Burglary Suspects Arrested

The police arrested two Westfield women on November 4 in conjunction with two burglaries on First Street last month.

A joint investigation with the Springfield police resulted in the arrest of Kristin Modoski, 18, of Westfield and Samantha Mathis-Smith, 18, of Westfield for burglaries on the 400 and 700 blocks of First Streets in October. Modoski was charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of theft and one count of criminal mischief. Mathis-Smith was charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief. Mathis-Smith was charged only in regards to the burglary on the 700 block.

Charges from the Springfield police bring the total charges against Modoski to four counts of residential burglary, four counts of theft and four counts of residential burglary, in addition to the criminal mischief charge. The Springfield police have also arrested Kamil Ciesluk, 21, of Springfield on four counts each of residential burglary, theft and receiving stolen property.

According to Springfield police, Modoski and Ciesluk were arrested in conjunction with burglaries in Westfield, Springfield and other nearby communities. Both were given $40,000 bail. A report from the New Jersey Local News Service said that a witness to one of the burglaries reported a partial license plate number to police, which led to Ciesluk.

The First Street burglaries are part of a rise in residential burglaries in Westfield over the past year. First centered in the Gardens neighborhood near Route 22, the burglaries moved to the south side over the summer, primarily in the Shadowlawn neighborhood and other neighborhoods around Westfield High School. There have been several burglaries off of Central Avenue in recent weeks.

Police Captain David Wayman said the detective bureau is continuing to investigate the burglaries in town. Over the summer, Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow announced that many of the burglaries occurring along the Route 22 and Route 78 corridors were connected to the same group.