Evesham Police Arrest Man for Burglary, Theft in Same-Day Incident

Officials from the Evesham Township Police Department recently arrested and charged a Gloucester City man with burglary and theft in the same day that he allegedly broke-into a local home, stealing several items.

According to Evesham Township Police Lieutenant Joseph Friel, the owner of a home located on the 500 block of Kettlerun Road contacted police about a suspected burglary at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 17th.

The burglary reportedly occurred while the residence was unoccupied, at which time the offender unlawfully entered the home through an unlocked window on the first floor. The items stolen included a leaf-blower and a chainsaw.

Evesham Police immediately launched an investigation, visiting pawn shops in the Camden County area to determine if anyone had recently pawned the items. Investigators were able to identify a suspect soon after, due to the fact that pawn shops are required to maintain records of their transactions under New Jersey law.

Shortly thereafter, Evesham officers took 24-year-old Gloucester City resident Steven Garcia into custody. He was charged with burglary and theft and was being held at the Burlington County Jail in lieu of bail set at $20,500 bail. Notice that Garcia was charged with both burglary and theft because the nature of these offenses are fundamentally different under State law.

In New Jersey, burglary, which is addressed in section N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2 of the New Jersey Criminal Code, solely requires the intent to commit a theft, not necessarily the actual commission of a theft. Specifically, the statute says that a person is guilty of burglary if he or she unlawfully enters a structure with the purpose to commit a theft therein. Burglary is typically classified as a third degree crime, which is punishable by a New Jersey State Prison sentence ranging from 3 to 5 years.

On the other hand, theft of movable property, found in section N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3a, requires the actor to unlawfully take, or exercise unlawful control over, movable property with the purpose of depriving the owner of said property. Theft crimes are unique in that the grading of these offenses is contingent upon the estimated monetary value of the property involved in the offense. In other words, the degree of the crime, and corresponding penalties, become more severe as the value of the stolen property increases.

As is evidenced by this case, a person can be charged with burglary and theft in New Jersey if he or she unlawfully enters a structure and subsequently steals something. The penalties associated with each of these offenses can be issued in conjunction, spelling harsher punishments for those convicted of both crimes.

For additional information pertaining to this case, access the following article: Cops track alleged burglar, return pawned items in 2 hours