2 Men Charged In Connection With $18K Jewelry Theft In South Brunswick: PD

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Two men have been charged for stealing jewelry worth more than $18,000 and money from a man, South Brunswick police said.

Cristher Calderon-Losada, 45, from Jackson Heights, NY, and Dario Jimenez-Castaneda, 44, from Wantagh, NY were charged with third-degree burglary, third-degree theft by unlawful taking, and third-degree conspiracy to commit burglary and theft.

Last year on Aug.19, an out-of-state resident visited a jewelry store in Iselin. On the way, he stopped at a pharmacy on Rt. 27, police said.

During that time, Calderon-Losada and Jimenez-Castaneda inserted a tire deflation device into the car, police said.

The man later stopped in the parking lot of Dusal’s Italian Restaurant in Kendall Park to check why their tire was going flat, police said.

When he pulled over, Calderon-Losada and Jimenez-Castaneda pretended to be good Samaritans and offered to help with the tire, police said.

While one of them feigned assistance, the other got into the car and stole a bag containing over $18,000 in jewelry from the passenger compartment, authorities said. They then left the area.

Officer Brooke LaBell and Detective Monica Posteraro recovered video from the parking lot of the restaurant. The officers then worked with several other law enforcement agencies in tracking down the pattern of “follow-out thefts”.

After around five months Calderon-Losada and Jimenez-Castaneda were charged. Both men are free pending a preliminary hearing in the coming weeks, police said.

“These victims had no idea the good Samaritan coming to assist was actually the criminal,” South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said. “This case was solved because detectives around the state coordinated intelligence to have these suspects arrested. I want to give special thanks to LaBell and Posteraro as well as Fairfield Police for all the work on this case.”

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