Police Lights (Photo: Jason Rojas/Flickr)
In what police described as a “brazen” act of criminality, masked men broke into two homes in Toms River’s North Dover section to steal key fobs with the ultimate goal of stealing vehicles. In one case, the group was successful.
According to police spokeswoman Jillian Messina, officers were called to to Hickory Street in reference to a residential burglary that occurred at about 5:52 a.m. Tuesday morning. Security video showed three males, wearing hoodies and face masks, entering the residence through an unlocked first floor bathroom window. They then rummaged through several kitchen drawers, removing four sets of keys, before they left the residence via the back door.
The suspects left with the homeowner’s 2022 BMW M8.
“The homeowners were not home at the time of the burglary, but were alerted to the incident via home surveillance,” Messina said.
An hour later, at 6:57 a.m., police were dispatched to Tall Ship Court for a burglary in progress. Responding officers were told that three males entered the home through an unlocked first floor window and “ransacked” the first floor while the homeowners were sleeping upstairs.
“The woman woke to someone in dark clothing, wearing a mask, standing over the bed,” Messina said. “She startled the suspects who then fled the home.”
The homeowners were not injured.
The cars themselves were locked. However, in both incidents, the suspects entered the home through an unlocked first floor window in order to steal the key fobs that would be used to start the vehicles.
“We are reminding the public to lock your doors and windows, and never leave your key fobs in your vehicles,” police said.
The scenes were processed by Toms River Police evidence technicians and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department CSI Unit. They remain under investigation by Toms River Detective Joseph Mastronardy, with the assistance of the Sheriff’s Department. Anyone with information is asked to email jmastronardy@trpolice.org.
No photos or videos of the incident or suspects have been released.
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