Police charge 36-year-old in five local burglaries.
By: Joseph Harvie
A 36-yearold man suspected in more than two dozen burglaries throughout Middlesex County was charged Sunday following an investigation by a task force of law enforcement officers from Edison, North Brunswick, Woodbridge and South Brunswick.
Gabriel Bay, who is from North Brunswick but was staying at a South Brunswick mobile home, was charged with four counts of burglary, one of attempted burglary and one count of auto theft in South Brunswick and six counts of burglary and two counts of criminal mischief in North Brunswick, police said.
According to South Brunswick police, Mr. Bay hit four businesses and attempted to break into a house in Brunswick Acres over a two-week period. He was charged with stealing a green Ford Taurus and burglarizing the Rent-a-Wreck car rental office on Route 1 and burglarizing the Exxon gas station on Route 1 and Deans Lane, Chutney Mary Restaurant on Route 1 and Bagel Time and Deli in the post office shopping center on Route 27. He also was charged with the attempted burglary of a Karen Street residence, according to South Brunswick police.
Detective James Ryan, spokesman for the South Brunswick Police Department, said Mr. Bay mainly stole cash from the businesses and made off with several thousand dollars. He said police believe Mr. Bay has a substance-abuse problem and may have used the money to buy drugs.
Detective Ryan said Mr. Bay also is suspected of breaking into LHM Labs on Blackhorse Lane by smashing the front window two weeks ago. Detective Ryan said nothing was taken from the lab.
North Brunswick police said Mr. Bay burglarized the Route 130 Deli, China Express, Trends Salon and Napoli Pizza on Route 130; the B’nai Tikvah Synagogue on Finnegans Lane; and Brunswick Pizza and Grill on Route 27 between the middle of February and the weekend of March 12.
North Brunswick police said the incidents were mainly smash-and-grab situations where Mr. Bay would smash the front window or door, gain entry to the stores and take money from the cash register. He also was charged with criminal mischief for allegedly damaging the front windows of Carol’s Hallmark and My Favorite Muffin on Route 1. Police said he did not gain entry to these stores.
Information on the Edison incidents were unavailable by the South Brunswick Post’s midafternoon deadline. Calls to the departments were not returned.
Charges are expected to be filed against Mr. Bay by Edison, Detective Ryan said.
Police linked Mr. Bay with the burglaries after they found a supermarket receipt in a green Taurus stolen from Rent-A-Wreck on March 12. Police said Mr. Bay used the vehicle to rob several businesses along Route 130 in North Brunswick.
Detective Ryan said North Brunswick police responded to a burglar alarm from one of the Route 130 businesses on March 12 and noticed the stolen vehicle outside. Police said Mr. Bay ran away after he saw police, leaving the car behind.
North Brunswick Detective William Lynch found a receipt from an Edison supermarket in the stolen car and traced it back to a Price Plus card belonging to Mr. Bay’s sister, the detective said.
After interviews with his sister it was discovered that the suspect was staying in an Oakdale Village mobile home in South Brunswick belonging Robert Sivak.
The task force consisted of 12 officers from four municipalities. The officers watched the Oakdale Village mobile home for several nights and days, Detective Ryan said.
South Brunswick Police charged Mr. Bay after receiving a 911 call at 9:50 p.m. March 20 stating that a man, later identified as Mr. Bay, was trying to break into a Karen Street home where a father, mother and two children were sleeping, he said.
Detective Ryan said the house was dark because the family was sleeping and said Mr. Bay must have thought no one was home.
The family heard a knock at the front door, but waited to answer it because they thought it was a friend. He said when the mother went downstairs to answer the door, she saw Mr. Bay trying to get into the house, so she ran upstairs and called police, he said.
Police said Mr. Bay took a bicycle from the residence and rode through the woods back to the Oakdale mobile home at which he was staying.
Woodbridge Detective Rich Hardish, who was watching the trailer, saw Mr. Bay riding a bike matching the description of the one stolen from the Karen Street residence. Several minutes after Mr. Bay returned to the trailer, seven members of the task force converged on the home and charged Mr. Bay with the burglary of the Karen Street residence, Detective Ryan said.
Detective Ryan said Mr. Sivak also was taken into police custody because he was wanted on a traffic warrant in South Brunswick.
When police entered the mobile home they found an 80-pound piece of meat wrapped in shrink wrap on the kitchen table and more than a dozen steaks in the refrigerator, he said.
South Brunswick police spent between five and six hours interviewing the two men, during which time Mr. Bay said the meat was stolen from the Congregation B’nai Tikvah synagogue on Finnegans Lane, he said.
Mr. Bay is being held on $85,000 bail at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, corrections officials said Wednesday.
South Brunswick Police Chief Michael Paquette credited the "outstanding cooperation" between all the police forces involved in bringing Mr. Bay to custody.
He thanked all the members including lead investigators Edison Detective Tom Lasik, North Brunswick Detective Lynch and South Brunswick Detectives Ryan and Don Varga for their long hours and dedication.