The probe of a dozen house burglaries in Manchester Township retirement villages takes investigators across the border, to Berkeley Township.

Nicholas Marino (Ocean Co. Dept. of Corrections)
Nicholas Marino (Ocean Co. Dept. of Corrections)
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Nicholas Marino, 24, faces 14 charges related to the 12 break-ins, and two attempts, in the Leisure Knolls and Leisure Ridge senior enclaves. Police said they recovered jewelry and two firearms.

He was arrested December 8. Detectives ascertained that Marino was not by himself, and they anticipate more arrests.

Officers involved in the month-long probe said that unoccupied homes were entered through doors and windows, locked and unlocked, during evening hours. Some homes exhibited signs of forced entry, and jewelry was the main objective, police said.

Acting on a resident's report of a suspicious vehicle and reviews of surveillance images, Marino was identified as a suspect in several break-ins.

Police said that jewelry and the two weapons, reported stolen from Bridgeport Place, were found in his house on Grand Central Parkway.

Marino is charged with seven counts of burglary, six counts of theft, and one count of possession of stolen property. Police said that the investigation is still in progress, and that additional charges might emerge.

He was remanded to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River, with bail set at a full $90,500.

Manchester police urge anyone witnessing suspicious, or unusual, activity, to notify them anonymously through the Tip-Line link on their web page, or at 732-657-6111.

Charges are accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless, and until, found guilty in a court of law.

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