Holmdel Police Recover $17K Worth Of Brass Parts, Cops Say

Police in Monmouth County have charged a Middlesex County man with the thefts of brass water equipment worth thousands of dollars.

Police say Lucio Morales-Rosa was stealing the items, then selling them at scrap yards.

But , after an investigation by Holmdel Detective Matt Menosky, the 31-year-old Perth Amboy man was arrested.

Morales-Rosa has been charged in Holmdel with theft, criminal mischief, and conspiracy to commit theft.

Marlboro police have also charged the High Street resident with the conspiracy and theft.

Since 2013, Morales-Rosas has scrapped more than 10,000 pounds of brass, worth more than $17,000, Holmdel police Lt. Keith Cannata said in a news release.

Holmdel police received numerous theft reports between January and June. Brass sprinkler backflow preventer valves and brass irrigation water meters, worth $600 to $800 each, were stolen, police said.

Other towns in Monmouth, Middlesex and Mercer counties were dealing with similar theft cases, including Marlboro.

Marlboro police say five brass water meters were stolen from the Point de Jardin community. Those meters, which belonged to the township water utility, were sold to a scrap yard by the Perth Amboy man, according to a complaint signed against him. Each of those meters was valued at $795.

Morales-Rosas is being held at the Monmouth County jail, with bail set at $10,000.

Plainboro Detective Dan Kanaley, Marlboro Detective Anthony Peterpaul, Cranbury Detective Ray Wetzel, Manalapan Detective Dom Donatelli and Lawrence Detective Joe Radlinsky assisted Holmdel police.

Photo courtesy Holmdel police; Holmdel Detective Matt Menosky with the recovered brass parts