By Karen Zautyk
KEARNY –
The residential area of Passaic Ave. has been the recent target of brazen daytime break-ins, with two such incidents occurring last week, Kearny police reported.
“These are hit-and-run [burglaries], not stealth,” Police Chief John Dowie noted, adding that “they seem to be specific to Passaic Ave.”
The first was reported at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, by a homeowner on the 500 block. The homeowner told the responding officer, P.O. Frank West, that she had left the house at 11 a.m. and returned after 4 to find the front door ajar.
As is cautioned in such cases, she did not enter the home, but “backed off and called us on her cell phone,” Dowie noted.
Police searched and secured the house, but the intruder – who apparently had kicked in the door – had already fled. The living room had been ransacked, with items strewn around the floor, and a laptop computer appeared to be missing.
Det. John Telle is conducting the follow-up investigation.
At 11:45 a.m. Thursday, P.O. Jose Canela and Sgt. Michael Cardella responded to a burglar alarm at a home on the 700 block of Passaic. Dets. John Plaugic and Michael Gonzalez secured the perimeter of the house, but again, the intruder had already fled. Despite the alarm, the burglar had gained entry and had stolen jewelry, along with a pillowcase, presumably in which to carry the loot.
This homeowner told officers she had been away from the house only a short time, from 10 a.m. to 11:45.
Dowie said the police do “have some substantial leads,” and that there has been a rash of similar break-ins in surrounding communities.
