By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
Police attribute a string of vehicular burglaries in the township between Oct. 29 and Nov. 1 to Halloween pranksters.
Two Windsor Court residents reported someone went into their vehicles and rummaged through the center consoles and glove boxes, strewing items and paperwork throughout the car between the hours of 8 p.m. Oct. 29 and 4:30 a.m. Oct. 30.
One resident reported $70 in change and a pair of sunglasses worth $150 were stolen from the vehicle.
According to police, the second resident reported his iPod, worth $149, and a cable, worth $31, were removed from the vehicle.
In both cases, police said there was no sign of forced entry.
Police also reported three other vehicles were broken after thieves smashed passenger side windows to gain entry. All three cases occurred between about 10 p.m. Oct. 31 and 7:20 a.m. Nov. 1.
One Sunnymeade Road resident reported that once the window was broken, thieves removed various papers from the vehicle and spread them out haphazardly across his car and property. The resident then found that his wallet, valued at about $10 and containing his credit cards, was missing from his vehicle.
According to police, another Sunnymeade Road resident reported the thieves rummaged through papers and a purse in the vehicle before stealing her wallet. She reported the wallet, valued at around $23, also contained a debit card, New Jersey license and a PBA card.
The final victim, a Weston Road resident, reported her purse stolen from the vehicle after the window was smashed. The purse was valued at about $11.
All three victims valued the cost of the window at about $500.
”Someone probably took advantage of the day being Halloween,” said Lt. Bill Geary. “We checked with neighbors, but nobody reported any unusual activity.”
Lt. Geary said the police stepped up patrol during Halloween, but, as of now, there are no suspects or leads in the cases. He said that because there have not been any similar burglaries since, the incidents were probably isolated to the holiday.
”They were probably crimes of opportunity,” he said.
