Police: Man Burglarized Sandy-Stricken Home

A Point Pleasant man was jailed after police charged him with burglarizing a vacant Toms River home damaged by Superstorm Sandy. 

Christopher Furmato, 28, of Oakwood Road in Point Pleasant, was in the process of removing electrical wire from a Jefferson Avenue home Thursday afternoon when officers Brian Dugan and Ryan Rush responded to the scene thanks to a tip from an "alert citizen," said Chief of Police Michael Mastronardy. 

The home was "mostly gutted" following Sandy except for the electrical wiring, according to Dugan. 

Furmato was arrested and charged with burglary and theft. He is being held in the Ocean County Jail on $30,000 bail, no 10 percent option, the chief said. 

Mastronardy said that his police department and officers from the New Jersey State Police are patrolling the barrier island as well as Toms River's Bayshore, East Dover, Shelter Cove, Snug Harbor and Silverton sections to reduce these types of thefts.

"The department continues to request citizens who notice any suspicious activity such as in this case to contact them," he said. Police can be reached at 732-349-0150.