Toms River Police Arrest Man Twice In One Hour For Shoplifting

A local man was in police custody twice in an hour for shoplifting electronics from two different big box stores in Toms River on Saturday.

Jesse Carratura, 20, of Anchor Avenue in Beachwood, was ultimately taken to the Ocean County Jail, facing robbery charges, police said.

In the first incident, which occurred about 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Carratura was observed by loss prevention officers at the Toms River Kohl's store using cutters to cut security tags and attempt to remove five Beats by Dre headphones and a Beats by Dre speaker valued at $1,200, said Police Chief Michael Mastronardy.

Officers Michael Macdonald and Dan Brennan arrested Carratura and brought him to police headquarters where he was processed and later released on a summons.

But an hour after he was released, Carratura was arrested again – this time for attempting to steal two televisions valued at $600 from the Toms River Walmart store.

Corporal Frank Palino was flagged down at Walmart by loss prevention officers who needed assistance at about 2 p.m., said Mastronardy. 

Carratura was observed by the loss prevention officers putting the televisions in a shopping cart and then attempting to leave the store without paying, said Mastronardy, at which point the loss prevention officers detained him.

Macdonald and Palino charged Carratura with robbery after an investigation found he assaulted loss prevention officers during the theft attempt, Mastronardy said. 

Carratura was being held in the Ocean County Jail in lieu of $25,000 cash bail set by Judge Damian Murray, though a check of jail records Sunday showed he was not a current inmate.