Car thieves climb through windows, confront homeowners in Middletown

Jenna Calderón, Asbury Park Press
·2 min read
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MIDDLETOWN - Police responded to four reports of burglaries, attempted burglaries and thefts in the early morning hours on Sunday in the Oak Hill and Lincroft sections of Middletown, authorities said.

Around 3:55 a.m., in Lincroft's Bamm Hollow Estates, male suspects attempted to steal a vehicle parked in a driveway, according to Middletown Deputy Police Chief Paul Bailey. The suspects were seen on home security cameras entering the garage through a window, trying to take another vehicle in the garage. They were unsuccessful in stealing either.

Less than an hour later, the suspects entered a home in the Four Winds neighborhood in Oak Hill, Bailey said. While inside, the homeowner confronted them and they ran to a waiting vehicle, fleeing the area.

Shortly after that, the suspects tried to steal a car parked in the driveway of a home off Dwight Road in Oak Hill, police said. Unsuccessful, they went to the house next door, entering through a garage window and then the home itself, triggering a security alarm.

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The suspects were confronted by the resident and again fled, stealing a 2022 Land Rover from the driveway in the process, according to Bailey. The vehicle was recovered within a couple hours of the incident.

According to state Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, car thefts in New Jersey are up 9% from last year, with more than 14,300 vehicles stolen across the state through November.

This string of incidents in Middletown occurred one day before Gopal's proposed bill package — designed to target the state's rising car thefts and repeat offenders of the crime — was to be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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Jenna Calderón covers breaking news and cold cases in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Before coming to the Press, she covered The Queen City for Cincinnati Magazine in Ohio. Contact her at 330-590-3903; jcalderon@gannettnj.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Middletown NJ car thieves climb through windows, confront homeowners