Lacey car thief suspect caught

LACEY TOWNSHIP, NJ – On Wednesday, July 14, 2021, at 8:45 a.m., detectives arrested a Forked River man in reference to a theft.  The investigation began on June 18, 2021, when a victim reported that his vehicle was stolen from a Sunrise Beach residence. 

The investigation revealed that the homeowner, Bernard Kappen, sold the vehicle to a scrap company without the owner’s knowledge.    Simultaneous to the arrest, detectives executed a search warrant at Kappen’s Hemlock Lane home discovering evidence of the theft.  Kappen was transported to the Ocean County Correctional Facility in accordance with bail reform.