White Castle Stop Leads To Arrests In 40 Brick Car Burglaries: PD

BRICK, NJ — A craving for White Castle has led to the arrest of three male juveniles in connection with more than 40 vehicle burglaries and thefts in the Midstreams section of Brick Township, police said Wednesday.

The trio of juveniles, who were from North Jersey, were arrested April 17 and charged in connection with dozens of burglaries and thefts across the state, including the February incidents in Brick, Sgt. James Kelly said.

On Feb. 6, Brick police took reports of more than 40 vehicle burglaries and four vehicle thefts east of Jordan Road in the Midstreams section, Kelly said. Detectives Dan Waleski and Greg Mullarkey learned the suspects had driven the stolen vehicles to the Exxon station at the corner of Route 88 and Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant and after fueling up, left without paying for the gasoline.

They soon learned one of the stolen vehicles went through the Union Toll Plaza northbound on the Garden State Parkway at 6:45 a.m. on Feb. 6 and following the leads, discovered footage of the stolen vehicle on surveillance cameras at a White Castle drive-through in Irvington, Kelly said.

"Three male juveniles were seen in the vehicle on the camera, one of them tossing stolen credit and debit cards out the window," Kelly said.

With the aid of the information from Waleski and Mullarkey, the New Jersey State Police Auto Theft Task Force out of Newark were able to connect the three teens to numerous vehicle thefts and burglaries throughout the state, Kelly said.

"On April 17th, that Task Force concluded its investigations into dozens of cases with arrests of the three juveniles and accompanying delinquency complaints," he said.

Police remind residents to lock their vehicles, even in their driveways at night.

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