First Choice Mailbox, Second Choice Scaffolding

A Point Pleasant Borough man and a Spring Lake woman were charged with theft after allegedly stealing metal scaffolding from the side yard of a home on Passaic Avenue in Point Pleasant Borough, police said on Thursday.

David Byrnes, 44, of Bridge Avenue, who has been arrested before in unrelated incidents, and Lesley Finelli, 24, of Spring Lake, had allegedly first taken metal items from a dumpster on Giese Lane and placed them in their red, pickup truck during the morning of Feb. 24, police said.

Then Byrnes was seen allegedly trying to pull a mailbox out of the ground on Giese Lane off River Road during the morning, said Police Captain Richard Larsen.

"But he was unsuccessful," Larsen said.

A resident who had witnessed the dumpter and mailbox incidents called police at 9:33 a.m. and gave descriptions of the two and their truck, Larsen said.

While Officer Chris Woit was on his way to the scene, a resident on Passaic Avenue called police, saying that a man and a woman had taken metal scaffolding from a side yard there and put it into their red pickup truck and then drove west on River Road, Larsen said.

The descriptions of the man, woman and truck matched those given by the first witness who had called police, he said.

The neighbor had noticed a man and a woman taking scaffolding from the yard and called the homeowner who was not home at the time, Larsen said.

"The neighbor asked the homeowner if he was expecting anyone to pick up scaffolding and the homeowner told him that he wasn't and to please call police," Larsen said.

Woit saw a red pickup truck turn onto Route 70 eastbound, heading into Brielle, Larsen said.

Woit stopped the car on Riverview Avenue in Brielle and arrested Byrnes, the passenger, and Finelli, the driver, and impounded the truck.

Police returned the scaffolding, worth about $500, to the owner, Larsen said.

The two suspects were taken to the police department and charged with theft of moveable property and released, Larsen said.

Sgt. Leon Downs assisted Woit with the arrest of Burns and Finelli.

Larsen said the charges did not meet criteria for either incarceration or any significant bail to be imposed.

Byrnes had also been arrested in the borough on June 14. He and Peter Kelleher IV, 43, of Bridge Avenue, in the borough, were charged with allegedly stealing a handicapped ramp worth about $600 from a home on Riverwood Avenue.

Lt. Adam Picca, at the time, charged the two men with receiving stolen property, Larsen said.

That ramp was recovered from Blewetts Scrap Yard in Howell and returned to the owner, Larsen said.

At the time, there was an outstanding warrant for Byrnes in connection with allegedly stealing a laptop from a home in Berkeley, Larsen said. There was a $25,000 bail on that warrant, he said.

Consequently, after the June arrest in Point Pleasant, borough police released Byrnes to Berkeley police, Larsen said.

Kelleher was released after the June arrest, Larsen said.

Larsen noted that because the neighbors on Giese Lane and Passaic Avenue were good neighbors and called police, the two suspects were arrested quickly.

He said the police department hopes to see more examples of neighbors looking out for each other and calling police when they see any suspicious activity.