Brick Men Arrested After Fleeing Cops, Getting Tangled in Woods

A pair of Brick residents fleeing from two police officers were arrested on burglary charges early Sunday morning after becoming entangled in bushes, police said.

Jerome Lombardo, 31, of Greenville Drive, and David Braden, 32, of New York Avenue, ignored orders to stop from Patrolmen Austin Kenny and Richard Crimi, after the officers responded to a call from a resident reporting two suspicious people near a neighbor's vehicle, according to Capt. John Rein.

When the officers arrived to the area of Old Lanes Mill Road and Westminster Avenue, they spotted the pair walking away from the area, then running into nearby woods as the officers approached, Rein said. After apparently getting entangled in the briars in the wooded area, the pair surrendered.

Lombardo and Braden were then placed under arrest for obstruction, at which time officers found them to be in possession of a large amount of change, tokens from a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant and a GPS mount. Additionally, Braden was found in possession of a glass smoking pipe and a small amount of suspected marijuana, Rein said.

An investigation into the missing items revealed that they came from two vehicles on Westminster Avenue and one on Old Lanes Mill Road that were burglarized. All of the vehicles are believed to have been left unlocked, Rein said.

Braden was charged with one count each of burglary; theft; obstruction; possession of burglary tools (a pair of gloves); possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. 

Lombardo was charged with one count each of burglary; theft and obstruction.

Bail was set on Braden at $75,000 and on Lombardo at $60,000 by Brick Municipal Judge Robert LePore. Both were transported to the Ocean County Jail in lieu of bail.