Crime & Safety

Gardens of Pleasant Plains, Lake Ridge Communities Hit by Burglaries

Toms River senior communities see incidents with forcible entry into homes

The Gardens of Pleasant Plains senior community was hit by two burglaries overnight into Thursday, police said.

In the two incidents, neighboring homes were forcibly entered around 1 a.m. The first home was vacant, but the second home was burglarized while a 71 year-old woman was asleep inside, said Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy.

"A 71 year-old woman awoke to a noise at 1 a.m. and discovered that a unknown suspect forcibly entered the rear of the home on Fox Glove Run," Mastronardy said in an email.

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The resident was not injured. She called police, who arrived to find the home next door was also burglarized, said the police chief.

The vacant home was burglarized first. From the occupied home, the burglar took a beige purse, a Samsung Galaxy cell phone and more than $200 in cash, Mastronardy said.

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Police have not said what proceeds were taken from the first home or if a description of the suspect is available.

Toms River Officer Adam Worth and Detectives Glen Lucas and Chris Fluck are investigating and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department is assisting. Anyone with information can contact Toms River Police Headquarters at 732-349-0150 ext. 1217.

 Mastronardy said an earlier incident occurred in another senior community in Toms River, but is unrelated.

In Lake Ridge Saturday, a Blissfield Drive home was burglarized between 5 and 5:30 p.m., he said.

Lake Rige is a gated community, and the resident was gone for a brief period of time, Mastronardy said.

Police believe the suspect forcibly entered a front window, ransacked an office and bedroom, removed $100 in cash from a desk and then left.

Anyone with information can contact Detective Tom Dimichele at 732-349-0150 ext. 1333.


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