A man accused of burglarizing a longtime Monmouth County diner and other local businesses was found hiding inside the crawlspace of the eatery last week, police said.
A report of glass being broken in the area of the Blue Swan Diner on Route 35 in Ocean Township brought officers to the restaurant around 2:30 a.m. on April 16, according to a release from the Ocean Township Police Department.
The officers found a broken window at the diner, set up a perimeter around the building and went inside, the department said. There they found a man hiding inside the crawl space.
He was ordered out, complied and was arrested and taken to police headquarters, authorities said.
Detectives said the man was involved in several other commercial burglaries that had occurred in recent weeks within Ocean Township and surrounding towns, police said. The names of the other businesses he was accused of burglarizing were not released.
He was charged with multiple counts of burglary, possession of burglar tools, theft and criminal mischief, police said. He was taken to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, officials said.
Last week’s incident was not the first time the Blue Swan Diner has been burglarized. In 2011, a man was accused of smashing out a locked door and stealing an ATM from the restaurant.
Stories by Chris Sheldon
Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.
Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.