Pair target Hispanics in scheme
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer

FREEHOLD - The Freehold Borough Police Department wants residents to be aware that there has been a rash of what Detective Sgt. Timothy Jablonski called "bait and switch" crimes on the streets of the town.

According to Jablonski, the crimes have occurred over the last six months on various streets in the borough. He said the operation involves a Hispanic female who approaches Hispanic persons only and tells them she has found a large amount of money in a wallet or a pocketbook.

"The female will then ask the victim if he or she wants to share in the money she (the perpetrator) has found. At this time, a Hispanic male approaches the scene to ask if anyone has found his missing wallet which contained a large amount of money," Jablonski said.

Jablonski said at that point the male perpetrator approaches both individuals (the woman who claimed to have found the wallet or the pocketbook and the target of the scheme) and accuses them of stealing his money. When the "victims" deny any knowledge of a stolen wallet, the accuser orders them to hand over their wallets or pocketbooks to prove that they don't have his money. The man also demands that the "victims" show him some type of identification to prove where they live.

"In most cases the victims just hand over their wallets or pocketbooks to show the [man]," Jablonski said. "The [man], as a sign of trust to the 'victims', will have the [original target of the scheme] hold onto the wallet or pocketbook that the female had allegedly found earlier. The male and the female then just walk away with the victim's wallet or pocketbook, leaving behind the other wallet or pocketbook with the victim. Usually that item contains nothing but loose change and miscellaneous papers," he said.

Jablonski said that in the most recent incident, which took place on Aug. 16, the victim had handed over her pocketbook and went home to get a copy of a bill to prove where she lived. When she came back out, both the male and the female had fled the area with her pocketbook.

"The female accused in this case was described as being Hispanic, approximately 5-feet, 3-inches tall, weighing 140 pounds with a light complexion with brown and blonde highlighted hair tied up in a ponytail," he said.

Jablonski said the male subject was described as being Hispanic, approximately 5-feet to 5-feet, 3-inches in height, weighing between 160 and 180 pounds with a tan complexion with a thin mustache and short black hair.

Jablonski asked anyone who may have tips about the suspects to contact the Freehold Borough Police Department tip line at (732) 431-0420. The police department may also be reached at (732) 462-1234.