BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer
NORTH BRUNSWICK — A suspect has been apprehended in the string of smash-and-grab burglaries in North Brunswick.
Police confirmed that Gabriel Bay, 36, a local transient, was responsible for the incidents in North Brunswick as well as South Brunswick and Edison. He was apprehended on March 20 at the Oakdale Mobile Home Park in South Brunswick after allegedly trying to break into a home.
Police focused on Bay as a suspect after North Brunswick detectives tracked a receipt found at a burglary scene to a relative of Bay and set up surveillance at the mobile home park, South Brunswick Detective James Ryan said last week.
Complaints in North Brunswick were signed on March 22 according to North Brunswick police Lt. Roger Reinson.
Six charges of burglary and theft have been brought against Bay in North Brunswick. These include incidents at Classical Caterers on Finnegans Lane, Brunswick Grill and Pizza on Route 27, and Napoli’s Pizzeria at the Church Lane Plaza on Route 130.
There were also two charges of criminal mischief at Carol’s Hallmark on Route 1 and My Favorite Muffin at the Church Lane Plaza.
A stolen Ford Taurus found at one of the locations by Church Lane is still being investigated.
Bay was taken to the Middlesex Correction Center in North Brunswick with bail set at $100,000.