A 27-year-old Jefferson man believed to be connected to a several burglaries in town over the past two months was arrested Thursday following a tip from a resident, Jefferson Township Police said.

Richard Malson was charged with multiple counts of burglary and theft.

Malson is suspected in burglaries in the East Shore, Lake Forest and Lake Winona areas, as well as incidents that occurred on Raccoon Island and Halsey Island, police said.

Officer Justin Gjelsvik responded to a report of a break-in on Benedict Drive on Thursday. A resident described a possible suspect to Gjelsvik, who had seen a man matching the description in the area on Wednesday.

Gjelsvik and Det. Steve Muller located the man, who lives on East Shore Drive, and during the course of the investigation found some of the items that had allegedly been stolen.

As a result of the arrest, 25 open incidents of burglaries, thefts and break-ins were resolved, police said.

Malson was transported to the Morris County Correctional Facility in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Investigation into other incidents is ongoing, and further arrests are pending, police said. 

For more information on this report, contact susan.toth@patch.com.

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