The Princeton Police Department has announced that they are currently investigating a rash of car burglaries that occurred within the township earlier this week. According the reports, three cars were stolen and another five were broken into between late Sunday night an early Monday morning. A 2017 Toyota Highlander and a 2015 Mercedes Benz were stolen from the driveway of a home on Finley Road. Also, an 2009 Audi was stolen from the driveway of a home on Allison Street. It appears that every single one of the vehicles which were stolen not only were unlocked but also had the key located inside of them. Of the other four cars that were broken into, two of them were located on Mt. Lucas Road, another on Coniston Court and the last one on Hunter Road. So they were all located in very close proximity to one another. Of the four vehicles that were burglarized, it appears that they were also all unlocked but the keys were not located inside the vehicle. More often than not, these types of crimes are what is known as, crimes of opportunities. Meaning that although the area may have been preplanned, they normally only actually burglarize the vehicles which they find are unlocked. In other words, you can seek to prevent these types of crimes by simply making sure your vehicle is properly secured.
The Princeton Police Department has increased the police monitoring for these areas while they continue to investigate the case. They have issued the following statement:
“A common practice for thieves is to drive through neighborhoods and simply walk up to various vehicles and physically check to see if they are locked,” police said. “If a vehicle is locked, they will move on to the next until they find one unlocked.”
If the suspects are ever caught, they will most likely be charged with seven counts of burglary, three counts of auto theft and seven counts of theft of moveable property. The most serious charge here would be the burglary charge. If convicted of the burglary counts, the suspects would be facing up to five years in a state prison and a fine up to $15,000 on each count. Most individuals do not even realize that the offense of burglary covers vehicles. For more information on burglary charges in New Jersey, including potential defense, please click the link New Jersey burglary defense.
Car Burglary Defense Lawyers in Mercer County NJ
If you or a loved one has been arrested and charged with a criminal offense in Mercer County, the attorneys at Keith Oliver Criminal Law can help. Our attorneys have been defending clients on not only burglary but theft, unlawful possession of a weapon, receiving stolen property, shoplifting, theft by deception and robbery charges for years now. If you have been accused of an offense and would like to speak to one of our attorneys about your options then please contact us at (609) 858-6959. We are available around the clock to help assist in anyway that we can and we serve the entire county, including Hamilton, Trenton, Princeton, Hopewell, Lawrenceville and Robbinsville.
