Crime & Safety

Man Busted For Breaking Into Lacey Home, Series Of Thefts: Cops

A man with the same name was charged Saturday with shoplifting from Lacey's Walmart.

LACEY, N.J. — A man was charged with burglarizing a Lacey home Thursday, the Lacey Township Police Department announced Friday. An investigation determined Jeffrey C. Stiles, Jr., of Bayville, performed several burglaries and thefts in the area, police said.

A Bayville man named Jeffrey Stiles, Jr., of Bayville, was busted Saturday for shoplifting from Lacey's Walmart, police said. Attempts to contact Lacey Police and confirm whether this was the same man were unsuccessful by the time of publication. Stiles fled from Walmart loss prevention Saturday and drove away at a high speed from behind the store before police pulled him over, officials said.

Read more: 2 Steal From Lacey Walmart, 1 Attempts High-Speed Escape: Police

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Police responded to a report of someone entering an unlocked home at 3:24 p.m. Thursday. The resident confronted him before he fled, Lacey police said.

Authorities quickly received a detailed description of Stiles from witnesses and video surveillance, police said. Stiles was riding a bicycle and wearing a large backpack around Cedar Drive in Lanoka Harbor, according to officials.

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Police, shortly after, found Stiles at an NJ Transit stop on Route 9 in Lanoka Harbor. Authorities said they found him with stolen property and arrested him.

Stiles was charged three counts with burglary, two counts of theft, criminal attempt to commit theft, one count of attempt to commit theft, one count of trespassing and one count of obstruction administration of law, police said. The investigation is ongoing and may include additional charges, according to police.

Stiles was taken to Ocean County Jail.

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