4 From Bergen, Passaic Charged In Connection To 16 NJ Burglaries

TEANECK, NJ — The New Jersey Attorney General's Office have announced charges against four New Jersey residents they say conspired as members of a criminal ring to commit dozens of burglaries across northern New Jersey.

They are charged in connection with 16 burglaries, the AG's Office said, but investigators from multiple agencies believe they may be behind as many as 84 since October 2020. However, an ongoing investigation leaves the door open for more charges to be filed.

Investigations into 84 residential burglaries in Morris, Bergen, Essex, Somerset, Passaic, Monmouth, Middlesex and Union Counties in New Jersey, as well parts of New York state, revealed a "similar modus operandi" in each, and it is suspected that the same burglary ring was involved in each, according to the AG's Office.

The ring, the AG's Office said, forced entry through a doorway, usually in the afternoon or early evening, and stole cash, jewelry and other valuables from the master bedroom specifically, but other areas of the homes as well. Authorities said over hall a million dollars in cash, jewelry and other valuables have been stolen.

Below are the four who've been arrested, and the charges they're facing:

• Keith Perry, 38, of Teaneck: 2nd Degree Conspiracy, 2nd Degree Burglary, 3rd Degree Burglary (15 Counts), 2nd Degree Theft, and 2nd Degree Receiving Stolen Property
• Porsche Brown, 29, of Lodi: 2nd Degree Conspiracy, 3rd Degree Burglary (6 Counts), 3rd Degree Theft, and 3rd Degree Receiving Stolen Property
• Kay Brown, 23, of Paterson: 2nd Degree Conspiracy, 3rd Degree Burglary (3 Counts), and 3rd Degree Theft
• Gregory Lewis, 37, of Teaneck: 2nd Degree Conspiracy and 3rd Degree Burglary

Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison, and a criminal fine of up to $150,000. Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison, and a fine of up to $15,000.

Three of the four were arrested in early April in New Jersey, but Keith Perry wasn't arrested until April 30, when the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force arrested him in North Carolina.

Perry is also charged in connection with a burglary on Dec. 23, 2020 in Englewood, N.J., during which he allegedly threatened a homeowner by making a motion with his hand inside his sweatshirt as though he had a gun and saying, “I’ll shoot you,” the AG's Office said.

The arrests weren't the first time members of the alleged ring crossed the radar of local authorities.

After Perry was involved in a car accident in Hackensack on March 17, investigators obtained a search warrant for the Mercedes-Benz GL 450 he was driving and found proceeds from one of the burglaries in the car, the AG's Office said.

And on Feb. 12, the AG's Office said Porsche Brown pawned a significant amount of jewelry at a pawn shop in Vineland. That jewelry is now being investigated as "suspected burglary proceeds."

The multi-agency investigation was led by the Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey State Police, Verona Police Department, New Milford Police Department and Teaneck Police Department. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, and 40 additional municipal police departments assisted.

“This is an outstanding example of law enforcement collaboration,” said Attorney Gurbir General Grewal.

“We worked with law enforcement agencies across nearly half of New Jersey to identify and arrest the alleged members of this burglary ring, who sought cash, jewelry, and other valuables in the targeted residences, including homes that were occupied during the break-ins. With each burglary in a new town, law enforcement forged a new partnership to address this threat and shut down this major crime spree.”

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