Police: NJ man tried to break into ex’s west end home, fled to turnpike
SHENANDOAH – A man from New Jersey’s capital city is in Schuylkill County Prison, accused of burglarizing a Vine Street home and leading police on a pursuit through multiple counties.
Jose Vazquez Matos, 35, of 1 Kingsbury Square, Trenton, NJ, is facing felony burglary and criminal trespass charges, among others, for the incident earlier this week.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Shenandoah Police Capt. Travis Bowman, police were first called to a home at 22 North Vine Street around 10:30pm Tuesday for a reported break-in in progress, the second such call of the night at that address.
The victim told police that Vazquez, her ex-boyfriend, was trying to gain entry to her home through a second floor window.
Officers said they were told that he “was crazy and she was fearful what he would do to her and her child.”
A few days prior, the victim said Vazquez had smashed her window trying to break in and that, since she broke up with him, he would “not leave her alone and has been terrorizing her ever since.”
She gave police a vehicle description of a black Honda Civic with New Jersey plates and that it was missing a rear bumper and taillight.
Bowman said he spotted the vehicle in the 600 block of West Centre Street and pulled the vehicle over in the Boyer’s parking lot. Moments later, Vazquez fled at a high rate of speed, police said, turning onto Vine and then onto Centre Street, fleeing east through town at speeds in excess of 80mph.
The chase continued through Mahanoy Township and Mahanoy City, with borough police losing the vehicle on the Vulcan Hill east of Mahanoy City.
About 15 minutes later, West Penn Police spotted the vehicle through their township and attempted to stop it, though it fled into Lehigh County, where State Police at Fogelsville picked up the pursuit and stopped Vazquez on the Pennsylvania Turnpike via a PIT maneuver.
Vazquez is facing charges of felony burglary, felony criminal trespass, misdemeanor stalking, misdemeanor loitering and prowling at nighttime, and misdemeanor fleeing an officer, along with summary traffic violations.
He was arraigned Wednesday morning and committed to Schuylkill County Prison, unable to post $150,000 cash bail.
He will appear before Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 28.
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