Man Already Facing Charges for Burglarizing $.5M in Jewelry Leads Police on Foot Chase In Toms River

A man Toms River police believe broke into a Whitty Road home and fled two miles on a bicycle was arrested after a chase across the parking lot.

Nicholas Tracy, 21, of Beachwood, was arrested earlier today, said Captain Steven Henry, after an alleged burglary on Whitty Road around 10:45 a.m.

Tracy previously faced charges for allegedly breaking into Middletown homes with $500,000 in valuables, according to Middletown Patch.

A resident called police after he discovered a burglar in his home on the second floor. The resident approached the suspect, who then took off on a bicycle, police said.

 “Officers were dispatched to the residence after the resident, who was home at the time, confronted the suspect on the second floor.  The suspect ran from the residence and fled on a bicycle.  The resident notified police and provided a description of the suspect,” Henry said.

Henry said Officer Paul Kaminski saw a man who matched the description of the suspect, riding a bicycle about two miles away from Whitty Road near the Ocean County Mall. It was 15 minutes since the burglary was reported.

Kaminski tried to stop the man, who instead continued to ride his bicycle across the mall parking lot. A police chase ensued, Henry said. The suspect made it across the parking lot and fled on foot from Route 571 and headed toward the .

 “The suspect ignored the officer's commands to stop and continued on the bike through the mall parking lot.  The suspect eventually stopped his bicycle near the Route 571 mall exit,” Henry said in an email.  “Officer Kaminski exited his patrol car, at which time the suspect fled on foot. Officer Kaminski pursued the suspect on foot across Route 571 until he surrendered near the Seacourt Plaza.”

Detective Glen Lucas and Officer Mike Macdonald investigated, resulting in Tracy being identified as the suspect who allegedly burglarized the Whitty Road residence, Henry said.

Police charged Tracy with burglary. He remains lodged in the on $15,000 bail, Henry said.

Tracy was also arrested on April 13 when Middletown police responded to a residence on Navesink River, after being alerted by the home’s alarm system activation. Upon arrival, patrolmen Ryan Riffert and Carl Roth located Tracy hiding in a third floor bathroom and took him into custody, according to Middletown Patch.

Tracy faces charges stemming from the alleged theft of $500,000 of jewelry out of four Navesink River Road homes.

Middletown Detective William Strohkirch, the lead investigator in that case, and Detective Peter White, conducted the follow up investigation which resulted in Tracy being charged in April with: four counts of third degree burglary, three counts of second degree theft and the recovery of many of the alleged stolen items. Tracy was processed and was being held on $100,000 bail with no 10 percent option, set by Judge Richard Thompson.

According to police, the burglaries occurred over a two-month period beginning in March of 2011.