Man Admits Role In Burglary Ring Targeting Asians In NJ: Feds

UNION COUNTY - A Vauxhall man admitted Thursday to his role in a multi-state scheme that targeted Asian homeowners in residential burglaries, federal officials said.

Randi Barr, 41, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in a statement Thursday.

From 2016 to 2019, Barr and others burglarized the residences of Asian small business owners living in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, taking cash, jewelry, heirlooms and other items, Sellinger said. The goods were then stowed inside residences in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, he added.

Barr and others surveilled the business owners in their places of work, typically Asian restaurants, Sellinger said. The burglaries would take place at times when residents were unlikely to be home.

The residences in question were located in Middlesex, Bergen, Monmouth, Somerset and Camden counties, Sellinger said. Up to $55,600 in property was lifted from the homes at any given time.

While searching vehicles used in the commission of burglaries, authorities also recovered notes containing the home addresses of individuals of Asian descent with derogatory terms to describe the ethnicity of the homeowners.

Barr was arrested in Hazlet during an in-progress burglary, officials said.

The charge of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the amount of money involved in the offense, whichever is greater, Sellinger said.

Seven other alleged members of the same scheme were charged in 2021, with prosecutors noting the ring was responsible for more than 50 home burglaries. The other men charged are:

• Rabine Armour of Easton, P.A.
• Kevin Burton of Newark, N.J.
• Kevin Jackson of Rahway, N.J.
• Thomas Rodgers of Newark, N.J.
• James Hurt of Tobyhanna, P.A.
• Sherman Glasco of Bethlehem, P.A.
• Terrance Black of Irvington N.J.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 25, 2023.