Sea Isle City police are seeking the public's help in identifying the male in this photo in connection with a series of attempted residential burglaries in late May. (Photo from Sea Isle City Police Department Facebook page)
Homeowners in Sea Isle City are being urged by police to lock their doors and garages following “numerous complaints” about attempted burglaries during one night in late May.
Police Chief Anthony Garreffi said it appears that the attempted burglaries were the result of juveniles going into open garages to try to steal bottles of alcohol.
He said that at least three attempted burglaries were captured on home security video. Police have published a photo on the department’s Facebook page of a male suspect in the burglaries.
Garreffi said the suspect has not yet been arrested. In the meantime, police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect by calling the department at (609) 263-4311.
Police received “numerous complaints” from homeowners about attempted burglaries from Thursday night, May 22, into the early morning hours on Friday, May 23, Garreffi said.
The attempted burglaries were concentrated in the area of town from the streets in the low 60s to the high 70s. Police responded by putting undercover officers in the surrounding neighborhood and extra officers on bike patrol, Garreffi said.
“It was just one night that we had reports,” he said. “We flooded the area with undercover officers and bike patrols.”
Police arrested one suspect who allegedly stole a lacrosse stick from a baby stroller parked in front of a home. Garreffi said the suspect turned himself into police.
To protect their property, Garreffi is urging homeowners to make sure they lock their doors, garages and cars, especially before going to bed at night.
“A lot of garage doors are open when people go to sleep, or they’re on the second floor and they don’t know the garage is open,” he said.
Sea Isle is among the Jersey Shore towns that have been dealing with groups of unruly teens causing trouble during the summer tourism season in recent years. Garreffi said the attempted burglaries by juveniles looking to steal alcohol in late May were no worse than in previous years.
