Crime & Safety

3 Long Branch Men Involved In Ocean Twp. 'Burglary Spree:' Police

Police linked two of the four men involved to more than 30 car burglaries in an apartment complex.

OCEAN TOWNSHIP, NJ — Three men from Long Branch and one from Tinton Falls face charges after a string of car burglaries, police said. Ocean Township police investigated dozens of car burglaries from the past month within the Middlebrook apartment complex on Rustic and Garden Drives.

Authorities patrolled the apartment complex at 2:30 a.m. Sunday, finding a burglary in progress. Mario Mondragon and Genaro Guzman fled on foot but were caught, police said.

Police also found Carlos Santiago and Jonathan Dolores, who were sitting in a nearby vehicle that belonged to Mondragon, according to authorities.

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Follow-up investigation linked Mondragon, of Tinton Falls, and Guzman, of Long Branch to more than 30 car burglaries, police said. Detectives found a large amount of stolen property in a Tinton Falls motel room, authorities said.

Guzman, 21, and Mondragon, 20, were charged with multiple counts of burglary, theft, possession of burglar's tools, receiving stolen property and one count each of obstruction and marijuana possession. Authorities took them to the Monmouth County Jail, where they await a detention hearing.

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Santiago, 24, and Dolores, 20, were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. The Long Branch men were processed and released.

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