The search is on for a pair of attempted car thieves who were almost shot — not by officers, but by the New Jersey homeowner they were trying to steal from, according to police.
One of the two men wanted by police broke into a home in Roseland looking for a key fob in order to swipe a car that was in the home's driveway. The two thieves went to the home on a cul de sac off Rt. 280 in the cover of darkness just after 5:30 a.m. Monday, casing the parked BMW.
After getting in through the garage window, one of the men made it into a mud room while looking for the car key. That's when he was confronted by the homeowner, according to police.
About a minute after entering into the home, video shows the attempted robber running away from the home — running for his life back to a car on the street. That's because the homeowner fired his legally owned handgun at the suspect.
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Roseland Mayor James Spango said that the attempted burglar was running back to a car in the street where the other suspect was waiting. The luxury car that the other suspect was waiting in is also believed to have been stolen.
Home security cameras first showed the duo eyeing a car next door, but then moved on to the other house once they saw the BMW in the driveway.
The homeowner did not wish to talk about the incident, but investigators were searching for any clues they could find, including dusting for fingerprints at the garage window where the suspect had entered the home.
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The street where the home is located was hit two years ago by car thieves, video showed. Spango issued a warning to homeowners to keep their homes and cars safe.
"Not only lock your car door and take your key fob, [but also] take your garage door opener out of your car, not program the garage door opener in your car and lock the actual door from your garage into your house," said Spango.
The mayor also defended the homeowner shooting at the attempted burglar, as did a neighbor.
"If someone's in my house, I'd much rather be judged by a jury of 12 than carried by friends of six," said Dan Piccirillo.
No charges are expected to be filed against the homeowner. Police are still searching for the two suspects.
