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Middletown cop charged with shoplifting $500 in merchandise: Monmouth County Prosecutor
Jan 25, 2024
FREEHOLD – A Middletown police officer is charged with shoplifting about $500 in merchandise from multiple locations of a discount store chain, in one instance while in uniform, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Brenden B. Santiago, 36, of Tinton Falls, faces one count of third-degree shoplifting and one count of fourth-degree attempted shoplifting. The incidents are alleged to have occurred throughout Monmouth County in December and earlier this month, according to a statement.
An investigation by the Professional Responsibility Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Middletown Police Department determined that Santiago “skip-scanned” items, “essentially scanning multiple less-expensive items and not scanning more-expensive items — or pretending to scan them and leaving the store without paying for them on six different occasions,” the Prosecutor’s Office said in the statement.
On Jan. 9, in what would have been the seventh such instance, police said Santiago was caught in the act, having not paid for more than $300 in merchandise. He was confronted by a store employee and asked for his receipt as he attempted to leave, according to the statement.
Middletown Police Chief Craig R. Weber said his department learned on Jan. 14 that one of their officers was possibly involved in acts of shoplifting — although Santiago’s identity was not yet known.
The department’s Office of Professional Standards investigated and found that there was sufficient cause to contact the Prosecutor’s Office, Weber said.
An investigation between the two agencies was launched and on Jan. 18, Santiago was suspended with pay. Following the filing of criminal charges against him on Wednesday, Santiago was relieved of duty and suspended without pay with immediate effect, the chief said.
During one of the alleged incidents, while off duty, Santiago was seen wearing his Middletown police uniform — including a police jacket and ball cap clearly displaying the Middletown Police Department patch insignia, Weber explained.
“That Santiago chose to violate his oath of office in which he swore to uphold the law is extremely disappointing, but the fact that he is further alleged to have shoplifted merchandise while dressed in his police uniform is particularly disgraceful,” Weber said.
