Officials: New Jersey officer stole more than $5K in goods from Home Depot

A New Jersey sheriff's officer is accused of conspiring with a Home Depot employee to steal more than $5,000 in home remodeling materials from the store, the Bridgewater Courier News reported.

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Jose Beltran, 30 of Elizabeth, and Polly Linton, 23, of Linden, are each charged with third-degree theft and third-degree conspiracy to commit theft, NJ.com reported, citing a statement from the Union County Prosecutor's Office.

Investigators found that on at least three occasions in August and September, Beltran went to the Home Depot in Linden when he was off-duty from his job as a Union County sheriff's officer and brought approximately $5,156 in merchandise to Linton, who was a cashier at the store, the Courier News reported.

Investigators said the two then used "various fraud tactics" to allow Beltranto leave the store without paying for the goods, NJ.com reported.

Beltran is suspended without pay from his $59,398 a year job, a Union County spokesman told NJ.com.

Cox Media Group