NJ burglary kingpin heading to the big house

⚫ A New Jersey burglary kingpin gets a long prison sentence
⚫ He headed up a band of thieves that broke into 84 houses all over Jersey
⚫ The crew swiped more than half a million in cash, jewelry and other valuables

A Bergen County man who headed up a gang of thieves that broke into homes all over New Jersey is heading to prison.

Keith Perry, 39 of Teaneck, who had pleaded guilty to first-degree promoting organized crime, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on March 10.

Perry was collared in April 2021 after numerous law enforcement agencies worked together to investigate 84 burglaries committed from October 2020 through March 2021 in Bergen, Essex, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset and Union counties as well as parts of New York.

The same modus operandi

According to law enforcement officials, all of the burglaries were carried out in a similar fashion. The perpetrators forced their way through a door, usually in the afternoon or early evening, then stole cash, jewelry, and other valuables from the master bedroom and/or other areas of the residence.

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More than half a million dollars in cash, jewelry, and other valuables were stolen in total in the 84 burglaries.

Perry was specifically charged with committing 17 burglaries that occurred in Morris, Bergen, Essex, Somerset, Hunterdon, and Union counties. It is alleged that during a burglary in Englewood on Dec. 23, 2020, the homeowner confronted Perry, who made a motion inside his sweatshirt as though he had a gun and said, “I’ll shoot you.”

A team effort

Attorney General Platkin said “thanks to the collaboration of dozens of law enforcement agencies working across multiple jurisdictions, we successfully identified and dismantled a prolific burglary ring targeting homes throughout New Jersey and brought its ringleader to justice. This case is an excellent example of how law enforcement agencies throughout the state are working together to keep New Jerseyans safe in their homes.”

Perry was arrested on April 30, 2021, in North Carolina by the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force on a warrant obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice. He was then extradited to New Jersey and detained in the Morris County Correctional Facility.

David Matthau is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at david.matthau@townsquaremedia.com

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