SOUTH BRUNSWICK – A 23-year-old male from New Brunswick has been identified as the suspect from an occupied burglary investigation that occurred in 2015, previously considered a cold case.
On Dec. 5, 2015, at 9:05 p.m., officers responded to a residence on Joann Court in the Monmouth Junction section of South Brunswick for a reported occupied burglary, according to information provided by the South Brunswick Police Department on Sept. 28, 2020.
The residents had advised officers at the scene that they were upstairs in their bedrooms when they heard noises coming from outside of their rooms. One of the residents walked out of their bedroom and observed two males standing on their upstairs landing. The two male suspects immediately fled down the stairs and exited the residence through a rear sliding door, according to previous reports.
An inventory of the home was conducted and it was discovered that a XBox game console, laptop computer and two bottles of wine were stolen from the residence, according to reports.
Officer Sean Roberts, a department evidence technician, processed the scene and was able to recover evidence including latent fingerprints from the rear sliding door and an iPod case, according to reports. The latent fingerprints were submitted off to the New Jersey State Police Lab for further examination.
In December 2019 a fingerprint from this investigation was matched to the 23-year-old, according to reports. The burglary case was then re-opened by Detective Bryan Sites. Sites continued the investigation and conducted additional interviews. On Sept. 23, 2020, Sites located the suspect near his residence in New Brunswick and he was arrested in connection to this investigation, according to the new statement.
Sites charged the man with burglary, theft of movable property, and conspiracy to commit burglary. He was lodged at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center pending his first court appearance
Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said, “The excellent crime scene processing of Officer Roberts and continued efforts by Detective Sites played a crucial part in this investigation. Good modern-day forensics helped solve this case and led to the arrest of [the suspect].”
