Holmdel, NJ, House Had 3 High-end Vehicles Stolen at the Same Time, Police Say

One house in Holmdel had three high-end vehicles stolen on Monday — in at least the third case of a home having more than one car stolen at the same time in December.

Entry was gained to the residence “without force” on the day after Christmas and keys were taken to all three vehicles, according to Holmdel Township police.

In nearby Manalapan on Dec. 11, two cars worth a combined $250,000 were stolen from one house, as reported by Patch.

Just a few days earlier in Montclair, two luxury vehicles worth a combined $750,000 went missing from the same garage, according to several reports citing township police.

Secure doors, keys, fobs

“Holmdel Township Police would like to remind residents to please remain vigilant and continue to lock your car doors and also the doors and windows to your homes. In the recent weeks, in Holmdel and many surrounding towns, these criminals who are looking for high end vehicles to steal, have been entering homes to find keys that have not been left for them in the cars,” the police department said in a post on its Facebook page on Tuesday.

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Police said an unlocked car could give a would-be thief access to a garage door opener, which could then be used to get into a home.

“Another tactic to deter the vehicle thieves would be to not leave keys in obvious locations right near the entry doors,” the same message said.

Driveway trespasser fines

Monday’s theft of three vehicles happened just under two weeks since the Holmdel Township Committee adopted an ordinance that issues fines for standing next to a vehicle, “peering into a car window” or pulling on a car door handle without consent from its owner.

That ordinance imposes fines of $1000 for the first offense and $2000 for each
following offense, should the car thief ultimately be caught and convicted.

Statewide auto theft in 2022

From January through November, 14,322 car thefts were reported statewide, State Police Maj. Lawrence Williams said at an Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee hearing earlier this month.

That included 3,903 thefts of high-end cars valued at $30,000 or more — about 700 more than the same span last year.

Williams said while that was “a lot of auto theft,” law enforcement had been able to help stem the spike, in part by better police sharing of information about theft rings and also through license plate reading technology.

With previous reporting by Michael Symons