One Burglary and Three Home Thefts Last Week

Westfield Police are currently investigating a cat burglary, which occurred in the early morning hours of Sunday. It is the fourth such burglary on the southside in recent weeks.

A resident on the 700 block of Westfield Avenue reported that an intruder obtained entry to the house through an unlocked basement door while the occupants slept. The intruder made their way to the kitchen on the home's first floor where a wallet was taken.

There have been three other burglaries in recent weeks on the southside. Two occurred near the high school in the Shadowlawn neighborhood. The third occurred on Wyoming Avenue. Police Captain David Wayman said it is not known if the crimes are connected. Police officials presented a burglary prevention workshop last week in the Shadowlawn neighborhood.

Wayman said the town has been obtaining evidence from each scene in an effort to make arrests. The police is part of a burglary prevention task force made up of departments from towns in Union and Somerset Counties along the Route 22 and Route 78 corridors, where many of the thefts have been occurring.

"It's a large part of sharing information and intelligence," Wayman said of the task force, which will be meeting in the coming days.

In addition to the Westfield Avenue burglary, Wayman said three home thefts occurred in the last week. The thefts are classified different from the burglary because the suspect had been in the house on legitimate business and then stole something or was willingly let into the house by the home owner.

On July 16 a resident of East Broad Street reported a theft of $300 from their apartment during a three day period. On July 17, a resident of Cranford Avenue reported the theft of $15,000 in jewelry from their residence. On July 18, a resident Mohican Drive reported the theft of an iPod Nano, a laptop, an antique firearm and $250 in cash.

Wayman stressed that burglaries have been rare in Westfield and the police are unsure of the exact cause for the recent rise in the southside neighborhoods.