3 Men Arrested For Burglarizing Homes In Somerset County

HILLSBOROUGH/FRANKLIN, NJ — Three men from Somerset and Union counties were charged in connection with two home burglaries in Franklin and Hillsborough in October 2024.

Rodrigo A. Lopez, 42, of Foothill Road, Bridgewater; Edison Jimenez-Castro, 35, of S. 12th Avenue, Manville; and Andres Moncaleano, 30, of Fulton Street, Elizabeth, were all arrested, announced Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald and Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Detectives Francisco Roman Jr. on Friday.

On Oct. 18, 2024, at around 9:52 p.m., Franklin Township Police Officers responded to a report of a residential burglary to a home on Second Street in Franklin Township.

Officers determined that entry was made to the residence through a broken window on the second floor.

Video surveillance showed a vehicle in the nearby area at the time of the burglary. The residents reported that jewelry, coinage, and artwork were taken from the home.

On Oct. 25, 2024, at around 8:19 p.m., Hillsborough Township Police Officers went to a report of a home burglary at a home located on Brennan Way in Hillsborough.

Officers saw broken glass in the second-floor rear window of the home. Video surveillance showed two people running from the home and entering a vehicle that appeared to be similar to the vehicle seen in the area during the Franklin Township burglary on Oct. 18, 2024, said McDonald.

The homeowners reported that jewelry and coinage were missing from the home.

An investigation by Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Burglary Unit and detectives from the Hillsborough Township Police Department and the Franklin Township Police Department determined that the residential burglaries involved the coordination of several people and the use of two vehicles.

As a result, three people were identified as being involved in the Franklin Township and Hillsborough Township residential burglaries: Lopez, Jimenez-Castro, and Moncaleano.

On Feb. 5, 2025, detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Burglary Task Force, along with members of the Hillsborough Township Police Department, Franklin Township Police Department, South Brunswick Township Police Department, Manville Police Department, and Bridgewater Township Police Department, arrested Lopez without incident in Bridgewater.

On the same date, Edison Jimenez-Castro was arrested in Manville without incident.

Lopez was charged with two counts of second-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree conspiracy to commit burglary, one count of second-degree theft, one count of third-degree conspiracy to commit theft, one count of third-degree theft, and two counts of possession of burglary tools, a disorderly person’s offense.

Jimenez-Castro was charged with two counts of second-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree conspiracy to commit burglary, one count of second-degree theft, one count of second-degree conspiracy to commit theft, one count of third-degree theft, one count of third-degree conspiracy to commit theft, and two counts of possession of burglary tools, a disorderly person’s offense.

Lopez and Jimenez-Castro were both lodged in the Somerset County Jail pending a court hearing in this matter.

On Feb. 11, Moncaleano was arrested without incident in South Brunswick by members of the South Brunswick Police Department.

He was charged Moncaleano with two counts of second-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree conspiracy to commit burglary, one count of second-degree theft, one count of second-degree conspiracy to commit theft, one count of third-degree theft, one count of third-degree conspiracy to commit theft, and two counts of possession of burglary tools, a disorderly person’s offense.

Moncaleano was lodged in Middlesex County Jail pending a court hearing in this matter.

McDonald thanked members of the Franklin Township Police Department, Hillsborough Township Police Department, Edison Police Department, South Brunswick Township Police Department, Elizabeth Police Department, Woodbridge Police Department, Manville Police Department, and Bridgewater Township Police Department for their assistance with this investigation.

Anyone with information regarding these burglaries is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Burglary Unit at 908-231-7100 or via the STOPit app. The STOPit app allows citizens to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos. STOPit can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: SOMERSETNJ.

Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477). All anonymous STOPit reports, and Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.

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