'Coffee Bandit' Suspect Linked to Cherry Hill Burglary

Two suspects already in hot water for allegedly burglarizing a home in Haddon Township have been been linked to more Camden County burglaries, including one in Cherry Hill, Haddon Township Police said.

Joseph M. Kunz, 35, of the 100 block of East Park Avenue, Lindenwold, and James Richardson, 25, of the 200 block of Beechwood Avenue, Oaklyn, were both charged with conspiracy to commit theft and burglary in a Nov. 26 burglary in the Haddonleigh section of Haddon Township, and Haddon Township police said coordination with detectives from other towns has linked the pair to a total of five other burglaries in three other towns, among them one in the Old Orchard section of Cherry Hill.

Along with the Cherry Hill burglary, police said the two have been linked to other burglaries in Haddonfield, in the 500 block of Maple Avenue and the 100 block of Lansdowne Avenue, and in Runnemede, in the the unit block of Ferndale Avenue.

Police said they expect to file charges against the pair in all five of the other burglaries. Officials recovered several stolen items, but most of the valuables and jewelry stolen were sold in Philadelphia soon after the burglaries, police said.

The two men randomly selected the homes they allegedly burglarized, casing residential areas in the mid-morning hours after most people have left for work, police said. They would target houses that appeared unoccupied, focusing on those without cars in the driveway, and would first knock at the front door or ring the doorbell in an attempt to determine if anyone was home. Once inside, police said the suspects would head to master bedrooms, looking for jewelry, cash, coin jars and computers.

Kunz, who was also charged with criminal mischief for kicking open and damaging the locked front door of the Haddon Township home, was arrested 11 days ago for a burglary in the 100 block of Virginia Avenue in Haddon Township after a surveillance video in a Dunkin' Donuts next to the police station allegedly showed him with items that had been stolen.

Both Kunz and Richardson were already in jail as suspects in other burglaries in the township over the past several weeks.