Police arrest two men in connection with burglaries
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer

WOODBRIDGE - Two transient men were arrested and charged last week with nine counts of burglary and theft from businesses and properties in the Port Reading section of the township since May, police said.

Police arrested James Lorenz, 46, under a bridge on Port Reading Avenue and Ronald Penna, 49, who was walking on B Street in Port Reading, on Aug. 31, police said.

The Detective Bureau has been investigating the string of burglaries, which include the burglaries of the Delta Gas station in May and early June; the Dunkin' Donuts on Port Reading Avenue on June 9 and Aug. 30; a break-in at the Bow-Tie swimming pool on June 10; a break-in of the Port Reading soccer team trailer on June 11; the burglary of the Ramirez gas station on June 15 and 16; and the burglary of the Home Town Deli on Port Reading Avenue on July 29 and Aug. 31, police said.

While Police Officers Jason Szylar and Bryan Jaremliar were working undercover at approximately 2:24 a.m., they encountered Penna walking on B Street in the vicinity of Dunkin' Donuts and Home Town Deli in Port Reading, and, according to police, Penna fit the description of a suspect wanted in the burglary of the Dunkin' Donuts on Port Reading Avenue on June 9 and the Home Town Deli on Port Reading Avenue on July 29.

Further investigation led to the arrest of Lorenz, who was found under a bridge on Port Reading Avenue. It is alleged that Lorenz was in possession of denim cut-off short pants and a green T-shirt with a large ribbon design on the back. The suspect in the burglary of the Dunkin' Donuts wore clothing of that description on Aug. 30, police said.

Lorenz and Penna remain at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick. The investigation remains ongoing and will be submitted to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office for prosecution.