A”little crime wave” took place along Upper Freehold’s border with Jackson Township in the early morning hours of Sept. 19, according to New Jersey State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones.
Two burglaries of homes occupied by residents and two vehicle thefts on that date resulted in the arrest of Cy Shelley, 23, of Cream Ridge, Sept. 24 in Bucks County, Pa., according to Jones.
Jones said the state police received an early-morning report of a car crash and fire along Route 537 at Prospertown Lake in Jackson Township.
“The vehicle was a 1999 pickup truck,” he said. “It was fully engulfed in flames. The fire department arrived to put it out. There was no driver and a search of the area was unsuccessful.”
The state police received another call 15 minutes after the fire had been extinguished. The call came from a Millers Mill Road residence in Upper Freehold, which is about 0.4 miles away from Prospertown Lake.
“The resident there reported that a man entered the house while they were sleeping and stole a wallet and a purse,” Jones said, and a 2004 Jeep Wrangler.
Police learned a short time after that call that the pickup truck had also been stolen, Jones said.
“As the investigation continued, police developed a picture of the events,” he said, adding that detective Mike Cerniglia and trooper Steve Urbanski helped police from the Hamilton barracks investigate the case.
Police learned that the driver who crashed the pickup had stolen it and other items from a home in the 800 block of Route 537 and had burglarized five other vehicles in the area while looking for their keys, according to Jones.
“He then entered the next house [on Millers Mill Road] and stole items, stole the Jeep and made his get away,” Jones said.
A citizen turned in personal items, including the purse belonging to the second residence, to police in Trenton Sept. 23.
Police developed leads that led to the arrest of Shelley while he was in Bucks County Correctional Facility, where he was taken after being arrested and charged for crimes committed later in the day Sept. 19.
“We added the charges of leaving the scene of an accident, burglarizing two dwellings and five vehicles, and theft,” Jones said.
Jones said Shelley remained in Bucks County Correctional Facility, in lieu of a retainer but would ultimately be turned over to the New Jersey State Police. He also said that the Jeep was recovered Sept. 29 in Trenton and that two other people were arrested there in conjunction with its theft.