PA Man Stole Music Instruments From South Brunswick Church: Cops

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — South Brunswick police announced Thursday that they arrested this Morrisville, PA man and charged him with breaking into a local church last November and stealing more than $5,000 in musical instruments.

Brendan Wetzel, 24, of Morrisville, was charged with burglary, criminal mischief and theft.

The church that was burglarized was St. Mary’s Baptist church on Broadway Road: During the overnight hours of Nov. 5 to Nov. 6 of last year, someone forced entry into the church and stole numerous pieces of musical instruments that belonged to the church’s band members, police said.

The burglary was discovered at 10:30 the next morning, Nov. 6 and a church member called 911.

Within an hour of the report, Detective Sergeant Michael Pellino and Detective Monica Posteraro alerted local music equipment stores and pawn shops. Church leaders provided detectives with a detailed list of the music instruments stolen. Detectives asked retailers to be on alert for any suspicious pawns matching the stolen property.

Then, also within hours of the burglary, a music equipment store in Middletown Township, PA called police there to report a suspicious young man attempting to sell stolen music equipment.

The music store had been alerted about the South Brunswick church burglary earlier in the day.

The young man attempting to sell the items left the store when police were called.

A Middletown police officer stopped Wetzel in his car as he was leaving the store and discovered an array of musical equipment in the back seat, police said, which they matched as the stolen goods.

Police recovered all of the musical equipment that was stolen from the church. The items were all returned back to St. Mary's.

Detective Posteraro continued to work on the investigation and obtained a search warrant for Wetzel’s electronics. The Middlesex County Prosecutors Office Tech Unit Detectives Ben Klein and Ryan Tighe were able to recover photos taken at a park behind the church at the time of the burglary, further linking Wetzel, police said.

Wetzel surrendered to South Brunswick Police on Wednesday of this week. He was released pending his first court appearance.

His connection to the church, if he had any, remains unknown.

“This case came together rapidly and involved law enforcement from across state lines," said South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka. "I want to specifically thank the Guitar Center of East Brunswick for assisting in recovering the stolen items."

"A house of worship is a special place and all our resources and partners were committed to finding who did this crime," he continued. "It took hours to recover the music instruments and months to follow the electronic footprint to link the suspect to the burglary, but in the end we got him.”

Chief Hayducka reminded community members that South Brunswick Police Community Policing Division offers security assessments of businesses, houses of worship, and residences to help you improve your security. Anyone looking to have a security survey done should call (732) 329-4000 extension 7469.