'Office creeper' caught
"Office Creeper" arrested in NJ
Authorities have captured the elusive, so-called 'office creeper."
Gerald Broadwater was arrested Thursday morning in Newark, N.J., by U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive task force, said Tpr. Christopher Kay, N.J. State Police.
Broadwater, 61, posed as an employee to steal laptop computers, money and valuables from office buildings in at least five states, officials said.
Broadwater often posed as an office worker or member of a cleaning crew to rip people off, said police, who considered him armed and dangerous.
"He has the ability to go into offices and act as a cleaning staff member if he is encountered by an employee, or as an employee if he is encountered by a member of the cleaning staff," said Detective Michael Gommer, Upper Dublin Twp. Police Dept. in Montgomery Co., Pa.
Broadwater was captured on surveillance video during a string of burglaries in an office park in Montgomery County in January, police said.
Broadwater allegedly pried open doors and desks to get computers, cash and other valuable items.
He is smart, planning every move before he makes it, police said.
"He conducts surveillance on the businesses that he is entering, and he also conducts surveillance on businesses that he is in so that he knows the proper times to commit these crimes and the proper ways to escape if he is encountered," said Gommer.
A break in the case came after police said an office worker thought Broadwater looked suspicious and called 911. A traffic stop a few minutes later led police to his identity and a slew of warrants from Georgia to New Jersey.
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