 38, of Irvington had a friend who owned an SUV.

Detectives Dennis Yuhasz and Mike Pellino found Rogers Monday morning in Union Township. He was driving a Dodge Durango.

The officers then linked Rogers to the scene and pieced together the crimes.

He climbed 30-feet up a ladder that was attached to a dust collector box that runs parallel to the warehouse.

Then, with a running start, he jumped over a five-foot gap between the dust collector and the warehouse roof. Once he was on the roof, he entered an exhaust fan which was off.

Then, he slipped his 5 foot 5 inch, 140-pound frame through the blades of the fan, and stepped onto a steel bar under the fan. That’s when he did a tight-rope walk. He walked for five feet on that pipe to a ladder, then climbed down onto the warehouse floor.

He grabbed copper bars and scrap metal and pushed them outside, through a small window.

He left the same way he came in, so he never set off the alarm.

Rogers was arrested Monday afternoon and charged with two counts each of burglary and theft. He was sent to the Middlesex County jail, North Brunswick, with bail set at $10,000.