Two Charged in Fresh Ponds Diversion Burglary

East Brunswick Police charged two out of state residents with a diversion burglary of a township woman on Tuesday.

Gary Ely, 29, of Fresno, Calif., and Tony Mitchell, 39, of Norcross, GA, were charged with burglary and possession of stolen property after the two men allegedly distracted a homeowner telling her that they were checking her property lines while conducting a break-in, police said.

On Sept. 10 at about 2:30 p.m., a Fresh Ponds road woman alerted police that a male wearing a yellow and green safety vest knocked on her door and told her that he was out checking property lines and needed to check her home.

The male suspect then told another man who was waiting in a nearby pickup truck that he was now going to check the property lines with the homeowner, police said. The resident walked to the back of the yard with the suspect as he asked her a few questions relating to her property, according to police.

All of a sudden, the man ran off and got in the pickup truck before the vehicle headed down Fresh Ponds Road towards Milltown, police said. 

The woman then returned to her home to find her purse open on her kitchen table with an unknown amount of cash taken from the wallet. The resident also told police that two separate areas in her home where she kept money had been ransacked, with several thousand dollars removed.

However, the resident was able to provide officers with some minor details about the suspect's pickup truck.  

About two hours later, East Brunswick officers Mark Morris and Robert Thuring saw a pickup truck that matched the description in the parking lot of Studio 6, on Route 18. After other officers responded to the hotel to set up surveillance on the vehicle, the two suspects were observed attempting to leave the hotel, where they were then stopped by police.

As they conducted the motor vehicle stop, officers were able to recover evidence that allegedly linked both suspects to the Fresh Ponds burglary.

Ely was additionally charged with hindering apprehension for providing false information as to his identity with a fraudulent driver’s license, according to police. He is also a wanted fugitive out of California, police said.
 
Prior to this incident, a similar scam was attempted on another residence with the suspects posing as roofers, but they were denied access to the home and the property, according to police.

Both suspects were transported to the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Facility in North Brunswick in lieu of $70,000 bail.