A security camera in Red Bank helped police in other towns identify the suspects as Jeffrey Smith, left, and Michael D’Autorio, police said. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Two Ocean County men who apparently didn’t get the memo about the widespread use of home surveillance cameras were charged by police in Fair Haven, Little Silver and elsewhere with burglary this week.
With Michael D’Autorio, 32, of Toms River, in the Ocean County Jail since March 25 on unrelated charges, Fair Haven police arrested his alleged accomplice, Jeffrey Smith, 33, of Manchester, when he arrived at the county courthouse Wednesday, also on a matter unrelated to the latest charges, local authorities said Thursday.
The arrests came after a spate of burglaries and attempted burglaries in Fair Haven, Little Silver, Rumson and Marlboro last month, said Little Silver Detective Sergeant Greg Oliva.
Oliva said the pair broke into a Little Silver home on March 4, getting away with jewelry, electronics and other valuables.
D’Autorio and Smith are alleged to have burglarized a Fair Haven residence the same day, said Detective Dwayne Reevey.
The pair also face charges of criminal mischief and property damage connected to an unsuccessful effort to enter a home in Rumson and burglary of a Marlboro home o March 3, he said.
Oliva said the investigation was aided by video from home security systems that captured images of the two men as they scoped out or burglarized homes in several towns. Oliva speculated that the pair may have believed they would be hard to identify given that they’re from another county.
The above image, widely shared on social media, was captured at a Red Bank home that was not burglarized, said borough Chief Darren McConnell.
According to Google Search results, D’Autorio has been arrested in Ocean County for burglary and other alleged offsense in the past. In one case, in 2016, he was alleged to have posed as plumber going door-to-door to solicit business, committing burglaries and theft along the way. The outcome of those charges could not immediately be learned.
On his Facebook page, D’Autorio identifies himself as a plumber.
D’Autorio continued to be held without bail at the Ocean County facility Thursday, according to its website. Smith, who was additionally charged with conspiracy to commit burglary, was being held without bail in the Monmouth County Correctional Center.
