Pitman man accused of three daytime burglaries in borough; more charges possible

A borough man charged at the end of August with a home burglary here has now been charged with two other break-ins, police announced on Monday.

Altogether, 23-year-old Jonathan S. Peterson is accused of breaking into a home on the unit block of Adams Avenue on Aug. 23, one on the 400 block of Lakeview Avenue on Aug. 27 and one on the 400 block of Grant Avenue Aug. 30. All three reportedly occurred during daylight hours.

Peterson was charged with the Grant Avenue burglary in part because he was picked out of a photo lineup. Police said he broke in but fled on foot when he saw someone was home. The resident was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher, reporting the burglary, at the time, they said.

Police didn’t have Peterson in custody until late the next night, when he was the front seat passenger in a vehicle stopped during the borough’s Over the Limit - Under Arrest effort. The vehicle’s drivers’ side headlight was out.

Peterson allegedly had two bags of cocaine, a hypodermic needle and a tourniquet at the time. He was arrested on drug offenses, as well as the Grant Avenue burglary. At the time, police said they considered him a suspect in several other daytime burglaries in town.

He was committed to Gloucester County Jail in default of $20,000 full cash bail. But there was more to come.

“Through an extensive investigation,” a police statement on the matter reads, “the Pitman Police Department produced evidence linking Mr. Peterson to these burglaries (on Adams and Lakeview avenues.)”

Detective Hunter Moore charged Peterson with two more counts of burglary and two of theft. Bail for those alleged crimes was set at $30,000 full cash, and Peterson was still in jail as of Monday.

And Pitman police Capt. Robert Zimmerman said even that may not be all.

“The police department is actively investigating other burglaries that have occurred throughout the borough during the summer months,” Zimmerman said. “Although Mr. Peterson has not been charged with any (other) burglaries to date, he could still be considered a potential suspect in these crimes as well.”

The first break-in, on Adams, reportedly occurred between 9 a.m. and 12:40 p.m. on Aug. 23. Jewelry items valued at $2,500 were taken from jewelry boxes in the home’s master bedroom.

Police said the culprit forced entry through a rear kitchen window.

In the second incident, to which police were dispatched a little after 12:45 p.m., the burglar reportedly pried open a window to the Lakeview Avenue home, using a large flathead screwdriver.

Several jewelry items, valued at $6,100, were reported stolen from the master bedroom and another bedroom.