TOMS RIVER, NJ – A trio of burglars entered a home on Hickory Street in Toms River on Tuesday in an attempt to locate car keys to steal the homeowner’s vehicles while they were out.
According to the Toms River Township Police Department, the home invasion took place at around 5:52 am when the three suspects entered the downstairs of the home and began rummaging through kitchen draws. They were able to find four sets of keys and fled with the homeowner’s 2022 BMW M8.
The entire incident was caught on the victim’s home security system. At one point, one of the suspects notices a camera on the kitchen counter and reaches to turn it around.
The homeowners received an alert and notified the police. The suspects had fled by the time officers arrived.
Later that same morning, the officer received a second home invasion call where the males entered a home on Tall Ship Court through an unlocked window and ransacked the home while the occupants were asleep upstairs at around 7:00 am.
“The woman woke to someone in dark clothing, wearing a mask, standing over the bed. She startled the suspects who then fled the home. The homeowners were not injured,” according to Toms River Police Department spokeswoman Jillian Messina.
The Toms River Police Department is warning residents to lock their doors and to secure their key fobs as these types of burglaries have been ongoing across the Jersey Shore for the past several months.
The actors are typically from New Jersey’s inner cities and target homes based on their vehicles.