NEW JERSEY COMPUTERS STOLEN BY TEENAGERS5 teens charged in Plainsboro burglaries5 teens charged in Plainsboro burglaries
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
By BRIAN X. McCRONE
Staff Writer
PLAINSBORO - They knocked on doors to apartments. No answer meant an empty home to loot.

That was the method police say five teenagers from Plainsboro and West Windsor allegedly used in stealing more than $20,000 in digital equipment from at least 15 units in the huge apartment complexes in the southern part of the township.

Neil Kapil, 18, of Hickory Court in West Windsor allegedly sold some of the stolen computers, Sony PlayStations and digital cameras on eBay, the Internet auction site, police said.

Detectives searched his home Aug. 17 and seized computers, paperwork and property allegedly linked to the burglaries and thefts, detectives said.

Four Plainsboro teenagers, who as juveniles were not identified because of their age, were then taken into custody Aug. 24 for their alleged roles in the break-ins, police said.

Three 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old were arrested. Detectives said Kapil is currently a student, but did not say whether he was expected to attend college or one of the two local high schools.

The ongoing investigation may disclose more stolen property for sale on eBay, Detective Eamon Blanchard said yesterday.

"We're still searching," Blanchard said. "There may be other (stolen goods)."

He put the number of alleged burglaries by the five teenagers as "15 plus."

The teens allegedly knocked on front doors to apartments in the Quail Ridge, Ravens Crest, Pheasant Hollow and Hunters Glen complexes, police said. If no one answered, they then allegedly climbed onto the apartment's balcony and entered through unlocked sliding doors.

Kapil then would put the stolen goods up for auction on the Internet, detectives allege.

Two 16-year-olds have been charged with 10 counts of burglary and theft and a count of conspiracy to commit burglary. Both are being held in the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center pending a court hearing.

The other three teenagers charged were released pending their own court hearings.