Cops arrest pair at Best Buy

EAST BRUNSWICK - Two out-of-state residents were arrested Friday after they allegedly attempted to steal merchandise from the Best Buy store on Route 18.

Police were called to the store at 7:32 p.m. on a report of a possible shoplifter. Upon arrival, store security advised officers that they had observed a black male wearing a green shirt and baseball cap hiding store merchandise under his shirt.

When security approached the suspect, he removed the merchandise from under his shirt and left the store with a black female. The two suspects were located on foot in the parking lot.

The male provided a false name to the investigating officers but was later identified as 32-year-old Basil Munroe, of Staten Island, N.Y. The female was identified as 23-year-old Nakia J. Harrison of Hampton, Va., according to police.

Inside the suspects' vehicle, located elsewhere in the parking lot, police said they found stolen video games, music CDs, a DVD, tools for removing store security tags, "booster bags" commonly used for removing property from stores without setting off security monitors, and materials for making additional booster bags.

The officers located three additional booster bags in the parking lot, where the suspects had been observed bending down behind vehicles, police said.

Munroe and Harrison were charged with possession of stolen property and possession of burglary tools, and each was held in lieu of $25,000 at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, North Brunswick. Both suspects were also found to be wanted on outstanding warrants out of Pennsylvania.