Two charged in paintball gun theft

Stolen guns taken by local teenagers.

By: Rebecca Tokarz
   Communication between students, parents and the police led to the arrest of two male teenagers now charged with an April 5 burglary and theft of eight paintball guns from a On Top Paintball on New Road, police said.
   The arrests occurred April 23. Other individuals are being investigated for a crime related to the theft of the guns, police said.
   According to police, the arrested teens, ages 13 and 14, cut the cord of an exterior security camera and forced entry to the business at about 2 a.m., police said. Inventory taken right after the burglary revealed that two boxes containing the guns were taken.
   Responding officers followed a trail of foam packing material. An empty cardboard box was found near Cummings Road in Monmouth Junction and another was found in front of the Fresh Impressions development, police said.
   Police would not say if any other evidence gathered from the crime scene led to the arrest.
   According to police, word of the theft filtered through the schools. Students told parents what they knew and parents notified the police.
   "A lot of information generated from this case," South Brunswick Police Department spokesperson Detective James Ryan said.
   Police said the paintball guns were taken with the intent of resale at a later date and were stored at a location other than the homes of the teens.
   The stolen paintball guns were then stolen by other individuals unrelated to the initial arrest, he said.
   Police recovered the stolen paintball guns and returned them to the owner of On Top, Paintball, police said.
   The boys were released to their parents, police said.
   No charges have been filed against the individuals involved with the second theft, Detective Ryan said.