New Jersey lawmaker says burglars ransacked home

HAZLET TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- A New Jersey state lawmaker says burglars ransacked his house and stole his car.

Republican Assemblyman Paul Kanitra says a pair of thieves broke into his home in Hazlet early Wednesday morning.

"I guess they used some pry bar or something like that. They broke the frame," Kanitra said.

Once the first burglar got inside through a window, he let the other one in through the front door, the assemblyman said.

Kanitra was out of town, but his wife and mother-in-law were asleep when the thieves broke in.

"What could have happened if my wife came down the stairs and confronted these individuals?" he said.

"What does it take for a police officer to get here? Fifteen minutes? A lot of bad stuff can happen in a very short period," said Kanitra's neighbor Bruce Martin.

Kanitra said the thieves ransacked his house and eventually found the keys to his SUV, which police later found ditched in New York City.

FBI data shows growing number of car thefts in New Jersey

Car thefts are on the rise in the Garden State .

According to FBI data, over 16,000 vehicle thefts were reported across the state in 2023, compared to under 14,000 in 2022 and under 9,000 in 2021.

Gangs frequently juveniles for crimes like this because they face lighter sentences than adults. Kanitra said he plans to introduce legislation that would crack down on those juveniles .

"So unless there is some kind of real penalty that they're facing, we're never gonna get them to give up the higher-ups in the organization," Kanitra said.

The case is under investigation. We reached out to Hazlet Police for a comment, but have not heard back.