Man Fleeing Home Invasion On Stolen Bicycle Arrested: Lakewood Police

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A Lakewood man who forced his way into a woman's home and threatened her with a fake handgun and robbed her then tried to flee on a stolen bicycle was arrested Wednesday morning, not far from where the robbery happened, police said.

Jesus A. Penuela, 20, is being held at the Ocean County Jail, according to jail records. He is charged with kidnapping, robbery, armed burglary, possession of an imitation firearm for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon and terroristic threats, Lakewood Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith said. Additional charges are pending, he said.

The incident happened about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Woodlake Manor development, Staffordsmith said.

A 50-year-old woman saw a man, later identified as Penuela, opening her front door, and she confronted Penuela and shut the door, Staffordsmith said.

However, the woman's dog had run out the door in the process, he said. When she went outside to get the dog, she saw Penuela had moved on to a neighboring property. As she grabbed her dog and went back to her home, Penuela began to chase her, and then forced his way in through the front door, Staffordsmith said.

Once inside, Penuela grabbed the woman by the shoulders and began demanding money and jewelry, Staffordsmith said, then ordered her to stay with him as he went through her home looking for valuables.

After taking several items, Penuela left through a back sliding door, Staffordsmith said. The woman ran out the front door just as her 20-year-old daughter was arriving to pick her up for an appointment, Staffordsmith said.

The daughter ran to the backyard and saw Penuela riding away on a bike, and started to chase him, which led to Penuela throwing a bag containing the items stolen from her mother's home, Staffordsmith said.

Lakewood Officer Tymur Zavalnyuk, who was responding to the robbery report, saw Penuela riding his bike along Ridge Avenue and was able to arrest him without incident, Staffordsmith said.

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Further investigation by Detective Kevin Donnelly, determined that the bicycle Penuala was using was stolen. In addition, an imitation firearm as well as other stolen property was located in his backpack. The stolen property has been linked to several other recent burglaries in Lakewood.

Although this investigation is still active, Jesus Penuala has been charged with the following in connection to today's incident; Kidnapping, Robbery, Armed Burglary, Possession of an Imitation Firearm for an Unlawful Purpose, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and Terroristic Threats. Additional charges are pending. He was subsequently transported to Ocean County Jail.