Crime & Safety

'Find My iPhone' Trips Up Green Brook Burglar

Police used app to track phone after burglary reported Saturday.

Written by Mike Deak

A Green Brook woman has been charged with the burglary of a Shadowlawn Drive home after police tracked her via an iPhone that was reportedly stolen from the home.


Mary O’Brien, 29, of Robin Court, is facing charges of burglary, theft and criminal mischief, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Monday in Superior Court.

Township police received a 911 call at about 6:58 a.m. Saturday from a Shadowlawn Drive resident who said her home had just been burglarized. The victim, who gave police a description of the suspect, told police that an iPhone, iPad, laptop and a Louis Vuitton purse had been stolen, the affidavit said.

Green Brook Detective William Coward then activated the “Find My iPhone” app, the affidavit said.

Coward and Sgt. John Skikus then tracked the phone to the intersection of Route 28 and Dayton Avenue in Middlesex where at 8 a.m., about an hour after the burglary was reported, they saw a woman who matched the description of the suspect given by the victim with a Louis Vuitton purse, the affidavit said.

When O’Brien was arrested, police also found in her possession personal checks belonging to the victim, the affidavit said.

O’Brien was remanded to the Somerset County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.


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