Cops: Jewelry Stolen From Several Homes

More than $30,000 worth of jewelry and other valuables has been stolen from Jefferson Township homes in recent weeks, according to police.

Police say they've made arrests in some of the incidents; they're still looking for suspects in the others.

"Currently, we do not have reason to believe that any of the unsolved incidents are related to the two in which charges have been brought," Jefferson Police Capt. Eric Wilsusen said

The first of the recent incidents took place July 18, police said, when a resident of Heather Hills Drive reported a burglary in which $20,000 worth of jewelry and cameras were taken from her residence.

Two Jefferson residents, Jay Holondinsky, 21 and Shawn Torday-Reo, 22, were arrested and charged with burglary and theft. Police declined to elaborate on how Holondinsky and Torday-Reo were identified as suspects. Holondinsky and Torday-Reo were taken to the Morris County Jail in lieu of bail.

On Aug. 2, a resident of Alpine Drive told police that someone entered his residence and stole about $1,200 worth of jewelry, police said. No arrests have been made in that incident.

In another incident on Aug. 5, police arrested four people on charges of burglary and theft after an Elizabeth Place resident reported the front door of his or her home was pushed open, and the master bedroom was ransacked, police said. Jewelry was removed from the bedroom, according to police.

Shortly after that report, Sparta police arrested four people after a short chase. Based on some of the jewelry those individuals had in their possession, they were arrested, police said. The four were Sean Bank, 26, Akeem Boone, 26, Asim Boon, 28, all of Englewood, and Jerry Montgomery, 30, of Teaneck. All were held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

"During the course of their investigation, the Sparta police discovered that the four arrested in this incident were part of a professional burglary ring," Wilsusen said. "We were able to charge them because some of the jewelry they had in their possession matched descriptions of what the resident reported missing."

On Aug. 8, a Milton Road resident reported to police that someone entered his or her home through a rear sliding glass door, and took a $10,000 engagement ring and several gold bracelets and chains, police said. No arrests have been made in that incident.

And in the most recent incident, on Aug. 12, a resident of Cree Trail reported that someone broke into his or her home through a rear window and took jewelry. No arrests have been made in that incident.

For questions about this post, please contact Susan.Toth@Patch.com.