Man charged in string of car burglaries in downtown Newark

A Newark man is behind bars, charged with burglarizing several vehicles and stealing another in downtown Newark.

The thefts happened in the early-morning hours of May 21 on Main Street and North Chapel Street, according to Lt. Andrew Rubin, a spokesman for the Newark Police Department.

“A total of nine vehicles were entered and had property removed,” Rubin said. “In the majority of the cases, there was no damage to the vehicle and the vehicle had been left unlocked.”

A Mazda CX5 was stolen from the unit block of North Chapel Street and recovered a week later in Brookside.

Police used video surveillance, witness interviews and physical evidence recovered at the scenes to identify the suspect as 35-year-old James Butler.

Police raided Butler's home June 13 and seized evidence linking him to the crimes, Rubin said.

Butler was charged with nine counts of third-degree burglary, nine counts of theft, two counts of criminal mischief and one count of motor vehicle theft. He was jailed after failing to post $31,000 secured bail.

In December 2023, Butler was charged in five attempted car burglaries outside the Compass at The Grove apartment complex.