By jamie dougher
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — Two men were arrested and charged with burglarizing a local diner July 18, and one of them was implicated in two previous burglaries at the same diner.
Police apprehended Ahmed S. Fatouh, 22, and Matthew Shamy, 19, both of North Brunswick, after the Seville Diner on Route 18 was burglarized shortly before 4 a.m. Police were responding to the diner’s alarm when a witness reported that two men had left the diner in separate vehicles at 3:52 a.m.
Patrolman Mike Dibuono reportedly saw a white Ford Thunderbird leaving the diner’s parking lot, and Patrolman Guy Limato then located the vehicle in the parking lot of a Route 18 shopping center and arrested the driver, Fatouh.
Reports state that Fatouh was in possession of about $50 in cash and burglary tools. Further investigation led to the arrest of Shamy and the discovery that Fatouh was allegedly connected with two previous burglaries at the Seville Diner.
The two burglaries took place July 1, when $500 was taken, and July 4, when $900 was stolen, according to police.
East Brunswick Detective Paul Natalicchio said Fatouh had been an employee of the diner from the end of May to the beginning of June.
Fatouh and Shamy were charged with burglary, theft, criminal mischief and possession of burglary tools. Fatouh also was charged with possession of stolen property.
The two suspects were lodged at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, North Brunswick, in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Fatouh, who had been bailed out, was arrested again in East Brunswick on July 24 and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and on an active warrant from New Brunswick police in the amount of $1,000. Police noted that Fatouh gave a different spelling of his name when he was arrested July 24, and a different date of birth.
Detective Brian Melnick of the West Windsor Police Department said his department also plans to charge Fatouh with burglary, theft and criminal mischief after an incident at the Princetonian Diner July 13. Fingerprints taken from the Seville Diner matched those retrieved from the Princetonian, where $500 was stolen and there was $500 in property damage, he said.

