Berkeley Police Charge Man With Numerous Burglaries In Storm-Ravaged Good Luck Point

Police have charged a 22-year-old man whose last known address was in Holiday City with the burglary and theft of unoccupied homes in battered Good Luck Point and Glen Cove, Detective Sgt. James J. Smith said.

Berkeley Township Detectives Joseph Robertazzi and Joseph Santoro on March 28 charged Robert N. Kovacs Jr. with the crimes after he admitted to breaking into the homes in the Bayville section of the township to steal jewelry, money, copper and other household items..

"All of the homes were temporarily unoccupied as a result of damages incurred during Superstorm Sandy," Smith said.

The break in the case came when Brick Township detectives alerted Berkeley police after they arrested Kovacs on March 26 on similar charges at a Sandy-damaged home in Brick, Smith said.

Robertazzi and Santoro interviewed Kovacs in the jail and charged him on March 28, he said.

Kovacs was charged with burglaries on Seabright Avenue and Good Luck Point Drive.  Kovacs is suspected in several other burglaries in the Glen Cove area of Berkeley Township, Smith said.

Additional charges are pending, he said.

Owners of uninhabitable storm-damaged homes in Good Luck Point and Glen Cove are urged to come and check their properties, Smith said.

"We have a very strong suspicion there are more thefts," he said.

Kovacs is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail on $35,000 bail. His last know address before his arrests was 666 Jamaica Boulevard in the Holiday City section of Berkeley Township, Smith said.

Brick Township police have said Kovacs may be responsible for between 10 and 12 additional burglaries in storm-damaged areas. Kovacs was charged with burglary, theft, criminal mischief and possession of burglar's tools after a Brick resident spotted him inside his Sandy-damaged home and called police.

Brick police charged Kovacs with burglary, theft, criminal mischief and possession of burglar’s tools. He was processed on a warrant and his bail was set by Municipal Court Judge Robert LePore at $30,000 cash.