Somerset County Man Charged In South Brunswick Crime Spree, Cops Say

By Michelle Sahn

Obrian Rosario started a Saturday night in June by going out to the Tilted Kilt in South Brunswick to have drinks with friends, police said.

After having some drinks, the 23-year-old Franklin man broke into a car in the parking lot, police said.

And that led him to a home on Constable Road in South Brunswick, where his plan to steal a car failed, according to police.

But he continue what police are calling a one-man crime spree, eventually breaking into ten homes and a total of three cars by early that Sunday morning, authorities said.

At one house, a resident found him standing near his front door, eating potato chips, according to police.

Police were able to link him to the string of June 13 burglaries when latent fingerprints, found at the crime scenes were sent to the New Jersey State Police AFIS unit for analysis and came back as a match for Rosario, authorities said.

Now, Rosario is charged with 13 counts of burglary to a residence or vehicle and one count of motor vehicle theft.

He is being held in Middlesex County Correction Center on $20,000 bail.

According to a news release from Capt. James Ryan:

At 12:25 a.m. June 13, police got a 911 call, reporting that a woman was screaming on New Road.

When officers arrived at that home, they found a husband and wife, who had locked themselves in their bedroom after they heard a noise and saw someone in their home.

They yelled at the man, who told them not to worry because, he said, he was their neighbor.

Police determined he got into that house through an unlocked front window.

Police began searching the neighborhood, and they found two more homes that had been burglarized.

Then, at 1:07 a.m., another New Road resident called police, who said he had confronted a man in his home.

When he initially heard a noise in his house, he thought it could be a family member, but he went to check. That’s when he found the man - later identified as Rosario -- standing near his open front door, eating potato chips.

Rosario told him not to worry, then walked out.

Minutes later another New Road resident called police and said a young man walked into her bedroom.

She initially thought it was one of her son’s friends, so she asked him if he was looking for the bathroom. Then she turned on the bathroom light.

That’s when Rosario walked out of her house.

She called police.

When officers arrived, they realized he had stolen keys from her home, and drove away in a pick-up truck that was parked in the driveway.

Over the next few hours, police conducted an extensive canvass of the surrounding neighborhoods, searching for evidence and additional burglaries.

Police determined Rosario left the area after he took the truck.

But detectives determined that he either attempted or actually made entry to eight New Road homes and two Constable Road homes.

Sgt. Mike Rogers processed several of the burglary scenes, and police recovered the pickup truck in Franklin Township that Sunday afternoon.

Police determined Rosario had gone to the Tilted Kilt on Route 1 with some friends that Saturday night.

After drinking, Rosario walked into the parking lot, broke into a vehicle and stole car keys and an old license that showed a Constable Road address.

He went to that home, hoping to use the keys to steal a car.

But when that plan failed, he went to other homes in the neighborhood, entered through unlocked windows, and rummaged through the residents’ belongings.

He stole an Xbox system, a laptop, and some cash.

During a search of his home, detectives recovered evidence linking him to the burglaries, and they were able to connect all the cases.

In a prepared statement, Chief Raymond Hayducka credited the team effort that led to the arrest.

“It is highly unusual to have someone enter a home while people are sleeping,’’ he said. “The officers and detectives did a tremendous job piecing together the physical evidence at each of the ten crime scenes and conducting interviews. This case exemplifies our commitment to tracking down and arresting anyone who victimizes our community.”

He also thanked the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office, New Jersey State Police and Franklin Township police for their help with the case.

Photo courtesy South Brunswick police