Local man charged in car thefts

BRICK TOWNSHIP- Police arrested a Brick man suspected in a number of motor vehicle thefts, after he was reported peering into car windows in the commuter parking lot off Lanes Mill Road recently.

Tracey S.Waldheim, 36, Barbara Lane, fled the scene on his bicycle and was eventually apprehended in the area of Burnt Tavern Road and Neil Avenue shortly after 2:20 p.m. on April 25, police said.

He was charged with burglary, theft, criminal mischief, obstruction of justice and receiving stolen property, police said.

Waldheim at first ignored Patrolman Glen Turner's orders to stop. The officer saw him throw an object onto the lawn of a home on Neil Avenue. The object was later identified as a Garmin global positioning system (GPS) case, police said.

Police later found several additional items, including another GPS unit and charging cord strewn along the pathWaldheim took when he fled the scene, and several other items secreted in a nearby wooded area, according to the police report.

A witness also identified Waldheim as the person who was observed looking into cars in the commuter parking lot, police said.

Municipal Court Judge RobertM. LePore set Waldheim's bail at $50,000, with no 10 percent option. He was taken to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River.

Police are also investigating whether Waldheim is responsible for 87 car-related burglaries, 77 car-related thefts and 34 incidents of car-related criminal mischief over the last two months in the township, Capt. John E. Rein Jr. said.