Cranford Man Arrested for Burglary, Assault

The following information was provided by Cranford Police.

A local man has been arrested and charged with multiple offenses by police following a 9-1-1 call reporting a burglary to a parked motor vehicle and an assault on the vehicle owner.

At approximately 01:05am on 5/18/2013, Cranford Police were contacted by a Holly Street resident who witnessed his vehicle being ransacked by a white male suspect in his 20s.  The vehicle owner had confronted the suspect and engaged in a scuffle with him outside the car prior to calling police.  The suspect fled the scene on foot after breaking away from the victim.  The victim provided a description and turned over to police a cellular telephone dropped at the scene by the suspect. 

Moments later Patrolman Derek Farbanec located James Mattis, Age 22 of Cranford NJ, running through a municipal parking lot two blocks from the scene.  Mattis was positively identified by the victim and was found to be the owner of the dropped phone.  Police also recovered a black backpack, described by the victim, which contained Mattis’ identification and property from the burglarized vehicle.

Mattis was arrested and charged with Burglary, a second degree crime, as well as Simple Assault, Theft and Receiving Stolen Property, all disorderly persons offenses.  He was processed and committed to the Union County Jail in lieu of $35,000 bail.  A first appearance in Superior Court is scheduled for May 22, 2013. 

Cranford Police are still investigating Mattis’ possible connection to two similar incidents in the immediate area that occurred during the same overnight period.  Anyone with information on these active cases is asked to contact Detective Michael Andrews at 908-272-2222.