Perth Amboy police chief, May 31, 2016.jpeg

Perth Amboy's suspended police chief Benjamin Ruiz, 54, leaving the Perth Amboy Police Department on Tuesday, May 31, 2016. Ruiz on Tuesday was arrested and charged with trespassing and impersonating an officer.

(Spencer Kent | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

PERTH AMBOY -- The city's already suspended police chief was arrested Tuesday and charged with trespassing on the property of a convenience store, and claiming he was a police officer when he was confronted by the owner and employees, according to a statement from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

Perth Amboy's suspended police chief Benjamin Ruiz, 54, leaving the Perth Amboy Police Department on Tuesday, May 31, 2016. Ruiz on Tuesday was arrested and charged with trespassing and impersonating an officer.

Benjamin Ruiz, 54, of Perth Amboy, had allegedly been "hiding outside the convenience store" for months to "watch an unidentified neighbor," the statement said.

When employees at the Smith Street store repeatedly confronted and questioned Ruiz, he told them he was a police officer.

But, the prosecutor's office said Ruiz "was not acting as a police officer and had been suspended from duty in December 2014, after he was arrested and charged in an unrelated theft case."

Those charges stemmed from three separate incidents between Dec. 8, 2013 and July 29, 2014 when the chief allegedly ordered city mechanics to work on his motorcycle, his classic Mustang and a friend's car, previous report said.

Those alleged incidents led Ruiz -- who started as a city police officer in 1988, and then was appointed chief in September 2012 -- being indicted in February 2015 on two charges of official misconduct, theft of services and witness tampering.

The investigation into Tuesday's charges remain ongoing, and officials asked that anyone with information to contact the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at (732) 745-3300.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.