Police Investigate Burglaries, Criminal Mischief

Two homes were burglarized last Thursday in Short Hills, and several homes in the area were vandalized with damage to front lamps and lamp posts.

In both of the burglary cases, homeowners were not home but had turned on their burglar alarms, which is what alerted police to the break-ins.

When Millburn Police Officer Roberto Delgado arrived at the home on Bishop Lane, he found that the front door had been forced open. The residents were not in town but arranged for a family friend to meet police at the house. When they investigated the scene, police found that the nightstand, dresser and closet in the master bedroom were ransacked.

Firefighters came to the home to secure the door until the residents could make it home.

In the burglary on Tennyson Drive in Short Hills, police officers saw wet footprints that led to the back of the house, where they found that the rear door had been kicked in. They then followed the footsteps into basement and elsewhere in the house. They found that someone had gone through the dresser drawers and closets in each of the five bedrooms. Left on one dresser was an empty jewelry case, but electronics, including an iPad were still there, as were the TVs and computers.

Police also responded to five reports of broken lamp posts in Short Hills.  Between April 20 and 29, someone smashed lamps or lamp posts on Seminole Way, Tall Pine Lane, Long Hill Drive, Cambridge Drive and Spencer Drive in Short Hills. In at least one case, it was suspected that the damage had been caused by a baseball bat. Police are investigating the cases a criminal mischief.