BY LAUREN MATTHEW
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE — Police are investigating connections between a string of thefts from construction sites on Walden Court and Morris Drive.
Some five thefts are reported to have occurred between 5 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Monday, according to police.
“We believe them to be connected,” said Old Bridge Police Lt. Robert Weiss. “[The sites] are part of the same development.”
Three Walden Court sites and one Morris Drive property belong to developer K. Hovnanian, and one location on Walden Court is the property of the F&W Mechanical Corp.
A washer and dryer set was taken from a house under construction on Walden Court. The appliances were on the second floor of the building, police said, and no stairs connected to the ground floor. Two windows were found unlocked downstairs, but all other entry points were locked.
At the Morris Drive location, an unknown suspect entered the house through a garage door opening and took three interior doors, which had been left leaning against the garage wall. A K. Hovnanian construction superintendent told police he saw a van with no license plates driving on the construction side of Trans-Old Bridge Road on Sunday. He told police he could see the interior doors through the rear window of the van.
Workers at the F&W Mechanical Corp. site saw a similar theft. A suspect entered through garage door openings and removed an uninstalled Whirlpool jacuzzi from the home. Several muddy footprints were found inside the garage and on the cardboard of the jacuzzi box.
Another K. Hovnanian Walden Court building was broken into, and the front door apparently smashed in. A smudge mark was left on the door, according to police reports, as though someone had kicked the door down. Nothing was taken from the site.
A fourth Walden Court building site was entered through the rear basement window, police said. A suspect removed a Whirlpool dishwasher and stainless steel range from the residence. The basement window lock had been broken before the incident. All other doors and windows were found to be locked. Several muddy footprints were found on the basement floor near the window.
Weiss said the detective division has been investigating leads regarding the thefts and break-ins this week, but he could not release further details.
The investigation is continuing, Weiss said, noting that progress was being made.
“We’ll have an arrest hopefully, relatively shortly,” he said. “We’re following leads on that.”
Anyone with information regarding the incidents is asked to call Detective Walter Decker at (732) 721-5600, ext. 3320.