Berkeley Police Arrest Two Men On Storm-Battered Pelican Island

Township police recently arrested two brothers who paddled over to Pelican Island on Barnegat Bay by kayak shortly after the Hurricane Sandy, Detective Sgt. James J. Smith said.

Detective Will Cullen found Douglas J. Polle, Jr. 26, Grant Avenue, Pine Beach, and Tyler Polle, 22, Compass Avenue, Beachwood in the backyard of a home on South Sunset Drive at 12:27 p.m. on Oct. 31, he said.

"They told us they were taking pictures for National Geographic," Smith said.

Cullen wasn't buying that. He charged both men with trespassing and possession of marijuana, Smith said.

Police were on Pelican Island that day to look for looters and make certain no other residents needed to be evacuated, Smith said.

"That area of Pelican Island had significant storm damage and a lot of houses were accessible," he said. "We were there to make sure nobody was looting, to evacuate storm victims and anyone else who was in the area."