Men Broke Into Woodbridge Home, Encountered Homeowner In Kitchen

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Two men broke into a home in the Iselin section of Woodbridge Tuesday morning, and encountered the homeowner as they grabbed two sets of car keys from the kitchen, according to the Woodbridge Police Department.

This happened in the 6 a.m. hour at a home on Goodrich Street, said Woodbridge Police Director Robert Hubner. The homeowners were unharmed.

At 6:39 a.m. Woodbridge Police received a 911 call from the homeowners: Two men had entered an unlocked, late-model Jeep Cherokee parked in the driveway. The two men then got out of the Jeep and kicked in the home's front door after multiple attempts.

They entered the kitchen and it was in the kitchen that the suspects encountered the homeowner. They grabbed the key fobs for both the Jeep Cherokee and a late-model BMW also parked in the driveway.

The homeowners were not injured.

The two men then ran out of the home and tried to start the Jeep, but were unsuccessful. They fled on Rt. 27 towards the Garden State Parkway in a late-model orange or red Audi, believed to be stolen, said Hubner.

The two suspects were described by Woodbridge Twp. as African-American men dressed in dark hoodies (black or gray), and appeared to be in their early twenties. The entire break-in was captured on the homeowner's Ring video camera system and no weapons were observed by the homeowners. News 12 New Jersey posted the Ring video: https://newjersey.news12.com/r...

Woodbridge Police issued a BOLO (Be On The Look Out) to all police agencies. The WPD Detective Bureau is requesting that anyone with information that might aid in the ongoing investigation to contact the WPD at 732-634-7700. All information will remain confidential.

New Jersey is experiencing a surge in car thefts this year, mostly of high-end vehicles, said the state Attorney General. Most of the motor vehicle thefts occur during the late night or very early morning hours as individuals target particular neighborhoods by checking parked vehicles for unlocked doors.

Other car thefts in Woodbridge this year, including one where a man was shot by the car thieves:

At 8 p.m. on Sept. 29 a car was stolen at gunpoint from MP Built Speed exotic car shop on Port Reading Avenue. The 2014 Mercedes-Benz G55 belonged to a customer of the shop and was being worked on. A man came into the shop shortly after dark that day wearing a ski mask, dark clothes and with a handgun. He threatened the shop owner at gunpoint, hit the owner in the face with the gun and then drove off in the luxury car. The car was later recovered, with damage, in Linden. Mercedes-Benz G55 Stolen At Gunpoint From Woodbridge Autobody Shop (September 2022)

In June, a Woodbridge man was shot in his driveway by men attempting to steal his car, said police. At 8:45 p.m. June 16 a husband and wife were returning to their home on Kline Boulevard when they were followed into their driveway by a red Toyota Rav-4 with two men inside. The man in the passenger seat got out of the Rav-4, brandished a handgun and demanded the keys to the victims’ vehicle. The husband resisted and a physical struggle ensued. The suspect fired one shot at the husband, striking him the arm. The suspect then fled the scene in the Rav-4. They were never arrested. The Woodbridge homeowner was hospitalized at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick and survived the shooting. Woodbridge Man Shot In Driveway During Attempted Carjacking (June 2022)

Woodbridge Car Dealership Robbed Of 12 Cars, 139 Key Fobs (January 2022): Woodbridge Car Revolution on Rt. 1 in Avenel had 12 cars and 139 key fobs stolen from it this winter. This was announced in a Facebook post by Newark Police, who said they found three of the stolen cars, with the key fobs inside, parked on their city streets.