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Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, R-Brick Township, said in a Facebook post that his car was taken from his mother-in-law's house in Hazlet just before 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9. Kanitra was in Washington, D.C. for his work as the owner of the lobbyist firm Lobbyit.com.
Kanitra said the thieves drove up to the home in a stolen white BMW with temporary plates.
"They ripped off every screen window in the house," Kanitra posted. "They then broke one of the windows and climbed in."
In a news release, the Hazlet Police Department said a burglar broke into the family's home, took the keys, and stole the 2023 Range Rover out of the driveway.
A Nest video in Kanitra's post showed a person in dark clothing entering through a home's front door. About a minute later, two people in dark clothes run out of the home and drive away with two vehicles.
Kanitra claimed the thieves drove the vehicle with state assembly license plates to Newark before ripping out the GPS. Hazlet police said the Range Rover was found later in the day in The Bronx, New York.
The former Point Pleasant Beach mayor said his wife and mother-in-law were asleep in their beds during the theft.
"My wife and mother-in-law are incredibly shaken," he posted. "Any semblance of safety they have is now gone. They feel violated. Fearful of going to sleep again tonight. I am canceling my meetings in DC and driving home to be with them."
Anyone with home surveillance video or information about the theft should call Hazlet police at 732-264-6565, ext. 2518.
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