Female Intruders Arrested for Multiple Home Burglaries

Two female suspects arrested last Friday and charged with burglarizing a Revere Avenue home in Maplewood were subsequently charged in four other recent burglaries in Maplewood, report .

Those other burglaries took place on:

• Princeton Street on August 30, 201;
• Sommer Avenue on Sept. 6, 2011;
• Jacoby Street on Sept, 16, 2011; and
• Burnett Street on Sept. 22, 2011. 

Maplewood Police made the arrests on Oct. 7 when a resident on Revere Avenue returned home to find an intruder in the second floor of in her home at 11:52 a.m. The intruder — a young woman — fled the scene. However, a second suspect, a 15-year-old girl from Union, was located outside the home and placed in custody by Maplewood Police Officer Niheema Gary.

Police then began a search of the area for the intruder who fled on foot. Officers from Union Police Department located Crystal Dicks, 21, of Newark, walking on Hilton Avenue near Berkely Street in Vauxhall. Dicks was identified as the second suspect and taken into custody.

Maplewood Detectives Dan Lenzo, James Oakes and Ted Gnida investigated the incident and determined that the two females entered the home on Revere Avenue by breaking a basement window on the south side of the home. The Detectives were also able to determine, through investigation, that the two suspects were linked to similar incidents that occurred over the past several weeks at different locations in town. 

Dicks and the 15-year-old juvenile were subsequently charged with the on Princeton, Sommer, Jacoby and Burnett Street.

Dicks was turned over to the Essex County Jail charged with five counts of Burglary and four counts of Theft. The juvenile was remanded to the Essex County Youth House pending the same charges.

Two other items were included in the Maplewood Police Blotter this week, supplied to us by Maplewood Police Captain Paul Conlon:

Oct. 7, 2011: Malicious Damage to Home - Officers responded on a house alarm call on Lexington Ave at 2:40 in the afternoon and discovered that a rear sliding glass door had been shattered by someone.  While the officers were on scene investigating the homeowner returned and reported to Police that he was only away from the home for approximately 5- to 10 minutes when the damage occurred.  Officers were able to determine that entry was not gained to the house and no items were reported missing.

Oct. 10, 2011: Trespassing - Two subjects were observed walking around a vacant home on Woodhill Drive at approximately 2:40 in the afternoon.  Officers were responding to an alarm activation at the home when a neighbor reported that she saw one black male near the front door and a second exit from the rear yard. Realizing that they were being watched the pair got into an older model black four door sedan and fled prior to police arrival. One subject is described as a black male; 23 years of age, 6’ tall, slim build, wearing a black t-shirt, gray hooded sweatshirt and jeans. The second black male is described as 23 years of age, 5’8” tall wearing a blue sweatshirt and black jeans.