Police report 22 car burglaries in one weekend Only one car that was burglarized was actually locked BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer METUCHEN - After a rash of motor vehicle burglaries that plagued the borough last weekend, Police Officer David Liantonio said it's important for people to lock their car doors. "These [suspects] preyed on people who left their car doors open," he said. "We had only one [out of 23 incidents] where they tried to break into a car." The burglaries occurred between 11 a.m. Jan. 3 and 1:15 a.m. Jan. 13, police said. "During one of the incidents, one of the victims could only describe the suspect as a male," said Liantonio. The victim told police someone rang his doorbell three times at 10 p.m. on Jan. 4, and the victim observed the suspect pull the locked door handles of his vehicles that were in his driveway on Goodwill Place. Six burglaries occurred on Wakefield Drive: Someone entered a 2001 Ford Explorer between 2 p.m. Jan. 3 and 7 a.m. Jan. 4; and a 1998 Honda, a 1999 Mazda, and a 2000 Nissan between 11 p.m. Jan. 3 and 4 a.m. Jan. 4, but did not take anything. Someone entered a 2006 Honda CRV, and a 2005 Honda Odyssey and stole a wallet valued at $40 and a handheld Sony FM radio valued at $60, between 10 p.m. Jan. 3 and 7:30 a.m. Jan. 4. Five burglaries occurred on Myrtle Avenue: Someone entered a motor vehicle and stole a Garmin navigational system valued at $200 between 5 p.m. Jan. 6 and 8 a.m. Jan. 7. Someone entered a black 2005 Jeep Liberty and stole a business checkbook and a DVD player valued at $200 between 7:30 p.m. Jan. 6 and 5:30 a.m. Jan. 7. Someone entered and ransacked a 2003 Chevy wagon between 7:30 p.m. Jan. 6 and 5:30 a.m. Jan. 7, and a 2007 Kia and a 2000 Ford Excursion between 8:30 p.m. Jan. 6 and 7 a.m. Jan. 7, but did not take anything. Three burglaries occurred on Forrest Street: Someone entered and ransacked a 1999 Honda Civic between 7 p.m. Jan. 6 and 7:30 a.m. Jan. 7. Someone entered a 2004 Dodge Durango, and a 2007 Dodge Caliber and stole a cell phone valued at $100, between 8 p.m. Jan. 6 and 6 a.m. Jan. 7. Two burglaries occurred on Carlton Road: Someone entered a 2004 Hyundai that was parked on Carlton Road and stole $2 in loose change between 11 a.m. Jan. 3 and 8 a.m. Jan. 4, and someone broke the lock to the driver's door of a 2002 Lexus between 5:30 p.m. Jan. 12 and 1:15 a.m. Jan. 13. The rest of the burglaries occurred on various streets: Someone entered a green 2006 Saturn on University Avenue and stole a global positioning system valued at $299 between 4 p.m. Jan. 7 and 8 a.m. Jan. 8. Someone entered a 2007 Honda on Aylin Street and stole an Aviation navigational system and other items valued at $2,500 between 5 p.m. Jan. 6 and 2 p.m. Jan. 7. Someone entered a motor vehicle on Sylvan Avenue and stole a global positioning unit valued at $150 between 10 p.m. Jan. 6 and 8:40 a.m. Jan. 7. Someone entered a 2005 Honda Jeep on Woodside Avenue and stole a Nintendo DS, a Sony PlayStation, six Xbox games, a pair of green army pants and a brown shirt between 6:30 p.m. Jan. 3 and 6 a.m. Jan. 4. And, someone entered and ransacked a 1999 Ford on Oak Avenue between 10 p.m. Jan. 3 and 7 a.m. Jan. 4, and a 2007 Mazda between midnight Jan. 6 and 7 a.m. Jan. 7, but nothing was taken. Liantonio added that people should not leave items of value such as global positioning systems in their vehicle. "These items [GPS systems] are easy and portable to move and does not create any noise and [do not need much] time to take," he said.