Violent confrontation
occurs during burglary
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — The most recent victim in a rash of burglaries around Riva Avenue area is an 80-year-old woman who was slightly injured when her door was broken down, police said.
That incident took place around noon on Dec. 29, according to police, when the woman was thrown to the floor by a man who had just broken into the kitchen in her Church Lane home.
The woman, who was hospitalized but suffered no major injuries, called police about 15 minutes after the attack, said East Brunswick police Lt. Geraldine Garrett.
The woman’s doors had been locked, Garrett said. She heard a noise coming from the kitchen area, went to check on it, and found that the suspect had broken the glass in the door and entered the room.
The suspect confronted the woman and began pushing her, Garrett said. They then went into the bedroom and the suspect pushed her down on the bed.
The suspect — described as a white male in his mid-20s, clean-shaven and short in height — then took $200 from the woman’s pocketbook, which was in the bedroom.
The woman then ran out of the bedroom and into the kitchen but the suspect followed her, pushed her down and banged her head on the floor three times, Garrett said. The suspect then left the house after reportedly searching for more valuables.
The woman called the police after he left, Garrett said.
Police are investigating to see if the burglary is tied to others that have occurred recently in the area of Riva Avenue.
Garrett said there were four other burglaries in that section of the township in December. Two of them occurred on Riva Avenue while the others were on Fresh Ponds Road and Marie Terrace. The burglaries took place during the daytime, and did not involve any confrontations or incidents of violence.
In fact, police do not believe the suspect expected to find someone home when he broke into the Church Lane home.
Garrett said it is possible the same suspect is responsible in all the instances.
"Anytime you have anything concentrated in one area, you look to see if they are related," she said.
The recent surge in burglaries has not been limited to East Brunswick, as sections of South Brunswick and North Brunswick near East Brunswick have also seen several reports, she said.