Police in South Brunswick stop crime spree with help from public

Thanks to observant neighbors, three suspects were arrested after they allegedly burglarized a home in the Kendall Park area of South Brunswick on Friday afternoon.

At about 12:20 pm., resident Maria Doherty saw a suspect break a rear window and enter into a neighbor’s home on Cambridge Road. She told her husband, Thomas Doherty, who immediately called 911. He then stepped out of his home to see if he could observe the suspect and saw a dark car with tinted windows driving slowly up and down the street. Officers were responding in the neighborhood when Doherty observed the suspect emerge from the home and run. He chased the suspect, who then jumped into the dark colored vehicle halfway down Cambridge Road. Thomas told the 911 dispatcher the vehicle fled on Springdale Road towards New Road. Seconds later, South Brunswick Police Officer Mike Leung and Sergeant Eric Buraszeski observed the vehicle, a 2008 black Mazda, turn onto New Road. Officers stopped the vehicle when it turned onto Hastings Road.

Police took three young men into custody. Jason Milline, 23, of North Brunswick, and Rashiene Rochester, 23, of Franklin were charged with conspiracy to commit burglary and employing a juvenile in a crime. The two adult suspects have been They are being held at the Middlesex County Correction Center pending a bail hearing on Monday. A 16-year-old male from Franklin was charged with burglary, theft, and criminal mischief. He has been placed in juvenile detention.

The group has been connected to other recent burglaries in Somerset County, police said. Additional charges are expected. Anyone with information about the group is asked to call South Brunswick Detective Sergeant Mike Pellino at (732) 329-4000, ext. 7496.

“The coordination between residents getting involved and rapid response officers eliminating escape routes led to this capture,” South Brunswick Police chief Raymond Hayducka said. “These arrests put an end to one group’s crime spree and saved countless other homeowners from becoming victims.”

Hayducka said the township saw a 21-percent decrease in burglaries, which he attributed officers and vigilant residents like the Doherty family working together. “They went above and beyond in helping us capture these suspect,” Hayducka said. “They made the call, provide critical information, and made our community a safer place.”