Toms River Police Car (File Photo)
Police in Toms River are investigating a string of incidents that occurred overnight Thursday.
The burglaries and home invasions all involved a group of suspects who broke into North Dover homes in the Tallymawr community, using windows and, in at least one residence, stole more than $100,000 of jewelry and photography equipment.
According to Lt. Gene Bachonski, the first call to police came in at 3:04 a.m., when four unknown suspects, all wearing dark clothing and face coverings, forcibly gained entry to a front window of a residence on Reynolds Avenue. The suspects removed over $100k of jewelry and cameras while the homeowners slept, Bachonski said.
The second incident occurred at about 3:30 a.m.
“It appears that these same suspects left this residence and [went] to Brentwood Avenue where they started the engine of an Audi which was parked in the driveway,” Bachonski said. In this case, the suspects left the vehicle running in the driveway and went to yet another residence on Brentwood Avenue – this time awakening the homeowners.
At approximately 3:37 a.m., the homeowners at the third residence were awoken to sounds of someone trying to get into their home from the backyard, police said. The suspects forcibly gained entry into the residence by breaking a downstairs rear window but were scared off when the homeowners awoke.
It is unknown at this time if any items were removed from this residence.
The Toms River Police Department is working in conjunction with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department to solve these crimes and prevent future break-ins, Bachonski said.
Anyone with information regarding the crimes are being asked to contact Detective Carey 732-349-0150, ext. 1292 or Detective MacRae at 732-349-0150, ext .1323.
