Secaucus Police Make Arrest In Grace Avenue Home Invasion In February

SECAUCUS, NJ — On Thursday, Secaucus Police arrested a 21-year-old East Orange man, Khalif Williard, and charged him with breaking into a Grace Avenue home on Feb. 5, and attempting to break into a second home that same night, also on Grace Avenue.

Willard's arrest was made after a three-month long investigation by Secaucus Police into the home invasions.

At 2:51 a.m. Feb. 5, a Grace Avenue resident called 911 and said there was a burglary in progress to his neighbor’s home, located on the 200 block of Grace Avenue. The resident was inside the home sleeping at the time of the burglary and she also called 911 when she heard someone inside her home that night.

The neighbor told police the burglars fled the scene in a BMW X3e.

Secaucus Police said they would later learn that the same suspects tried to enter a second home on the 200 block of Grace Avenue that night, Feb. 5.

While responding to the 911 calls, Secaucus Police observed the BMW X3 fleeing onto Paterson Plank Road, while travelling at a high rate of speed onto Rt. 3 east. Secaucus Police pursued the BMW X3 onto the Turnpike until they lost sight of it shortly thereafter.

Later that morning, these burglars committed another home invasion in Union, again in the BMW X3.

Detectives from the Secaucus Police Anti-Crime Unit went to the Union crime scene and collected evidence. It is believed that the motive for the three burglaries was to steal residents’ cars.

Detectives from the Secaucus Police Anti-Crime Unit, under the supervision of Detective Sergeant Matthew Ford, spent the next three months continuing to work on the case. They traveled to New York City and various other towns in New Jersey where they gathered evidence. Secaucus Police detectives worked collaboratively with police departments in Union Township, Livingston, Woodbridge, Essex Fells and East Orange, as well as the NYPD and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office during the investigation.

They arrested and charged Williard Thursday, but did not release how they obtained enough evidence to charge him. It is unknown if more suspects are sought.

Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said he does not want to release any more details "because additional arrests should be made."

During a court-authorized search of Williard's residence, additional evidence linking him to the burglaries was found, said police, but they did not specify what. Additionally, a 9mm “ghost” handgun was found (meaning its serial numbers were wiped off), a seventeen-round “large capacity” magazine, $3,284 inc ash, 9mm, 40 caliber and .223 caliber rounds of ammunition, along with several ounces of suspected marijuana were seized.

Williard was charged with:

• Residential Burglary [2C:18-2.2; 2C:2-6]
• Criminal Attempt to Commit Residential Burglary [2C:5-1/2C:18-2.2;2C:2-6]
• Conspiracy to Commit Residential Burglary
• Theft of a Motor Vehicle [2C:5-2/2C:18-2.2 and 2C:20-10.1]
• Unlawful Possession of Firearm without a Serial Number [2C:39-3(n)]
• Possession of a Large-Capacity Magazine [2C:39-9j]
• Purchasing Firearm Parts to Manufacture a Firearm without a Serial Number [2C:39-9k]
• Possession of Firearm while Committing CDS Offense [2C:39-4.1A]
• Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana [2C:35-5b(11)]
• Money Laundering [2C:21-25A]

“I want to commend the boldness of the alert neighbor for getting involved and reporting his suspicions to the police,” said Miller. “I also want to commend the investigative talent of Detective Jason Mitchell and the other members of the Seaucus Police Anti-Crime Unit. I want to thank all of the other agencies who assisted our detectives for their collaborative efforts. This case is representative that the members of the Secaucus Police Department will not rest until they bring criminals to justice who victimize our residents.”

Williard is currently being held in the Essex County Jail on these and similar charges from various other municipalities.