Flat Tire Leads to Burglary Arrest

Published: Friday, March 27, 2009

Mullica Township - A central New Jersey couple were charged various counts of burglary, theft and conspiracy after their getaway car got a flat tire, police said.

On March 12, a township homeowner reported a car and home burglary. The victim reported more than $5,000 in items, including electronics, jewelry and credit cards, were stolen....Continue Reading 

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Earlier in the day, Patrolmen Erik Carricarte and Paul Sarraf noticed a car with a flat tire in the area of the reported burglary. The officers had taken down information of the couple in the car - Cy Shelley, 24, of Cream Ridge, and Katie Proietti, 23, of Hamilton, Mercer County - and sent them on their way, police said.

After the burglary was reported, Carricarte forwarded the couple's information to the detectives.

The victims were soon notified that their stolen credit card was used at the Showboat Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. The New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Unit determined that Proietti was the one who used it, police said.

Using the information the officers obtained while the suspects had a flat tire, Shelley and Proietti were located at the Journey's End Motel in Galloway Township on Tuesday.

Shelley was charged with the burglary and theft in Mullica Township,10 additional vehicle burglaries in Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, and several that are pending in Galloway Township, police said. He was being held at the Atlantic County Jail in lieu of $25,000 cash bail for the Mullica Township charges and $50,000 bail for the Hamilton Township charges.

Proietti was charged with various counts of conspiracy and was released, police said.

The Galloway and Hamilton township police departments and the State Police Casino Gaming Unit assisted with the case.

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