Uptick in Car Burglaries Has Police Reminding Residents to Lock Doors

The Manalapan Police Department has been responding to recurrent motor vehicle thefts where the owners of the vehicles are leaving the keys or key fobs in the cars. Police would like to urge residents to remove their keys and key fobs from the cars when they get home. 

According to police, automobile thieves use a sophisticated device which lets them know when a fob is within a vehicle. This makes burglarizing and stealing the vehicle much easier. 

There is one car burglary and one attempted car burglary that took place in late August that the police are currently investigating. 

A Manalapan man caught someone trying to enter his car while it was parked on Lexington Drive on Aug. 24. The 74-year-old man yelled at the burglar, whom he described as a white man wearing a white t-shirt and dark pants, but he did not move, according to police. 

The victim then went back into his home to call the police and when he went back outside the burglar was gone. Police searched the area, but did not find the man. Nothing was taken from the vehicle, police said. 

A car parked on Covered Bridge Boulevard on Aug. 21 was reportedly burglarized while the owner was playing golf. The victim, a 43-year-old Freehold man told police that his 2006 BMW was burglarized while he was playing golf; the car was unlocked, according to police.  An iPod valued at $200 and $20 in cash were stolen. 

Both of these incidents are under investigation by the Manalapan Police Department.