Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck today announced the indictment of a man charged with leading a criminal ring responsible for numerous residential burglaries across much of New Jersey.
The Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau obtained a state grand jury indictment yesterday, September 29, charging Keith Perry, 38, of Teaneck, with the following offenses:
- Promoting Organized Street Crime (1st Degree)
- Conspiracy (2nd Degree)
- Burglary with a Weapon (2nd Degree)
- 16 Additional Counts of Burglary (3rd Degree)
- Receiving Stolen Property (2nd Degree)
- Theft by Unlawful Taking (2nd Degree)
According to Acting Attorney General Bruck, Perry was arrested in April in a far-reaching investigation in which numerous law enforcement agencies collaborated to investigate 84 burglaries committed from October 2020 through March 2021.
These burglaries were committed in nine counties in New Jersey—Morris, Bergen, Essex, Somerset, Hunterdon, Union, Passaic, Monmouth, and Middlesex—and lower New York State.
Acting Attorney General Bruck said that two ring members charged with Perry in April—Porsche Brown, 29, of Lodi, and Kay Brown, 23, of Paterson (no relation to each other)—pleaded guilty on July 13 to third-degree burglary and are awaiting sentencing.
As detailed in the statement of probable cause in the criminal complaints filed in April, the burglaries involved a similar modus operandi. It is suspected that the same burglary ring was involved in each.
According to the investigation, the perpetrators forced entry through a doorway, usually in the afternoon or early evening, and stole cash, jewelry, and other valuables from the master bedroom and/or other areas of the residence.
Well over half a million dollars in cash, jewelry, and other valuables were stolen in total in the 84 burglaries.
According to Acting Attorney General Bruck, Perry is charged specifically in connection with 17 burglaries that occurred in Morris, Bergen, Essex, Somerset, Hunterdon, and Union Counties.
In connection with the charge of burglary with a weapon, it is alleged that, during a burglary in Englewood on December 23, 2020, the homeowner confronted Perry, who made a motion inside his sweatshirt as though he had a gun and said, “I’ll shoot you.”
“Thanks to the collaborative work of dozens of law enforcement agencies, we stopped this prolific burglary ring and its alleged leader,” said Acting Attorney General Bruck.
“Day in and day out, law enforcement in New Jersey demonstrates the power of working together cooperatively to solve crimes and keep our residents safe.”
According to Acting Attorney General Bruck, Perry was arrested on April 30 in North Carolina by the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force on a warrant obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice.
He was extradited to New Jersey and is being detained pending trial in the Morris County Correctional Facility.