‘Smash and grab’ suspect
arrested after accident
OLD BRIDGE — Township police have arrested a local resident in a series of "smash and grab" burglaries that occurred between November and January at a Route 34 convenience store.
The arrest came following a tip from the Sayreville police that the suspect had left the scene of an accident in that borough and was headed south toward Old Bridge, according to sources from both police departments.
Marc Craig, 23, of Van Ethel Drive, Old Bridge, was arrested last Thursday and charged with four counts each of burglary, theft and criminal mischief in connection with break-ins at the Pantry 1 convenience store, Route 34 in the Park Plaza shopping center, according to Old Bridge police Capt. Scott Dyson.
The burglaries, in which Newport cigarette cartons valued at $30 each were stolen, occurred on Nov. 28, Dec. 12 and 15, and Jan. 25 — all between 2:45 and 4 a.m. while the store was closed for business, according to police.
The total value of all stolen property from the four burglaries is reported to be $2,100, Dyson said.
Township police apprehended Craig — who was a suspect in the burglaries based on a police investigation — in a traffic stop on Route 34 and Cottrell Road on Feb. 13, following a tip from Sayreville police that he was headed toward Old Bridge after leaving the scene of a hit-and-run accident at Main Street and Kennedy Drive in Sayreville, according to Sayreville Detective Ken Kelly.
During the traffic stop, Old Bridge police charged Craig with possession of a hypodermic needle, Dyson said. Sayreville police soon responded and transported Craig to Raritan Bay Medical Center, Old Bridge division, for blood testing, Kelly said.
The following day, Craig was arrested by Old Bridge police and charged with the Pantry 1 crimes.
Police reports from the burglaries indicated that a security camera had footage of the suspect smashing the store’s front door plate-glass window, opening the door, running behind the counter, grabbing the cigarette cartons, and fleeing on foot across the shopping center parking lot.
Upon release from the hospital, Sayreville police charged Craig with leaving the scene of an accident, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while intoxicated and reckless driving. Craig was then taken to the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick, where his bail was set at $10,000, Kelly said.
— Sue M. Morgan