Thieves Hit Air Conditioning Units In Several Homes, Police Chief Says

Two Forked River homes were targeted recently by thieves for outdoor air conditioning parts, Police Chief David A. Paprota said.

The first incident was reported at 7:12 p.m. on April 17 at a home on Lake Barnegat Drive. The resident told Officer Alan Abrecht that someone removed their Goodman air conditioning compressor located in the side yard by cutting its connections. The part was valued at $1,200, the chief said.

The second theft was reported at 7:26 a.m. on April 19 by a homeowner on Clearwater Drive.

The resident told Officer David Nick that two air conditioning compressors were stolen from outside the house between 8 a.m. on April 18 and 7:30 a.m. on April 19. The items were valued at $50, Paprota said.

• In an unrelated theft, a business owner on Challenger Way in Forked River reported the theft of auto batteries stolen vehicles and a backhoe parked in the rear lot, the chief said.

The owner told Officer Noah Schaffer that the incident took place between 6:30 p.m. on April 17 and 8 a.m. on April 18. Each battery is worth roughly $150.

Police later arrested John Schwarzenbach, 46, and charged him in connection with the theft of the batteries. Schwarzenbach was also charged with burglary, theft and trespassing for burglarizing a car on March 15 that was parked overnight at a Lanoka Harbor auto repair center. The stereo speakers were stolen from the pickup.

Officer Samuel Della Salla had also issued Schwarzenbach a summons for disturbance of refuse for taking two pieces of scrap metal after he was spotted walking around the exterior of a closed Route 9 business at 8:41 p.m. on April 17, the chief said.

Schwarzenbach is also a suspect in other recent thefts of "scrapable" materials, the chief said. Schwarzenbach was released on his own recognizance after he was charged.

• A resident of Sylvania Place in Forked River reported having a continuing problem with mail being repeatedly stolen from her mailbox over the past few weeks. Some of the thefts include items of value which were mailed to her but never received.
• At approximately 4:17 p.m., on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, a business owner reported that tools were stolen from a work truck while it was parked for several days at 811 Route 9 North, in Lanoka Harbor. The stolen tools were valued at approximately $850.