SOUTH BRUNSWICK – South Brunswick police have located the suspect who broke into a Monmouth Walk townhouse and was interrupted by the homeowner.
“It was an unusual burglary in the middle of the day with no obvious forced entry. It required interviews with neighbors and good crime scene processing to develop evidence which led to the suspect’s capture. We appreciate all the residents who reviewed their surveillance systems and called to provide information,” Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said in a statement on Oct. 15.
On Sept. 24 around 3 p.m., police responded to Heather Court after a resident came home from work and interrupted a burglary in progress. The resident said she came home from work at around 2:30 p.m. and heard a noise upstairs, but did not think much of it, according to reports.
A few minutes later while the resident was eating in the kitchen, she reportedly heard a second noise and became concerned. The resident stepped out front of her home and called 911 from her front lawn with her neighbor also outside, police said.
Both residents observed a suspect on the second floor of the home looking out the window at them. The male suspect ran downstairs, broke through a rear screen door and fled, according to the statement.
Officer Brooke Labell, a crime scene technician, photographed and dusted for fingerprints at the home. She was able to develop latent fingerprints from where detectives believed the suspect made entry into the home, according tot he statement. Detective Rick Delucia submitted the prints to the New Jersey State Police AFIS unit. The unit matched one of the prints to a 17-year-old juvenile, police said.
Delucia charged the juvenile with burglary, theft and criminal mischief. The suspect was taken into custody at 8 a.m. on Oct. 15. In addition to the burglary charges, he was in possession of alcohol and was charged with underage possession.
Detectives believed the juvenile was familiar with the residence and entered looking to steal some headphones, when he was interrupted by the homeowner, reports said.
The juvenile was released to a parent pending his first Family Court appearance.