MANALAPAN — Three men were arrested and charged with armed burglary on Feb. 24 in connection with an incident that occurred at a home on Thomas Drive, Manalapan, at 12:34 p.m. that day.
On Feb. 28, additional charges were lodged against all three suspects.
Aquick response from police officers resulted in the arrest of Greg Curry, 31, an unemployed resident of Long Branch, Bernard Valentin, 31, a mechanic from Brick Township, and Altonio Williams, 34, a laborer from Long Branch, shortly after the Thomas Drive burglary took place.
According to a press release from the Manalapan Police Department, patrol units responded to a report of a burglary in progress at a home Thomas Drive.
Manalapan police Capt. Chris Marsala told the News Transcript on Feb. 28 that a live-in maid was in the residence when the suspects came in the back door.
He said the maid left the home unnoticed through the front door, ran to a neighbor, called 911 and provided the description of the suspects and their vehicle that led to the arrests.
Marsala said the maid was not threatened or harmed during the incident.
The report received by police indicated that a vehicle being operated by a black male was leaving the scene of the burglary and that a second black male had gone behind the residence.
The vehicle in question was stopped at the intersection of Tennent and Craig roads, a short distance from Thomas Drive. Additional officers responded to the residence and determined that a burglary had occurred at the home.
The driver of the vehicle that was stopped, Curry, was placed into custody by officers Joseph Felicia and Reggie Grant. It was discovered that two additional black males were involved in the burglary, according to the press release.
A search of the area surrounding the home on Thomas Drive was conducted. Officer Robert Herring located the second suspect, Valentin, hiding in the bushes behind a home on Church Lane and placed him into custody.
Church Lane is just to the south of Thomas Drive.
Marsala, Detective Joseph Moreto and Patrolman Peter Chalfin located the third suspect, Williams, hiding behind a second residence on Church Lane and he was taken into custody.
All three suspects were transported to police headquarters in the municipal complex on Route 522 and their vehicle was impounded. The investigation revealed that the three men all communicated through cellular telephones and two-way radios, according to the press release.
Curry, Valentin and Williams were all charged with armed burglary, attempted theft, conspiracy to commit armed burglary, criminal trespass and criminal mischief.
Williams was additionally charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. Williams was found to be a wanted person out of Miami, Fla., according to police .
Curry was additionally charged with possession of stolen property that was reported stolen out of Houston, Texas.
Bail for Williams was set at $50,000 with no 10 percent option. Bail for Curry and Valentin was set at $35,000 each. The three men were transported to the Monmouth County jail, Freehold Township, in default of bail.
On Feb. 28, Manalapan police provided an update on the case. Police said that as a result of a search warrant executed on the vehicle that was seized from the suspects, additional charges have been filed.
Curry, Valentin and Williams were each subsequently charged with two counts of receiving stolen property, unlawful possession of a weapon (a 45-caliber handgun) and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes. Bail for this set of charges is $155,000, no 10 percent option, according to a press release.
Recovered during the search warrant search of the vehicle was anAMT 45-caliber handgun and more than $75,000 in jewelry and personal property that had been reported taken from two residences in Tinton Falls during burglaries on Feb. 24, according to information provided by police.