Thefts tied to incidents in other towns
By Davy James, Staff Writer
CRANBURY — A number of recent burglaries — including two in Cranbury — over the past two months throughout Middlesex and Mercer counties are linked, according to police.
”There has been a string occurring in both Middlesex and Mercer with similar circumstances,” said South Brunswick Police spokesman James Stoddard. “Investigators believe these incidents are linked based on the method of operation, the time of day these incidents occurred and the method used to enter the residences.”
Police said 14 burglaries took place in South Brunswick, Cranbury, Princeton Township, Princeton Borough and Piscataway during April and May. All of the break-ins occurred overnight while the homes were occupied.
”Every case has involved entry through an unlocked door and there has not been any forced entries,” Sgt. Stoddard said. “We believe the perpetrators went to a number of homes that were locked and just moved on until they found a home that was unlocked.”
The first incident in Cranbury occurred at a Bergen Drive residence between 7 p.m. May 16 and 1:30 a.m. May 17, according to police. The robbery was reported to police at 10 a.m. on May 17. A wallet and pocketbook were stolen from the residence, police said.
The second incident took place at a Holmes Road residence between 10 and 11 p.m. May 28, police said. The robbery was reported to police at 5:51 a.m. on May 29. A wallet was stolen from the residence, according to police.
”Both of these robberies involved entry through an unlocked door,” said Cranbury Police Chief Ed Kahler. “We want to encourage residents to report to police any suspicious activity or individual. Even if they think it’s a small or insignificant thing, pick up the phone and call us. When in doubt, call us out.”
Police said both incidents in South Brunswick took place in Kendall Park. The first incident in Kendall Park occurred between 10:30 p.m. May 9 and 5:30 a.m. May 10 at a Stanworth Road residence. The incident was reported to police at 7 a.m. Police said the robbers made off with cash from a wallet and the victim’s car keys, which were used to steal the victim’s vehicle from in front of the house.
The second incident in Kendall Park took place between 11 p.m. May 11 and 4 a.m. May 12 at a Greyhound Court residence, according to police. Police said the incident was not reported until 1 p.m. Stolen from the residence was a wallet and purse containing cash, credit cards and other documents, as well as a laptop and blackberry, according to police.
”We need for people to be vigilant and make sure they lock all of their doors and windows at night,” Sgt. Stoddard said. “We’d like to encourage the public to be vigilant by taking notes on any people or vehicles they don’t recognize and safely write down as much details as they can about the suspect or vehicle and report it to police. We also want to make clear that people should not confront the suspects, instead just safely write down anything they see.”
Anyone with information about the burglaries in Cranbury should call 609-395-0031. Anyone with information about the burglaries in South Brunswick should contact Det. Jim Ryan at 732-329-4000, ext. 7448.