By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Somerset County announced the arrest of Jeremy Proleon-Carmen, 20, of Paterson, and Julio L. Ponce-Giannotti, 44, of Clifton, in relation to an occupied residential burglary in Warren Township.
Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald stated that on Wednesday, April 30, at approximately 10:07 a.m., Warren Township Police received a 9-1-1 call of a burglary in progress to an occupied residence on Briarwood Drive East in Warren Township.
The caller stated an actor was gaining entry to the residence through a basement window and provided a description of a suspect vehicle leaving the scene to police, SCPO officials say.
According to Somerset County officials, officers responded to the area and, within minutes, were able to utilize Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) to identify a suspect vehicle that matched the description provided by the caller.
Through these measures, it was determined that the suspect vehicle also bore a stolen New Jersey license plate and was traveling north in the area of Liberty Corner Road, Somerset County authorities stated.
The information was broadcast to surrounding agencies, and shortly thereafter, a Bernards Township patrol officer located the suspect vehicle and initiated a motor vehicle stop on Mount Airy Road in Bernards Township, SCPO officials said.
Somerset County officials said that detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutors' Office Burglary Unit, along with officers from the Warren Township Police Department, responded to the location of the motor vehicle stop and subsequently placed Proleon-Carmen and Ponce-Giannotti under arrest.
Prosecutor McDonald stated that the defendants were charged with 2nd degree Burglary, 2nd degree Conspiracy to Commit Burglary, and 4th degree Criminal Mischief.
Defendants Proleon-Carmen and Ponce-Giannotti were remanded to the Somerset County Jail pending a Superior Court detention hearing in this matter, SCPO authorities said.