'Butt Dialing' Burglar from Elizabeth Pleads Guilty

The burglar whose 9-1-1 ‘butt dial ’ helped lead to his own arrested pleaded guilty in Somerset County Superior Court on Friday, according to nj.com.

As a result of robberies committed in Branchburg Township, Berkeley Heights, and Stafford Township Robert Esser, 42, of Elizabeth, pleaded guilty to:

• one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm
• three counts of third-degree burglary
• two counts of third-degree theft
• one count of third-degree criminal mischief

The Incident

Police say an accidental “butt dial” helped lead to the arrest of a 42-year-old Elizabeth man on multiple burglary charges in Somerset County on Wednesday.

“[On] July 27, The Somerset County Communications Center received, what appeared to them to be, an errant, open-line emergency cellular telephone call, commonly referred to as a ‘butt dial’,” according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. “County Dispatchers continued to monitor male voices discussing an apparent burglary but were unsure of the caller’s location.”

Later that evening, a burglary on Lamington Road was reported to Branchburg Township Police - the home appeared to be entered by force. Dresser drawers were emptied of their contents and the homeowner reported to police that $1,355 in miscellaneous jewelry had been stolen.

Officials say a cellular telephone company confirmed the cell phone which “butt dailed” the 911 Center had recently been assigned to a Robert Esser.

On August 5, detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Burglary Task Force followed Esser as he drove alone in his silver 2002 Toyota Camry from Elizabeth into Stafford Township in Ocean County.

Detectives continued to follow Esser’s vehicle to Mermaid Drive, but lost sight of him when he exited his vehicle, according to the prosecutor’s office. After he was observed leaving the area in his vehicle, detectives inspected a dwelling on Mermaid Drive and identified a forced entry.

Esser was later taken into custody when his vehicle was stopped by New Jersey State Police. His vehicle was impounded and towed to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Forensic Lab where a search was conducted after authorities obtained a search warrant.