Police in Mendham Township NJ recently arrested a man who allegedly pretended to be a utility worker in order to gain access to a home and steal valuables.
According to police, the suspect was wearing a fluorescent green vest and a yellow hard hat when he knocked on the front door of a house on Old Mill Road in Mendham Township, New Jersey. When no one answered the door, the suspect allegedly walked around to the backyard and found another way inside the house.
The suspect allegedly gained access to the home through a rear door. He then reportedly went into the bedroom and attempted to steal two jewelry boxes. However, the resident of the house heard the suspect moving in the bedroom; the resident walked into the bedroom and confronted the suspect.
When the resident approached the suspect, the suspect reportedly ran out of the house. The suspect then got into a parked car and fled the scene.
Mendham police looked into the incident. The victim was able to provide investigators with a description of the suspect, as well as a description of the suspect’s vehicle.
Detectives from Bridgewater, Chester Township, Roselle Park, Westfield, and Woodbridge assisted with the subsequent investigation.
Police eventually identified the suspect as the home intruder. He later turned himself in to Mendham Township police.
The suspect has been charged with burglary and criminal trespass.
The suspect is being held at the Morris County Correctional Facility in Morristown NJ in lieu of $35,000 bail.
Additionally, it is possible that more charges will be filed against the suspect. That’s because Mendham Township police believe that the suspect might have employed the scheme of posing as a utility worker on more than one occasion to commit burglaries.
The Mendham Township Police Department has asked anyone with information about the suspect to get in touch with detectives at 973-543-2584.
For additional information about this case, read the NJ.com article entitled “Did You Let Him In? Police Say Man Posed as Utility Worker to Break into Homes.”
