A 32-year-old Manalapan man was held in Monmouth County Correctional Institute on charges arising out of alleged burglaries. He was originally charged with fraud, theft and burglary after he allegedly stole from a home in Manalapan and then used a stolen credit card at two locations in Manalapan. He is also accused of burglarizing an unlocked parked car and taking a laptop along with some tools.
Additional police investigation found that the man had used a stolen credit card at Walgreens, Walmart and CVS/Pharmacy locations in Freehold as well. According to police, the stolen credit card used to make these purchases was the same card that the man had used previously.
The accused was held on a combined total of $70,000 in bonds from the two townships. He was not given the option to post 10 percent in order to secure his release. His initial court appearance was scheduled for the morning of Feb. 25.
When a person is charged with multiple crimes, a judge has the option to set sentences to run consecutively or concurrently. An experienced criminal defense attorney may be able to help mitigate some of the charges and their consequences. An attorney may be able to argue a lack of evidence that puts the man at the scene of the burglaries and potentially have those charges dismissed.
Fraud and theft charges can have serious consequences later in life as persons convicted of crimes of dishonesty may have trouble finding work after they have done their time. Any person accused of or charged with a crime of dishonesty may benefit from speaking with a criminal defense attorney.
Source: Manalapan Patch, “Manalapan Man Faces More Burglary, Theft, Fraud Charges,” Katrina Rossos, Feb. 21, 2013