Car break-ins, thefts
continue on weekend

EAST BRUNSWICK — A rash of car thefts and vehicular break-ins outside Route 18 businesses continued Saturday and Sunday for the second straight weekend.

Police said a 1994 Honda Civic was reported stolen at 3 p.m. Sunday from the parking lot at Kmart. The vehicle, owned by a 26-year-old store employee, was found an hour later at the Olive Garden restaurant, also on Route 18. A window had been smashed and the steering column had been ripped open. The car’s stereo had been stolen, according to police.

On Saturday, three break-ins were reported in the parking lots of Home Depot and Sam’s Club.

At 5:52 p.m., a 30-year-old East Brunswick man reported that someone entered his 1999 Ford van in the Home Depot lot and stole a Rigid Power 300 pipe threader. The tool was valued at $3,000.

At 6:30 p.m., high-intensity headlamps were reported stolen from a 2003 Nissan in the Sam’s Club lot. The vehicle is owned by a 38-year-old Somerset man. The value of that theft was estimated at $1,500.

Around the same time, a 1997 Honda was broken into in that lot by suspects who removed a Pioneer television/DVD
/stereo system valued at $1,400. Police said the suspects also tried to steal the car by prying open the ignition and steering column. The Honda is owned by a 26-year-old New Brunswick man.

Similar crimes were reported from Sept. 12-14 at five Route 18 shopping center parking lots.

During that period, two cars were reported stolen, a third was broken into and four others were burglarized.