suspects indicted in burglaries targeting asian homes

Last week in Somerset County, New Jersey, a grand jury indicted three men with conspiracy to commit burglary of homes in Parsippany and Watchung -- all apparently targeting Asian households: Three men, suspected of targeting Asian households, indicted for attempted burglary in Watchung and Parsippany.

Police said the victims -- all peole with "Asian-sounding last names" -- had received calls on their mobile or home telephones from individuals that they did not know on the same day that their respective homes were burglarized or broken into.

According to investigators, on December 8, while on patrol in an area of Bridgewater that had been targeted by the burglars, a police officer stopped white Dodge van with Florida license plates driving through a residential area.

After investigation at the scene, three men -- Carlos Gomez-Jansasoy, Rodrigo Lopez and Jhon J. Lopez -- were arrested and charged with several offenses including possession of burglary tools and possession of a police scanner to facilitate the commission of a crime.

Detectives from multiple jurisdictions were able to link cell phones confiscated from the three men that were allegedly used to call a burglary victim shortly before his home was burglarized in Parsippany on December 7. They also identified eight other residences that had been called using the confiscated phones that same day.

The Grand Jury indictment included charges of conspiracy to commit burglary and possession of a police scanner to intercept emergency communications. The investigation is ongoing, but I'd say the evidence is pretty damning. You've been caught, suckas! (Thanks, Victor.)