Caught! NJ burglars stole $200K worth of items from single home, cops say

🔴 Security footage shows it took 1 minute to steal $200,000 in jewelry

🔴 The owner posted a $5,000 reward for information

🔴 Cell phone data helped track down the suspects

HOWELL — Police arrested two men who stole an estimated $200,000 worth of jewelry from a home in less than a minute the day after Christmas.

Security camera footage captured images of the two masked burglars in the woods watching a house on West Farms Road until its owners left.

The masked pair then broke a locked door at 1:20 p.m., entered the house and took the jewelry. The time stamp on the footage shows the two leaving the home and going back into the woods in less than a minute.

The homeowner posted a $5,000 reward for information leading to the suspect's arrest.

In the image below, the burglars are seen fleeing the home. 👇

Video posted on the Howell Happenings Facebook page shows one of the thieves entering a bedroom walk-in closet. 👇

Video also shows him rifling through a dresser and taking off. 👇

Using "advanced training in technical applications and analysis of cellular data," detectives identified two suspects, both from Neptune. Dathan Thompson, 32, was arrested at his residence while Karl Roberson, 32, was taken into custody during a traffic stop involving a vehicle connected to the robbery.

During Roberson's traffic stop, police found a defaced 9mm handgun with an extended magazine, several packages of suspected crack cocaine and other items related to the burglary.

Roberson was charged with burglary, theft, criminal mischief, possession of drugs and several weapons offenses. Thompson was charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief.

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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