Serial Thief Arrested for STEALING $3,062 in Merchandise from Home Depot

On Independence Day (July 4, 2021), around 5:45 PM, the police were called in response to an attempted shoplifting at The Home Depot in Linden, New Jersey. Upon arriving on scene, Officer Amaral and Officer Smith observed that the alleged shoplifter, later identified as Jessica Bridgelal, had been detained by store management at the back of the store. Another alleged male co-conspirator had previously escaped the premises before he could be detained. After speaking with the manager, Police were told that the total value of the merchandise was about $3k, which Police later confirmed after the total sum was tabulated to be $3,062.

After interviewing the suspect and speaking with the Sergeant, the responding officers determined that because Ms. Bridgelal had not passed the point of sale during her attempted theft, they were limited in their recourse against her. The suspect was asked to sign a form agreeing to not enter the premises of that Home Depot location again, or else she would be arrested for trespassing. However, because the suspect did not have adequate identification, the Linden Police determined that they had to take her into custody and transport her to the Linden Police HQ to correctly identify her and determine whether or not she had any other arrest warrants.

After being processed, Ms. Bridgelal was released with a court date. She was charged under N.J.S.A 2C:20-11 for “SHOPLIFTING-TAKE MERCH W/O PAYING-RET VALUE $500-$74999” and her case was subsequently transferred to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office. After this incident, Ms. Bridgelal and her alleged co-conspirator Ronnie Bridgelal were arrested again on August 9, 2022 for allegedly stealing $3,500 from The Home Depot in Stafford Township, New Jersey. Law enforcement officials believe that they have shoplifted over $12,000 worth of items from various Home Depot locations. Court records indicate that charges are still pending against Ms. Bridgelal.

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Our content is educational and in compliance with YouTube's Fair Use Policy because we edit several long clips into a concise story. This is similar to other law enforcement channels on YouTube. All videos and case documents were obtained pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (P.L. 2001, c. 404). Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty.