Police say they have allegedly linked two Mt. Laurel teens in question to six other recent burglaries of unlocked vehicles in the area.
The following information comes from the Mt. Laurel Police Department. All persons are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law:
Mt. Laurel Police say they have linked two Mt. Laurel teens who allegedly burglarized a vehicle belonging to a firefighter at the Masonville Fire Station on June 21 to six other recent burglaries of unlocked vehicles in the area.
Police originally arrested the teens on June 21 when police say they responded to the Mt. Laurel Fire Department on Masonville Road for a vehicle burglary in progress at 6:46 a.m.
According to police, at that time, an on duty firefighter had received a text alert from his personal vehicle’s security system advising him of an intrusion.
Police say that when checking on his vehicle, the firefighter allegedly saw a man inside the vehicle “rummaging around.”
Police say the alleged suspect and an alleged accomplice left their own vehicle behind and ran when they saw the firefighters.
According to police, the firefighters gave chase, and they caught one of the suspects near the corner of Larchmont Boulevard and Masonville Road.
Police identified the suspect as a 19-year-old male of Mt. Laurel.
According to police, the firefighters were able to detain the suspect until police arrived, while responding officers located the second suspect, a male, age 18, also of Mt. Laurel, on Masonville Road near Creek Road.
At the time, police say the 19-year-old male was charged with two counts of burglary and one count of theft and was committed to the Burlington County Jail, while the 18-year-old male was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary and released.
According to police, in the time since the incident, a subsequent investigation by police connected the pair to six other burglaries of unlocked vehicles in town.
As such, police say both men have been charged with multiple counts of burglary, theft, credit card theft and trafficking in personal identifying information.
