Crime & Safety

Resident Charged With Afternoon Vehicle Burglary

Suspect allegedly searched for unlocked cars in K-Mart plaza

Police arrested a man who allegedly roamed the K-Mart shopping plaza looking for cars left unlocked, after a witness called police Wednesday afternoon.

Anthony Serafino, 28, of Walchest Drive in Toms River was arrested 1 p.m. Wednesday on a burglary charge. Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy said a witness contacted police after she saw a man attempting to open doors of vehicles parked in the K-Mart shopping plaza on Route 37 eastbound. Mastronardy said the suspect broke into one vehicle in the parking lot, and police arrived to investigate.  Toms River Police Officer Robert O’Neil made the arrest, and Serafino was placed in Ocean County Jail on $50,000 bail. 

Teens arrested for possession of stolen iPods

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Two juveniles were arrested Jan. 29 after iPods where found stolen from unlocked vehicles parked on residential streets.

An alert resident notified police of three suspects dressed in black appearing to be checking car doors in the Deer Hollow section of the township 2:30 a.m. Jan. 29, Mastronardy said.

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Officers arrested two Toms River males, ages 14 and 16, and charged them with possession of stolen iPods. “Once again the police department request residents to secure their valuables and lock their cars as periodically the department investigates serial incidents of unlocked vehicles,” Mastronardy said.

The two juveniles were released pending court action, police said.  Officers Shan Ruiz, Jason Putkowski, Joe Mastronardy and Sergeant Patrick Dellane investigated the thefts and made the arrest.

Toms River man arrested with five pounds of marijuana

A Toms River man traveling with a relative from California was arrested in Illinois after drug-sniffing dogs allegedly helped find five pounds of marijuana in the man’s vehicle, police said.

Stephen R. Burgess, 30, of Toms River, and Scott Kane Burgess, 34, of Lincoln, Calif., were arrested Jan. 29 on highway I-80 eastbound in Lasalle County, Illinois. The pair were charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, said State Trooper Craig Graham.

The arrest came after a motor vehicle stop, Graham said, where officers pulled over the vehicle Stephen Burgess was driving for tailgating. While issuing a written warning for that violation, the Utica Police Department’s canine unit conducted a free air sniff of the exterior of the vehicle, Graham said.

 A probable cause search was then conducted, and in the trunk of the vehicle, police said they found two plastic tubs containing suspected cannabis, weighing five pounds.


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