3 juveniles sentenced for roles in incident at Manalapan home

Staff Writer

By mark rosman

3 juveniles sentenced for roles
in incident at Manalapan home

MANALAPAN — Three teen-age boys have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to probation as a result of their participation in a June 30 incident at a township home.

The boys appeared before state Superior Court Judge Eugene A. Iadanza, sitting in Freehold, on Aug. 13 and entered their pleas, according to Kenneth Keller, deputy first assistant prosecutor with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

The three boys — ages 15, 15 and 16 — were arrested June 30 and charged in connection with a burglary that occurred at a Manalapan home that afternoon in which police said a teen-age girl was restrained.

Police said the juveniles entered a home on Whitehall Way, off Old Queens Boulevard in the Yorktowne development, sometime before officers were called to the scene at 3:47 p.m. A 16-year-old girl was home alone and did not give the three boys permission to enter the home, police said.

Police said that after the boys, who are all residents of Manalapan, entered the home, one boy held the girl on her bed while the other two roamed the house. Damage occurred in the kitchen, the family dog was injured and the contents of a wallet were missing, according to a press release issued by police.

Manalapan Police Lt. Louis Moreto said that after the boys left the house, the girl called police at 3:47 p.m. Moreto said one of the 15-year-olds was spotted in the area when officers responded to the scene. An investigation led to the arrest of that youth and the other two boys who were charged in connection with the incident, the officer said.

The boys were charged with the following offenses:

• The 16-year-old boy was charged with criminal restraint, simple assault, trespassing and burglary.

Keller said that youth pleaded guilty to simple assault and criminal trespass. He was sentenced to six months’ probation, and ordered to pay $93 restitution and $60 to the state’s Victims of Crime Compen-sation Board. The criminal restraint and burglary charges were dropped.

• One of the 15-year-old boys was charged with trespassing, burglary, criminal mischief and simple assault.

• The second 15-year-old boy was charged with trespassing, burglary, criminal mischief and theft.

Keller said both 15-year-olds pled guilty to criminal trespass and criminal mischief with damages under $500. Each boy was sentenced to six months’ probation, ordered to pay $93 restitution and $60 to the state’s Victims of Crime Compen-sation Board and given 20 hours of community service to perform. The other charges were dropped.