BY TARA PETERSEN
Staff Writer
Police are looking for help from area businesses and residents to solve two recent burglaries that may be related.
Sometime during the night of Dec. 5 or early morning of Dec. 6, unknown persons cut a hole in the fence surrounding Stavola Asphalt on Old Bergen Mills Road in Millstone, Monmouth County, entered a locked garage and took several items, police said.
The perpetrators took cutting tools, including an acetylene tank and a 50-foot rubber hose, which according to Sgt. Kevin Rehmann can be used as a cutting torch.
Police said that on the same night, two individuals wearing all-black clothes and ski masks used a sledgehammer and a blowtorch to gain access into the PNC Bank on Route 33 and Millstone Road, leaving two large holes in the building.
Rehmann indicated that the tools taken from Stavola could have cut through the concrete building.
“We’re investigating to determine whether the two are connected, but we believe they may be,” Rehmann said.
After entering the bank, the perpetrators again used the blowtorch to open the ATM machine nearby. The security system never activated. More than $100,000 is believed to have been stolen, according to police.
The suspects also gained access to money in the night deposit box, which includes money deposited by local businesses.
Police estimated that the burglary would have taken at least one to two hours.
Investigators are reviewing the surveillance tapes, and the Red Bank FBI is involved as well.
Also, police found a $20 bill at the scene that had been burned along the edges, and believe that other bills in the possession of the burglars may have similar damage.
Police are asking area businesses to take note of anyone using money with this sort of burnt appearance, and “safely and discreetly gather as much info as possible — descriptions of people, vehicles, clothing, direction of travel.”
Anyone who may have information on these crimes, or may have seen any unusual activity in the area, should call Hamilton State Police detectives at (609) 584-5000, ext. 5286 or 5128. All calls will be kept confidential.