Updated Police Blotter: House Fire Caused By Improper Disposal Of Smoking Material

Officer Brian Dugan responded to a fire at 189 Courtney Court 230 p.m. Saturday and found the siding at the rear of the house was on fire. 

Officer Dugan extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher.  Pleasant Plains and Silverton Fire Company also responded and determined that the cause of the fire was improper disposal of smoking material.

Jewelry Stolen From Dugan Lane Home

Officer Frank Moschella and Detective Louis Santora are investigating a burglary that occurred between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Dugan Lane near Old Freehold Road. Unknown subject(s) used a landscaping stone to break a rear door to gain entry into the residence. The suspect took a pillow case and removed over a $1000 in jewelry from the residence.

Self-Inflicted Gun Shot Wound Leaves Man In Critical Condition

At 4 a.m. officers responded to Rita's Ice on Route 9 in the Pleasant Plains section of the township in reference to a man in a vehicle who was apparently shot.

Co-workers of the 32-year-old Toms River man went looking for him after he left work early, Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy said in a prepared news release.

They found the man in his vehicle with an apparent self-inflicted  gunshot wound to the head. The man was rushed to Jersey Shore Medical Center trauma center, Neptune, by Toms River Police EMS. He remains there in critical condition. Investigating are Officer Michael MacDonald, Detective Chris Fluck, Ocean County Sheriff’s Officer Eric Skieczius and Investigator John Doran of the Ocean County Prosecutors Office.

 GPS Units Stolen From Unlocked Vehicles

Toms River police responded to Marc Drive at 4:30 a.m. Friday in reference to two males approximately six-feet tall, wearing dark, hooded sweatshirts checking out vehicles in driveways.

Officers then discovered numerous unlocked vehicles were entered on Marc and Dallas Drives, according to Police Chief Michael Mastronardy.

A jeep was entered on Dallas Drive and the suspects removed both a Magellan Road Mate GPS valued at $600 and $70 in cash. On Marc Drive a 2003 Saturn was entered and a $300 Garmin Nuvi 1450 GPS was removed along with a pink Ipod Nano valued at $100.

Officers Ryan Rush and Shan Ruiz are investigating.

Copper Stolen From Industrial Park

Officer Thomas Herbst is investigating the theft of almost $2,000 in copper grounding bars from the ATT cell tower site in the Toms River Industrial Park.

The theft of four copper grounding bars and copper wire reportedly had taken place over the last few months, according to Mastronardy.

Motor Vehicle Crashes Into Homeowner's Fence

Officer Mathew Broderick is investiating a criminal mischief that occurred just after midnight on Falling Oaks Road.

Police are looking for a white Dodge Durango or Chevy Aspen, according to Mastronardy. The vehicle was observed leaving the area, with a male driver and passenger both wearing gray sweatshirts, after it ran into the victim's vinyl fence. The vehicle was last observed west of Silver Bay Road.