 
Wow…people are really trying anything these days! Three would-be thieves drove a vehicle — possibly a pickup truck — through the Jersey Gardens Mall early this morning, authorities said.
They appeared to be targeting a jewelry market inside the mall, but a maintenance worker stumbled upon them before they could get through the store’s gate. Read the story after the jump.
(NJ) – The burglary crew entered the mall through the Burlington Coat Factory, crashing through the entranceway, William Reyes said, a spokesman for the city of Elizabeth. Then, in “Blues Brothers†fashion, they navigated to the store’s exit into the mall.
“They were nice enough to have one gentlemen move some thing out of the way,†Reyes said.
As they were trying to break through the jewelry store’s gate, the mall worker came down an escalator and saw them, prompting the crew — who wore masks and heavy clothing — to get back in the vehicle and drive out of the mall, the spokesman said.
A Toys “R†Us store nearby was also hit in similar fashion, the city said. Burglars used a vehicle to break into the store, but in that case did not drive inside, Reyes said.
Both incidents were captured on video, but the police department is declining to release the footage, the city said.
The stores are still taking inventory to see if anything was taken.
Police were initially looking into the possibility that the burglars stole an ATM from the mall, but now say that did not happen.
Since November, three or more burglars believed to be working together have hit more than 20 businesses in Essex, Middlesex and Union counties, stealing cigarettes, cash drawers, entire cash registers and at least six ATMs, some containing thousands of dollars, according to police in a numbers of towns. Reyes did not say if detectives believe there is any connection.
