Crime & Safety

Dover Woods Teen Arrested, Charged with Purse Snatch

Incident was at Stop & Shop, Routes 9 and 70

A teen was later arrested after snatching a 67 year-old woman's purse this afternoon and bolting across a busy intersection back home with the stolen goods, police said.

A reported purse snatching led to a call to the Dover Woods facility on the corner of Routes 9 and 70 this afternoon, arresting a 19 year-old resident and charging him with the theft. 

Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy said Toms River Police responded to a report of a theft at the Stop and Shop at Routes 9 and 70 just after 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, where a  67-year-old Lakewood woman was waiting outside the supermarket for her husband to pick her up.

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Mastronardy said the suspect took the victim's purse from her shopping cart and fled across the supermarket parking lot toward Route 9.

"With the assistance of witnesses, officers shortly after the incident arrested 19-year-old Dylan Cox at Dover Woods, where he resides," said Mastronardy in an email.

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Soon thereafter, police found the victim's purse in a restroom in the nearby Ramada Inn on Route 9 across the street from Stop & Shop. Police said the rest of the victim's belongings were recovered inside a room in Dover Woods.

Officers who investigated the incident and made the arrest were Richard Karkovice, Mark Nater and Mark DeGrandis. 

Mastronardy said calls to Dover Woods continue put a demand on the resources of the police department. "Toms River Police Department utilizes resources continuing to responding to many incidents in and around the Dover Woods facility due to actions by some of their residents," he said.

Mastronardy said police have responded to the facility over 130 times since the beginning of the year.


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