Store owners say thieves made off with thousands of dollars in merchandise in a brazen break-in of the Kings Highway shop. Police are seeking leads from anyone with information.
By Matt Skoufalos | May 16, 2024
Footage of the vehicle and suspects in the robbery of Caroline’s Luxuries in Haddonfield. Credit: NJPEN.
Haddonfield Police are investigating a break-in in the borough downtown business district that has cost one retailer a display window, the bulk of its most expensive inventory, and peace of mind about the security of the property.
Caroline Yosef of Caroline’s Luxuries was awakened early Thursday morning by a notification from her security system that her shop in the 200 block of Kings Highway East was being burglarized.
The entire incident lasted only five or six minutes: a silver hatchback of indeterminate make and model pulled up in front of the shop around 1:25 a.m. May 16, Yosef said.
Security footage from the incident appeared to show four figures exiting the vehicle, clad in gloves, ski masks, and hooded sweatsuits.
One smashed the display window with what looked like a hammer, and then pushed it in; the others climbed through and all four allegedly ransacked the shop.
The burglars stole an inventory of high-end bags and purses from designers like Hermes, Dior, and Chanel, which Yosef said were valued in the thousands of dollars.
“They took the most expensive merchandise, and smashed my showcases,” Yosef said. “I’m devastated.”
Other footage appeared to show the suspects loading up the merchandise into the car and speeding away down Kings Highway by 1:31 a.m.. Yosef said she was troubled that vehicles appeared to be driving past the burglary while it was in progress.
“They’re not rushing, they’re not running,” she said of the suspects on video. “They’re just casing the place. The car is on, lights are on; cars passing by as they throw bags.
“I saw two or three vehicles passing by, and no one cared.”
Footage of the vehicle and suspects in the robbery of Caroline’s Luxuries in Haddonfield. Credit: NJPEN.
It’s the second time the shop has been broken into in four years, she said; typically, Yosef employs daytime security in the business. But the shock of her store — which sits across the street from Haddonfield Borough Hall on a major county thoroughfare — being targeted is heartbreaking.
“They cased my store,” Yosef said. “Now do I have to get bars on the windows? I have to look like a jail?”
Haddonfield Police Chief Jason Cutler said the department is working the case, and welcomes any tips at 856-429-4700 x254 or detectives@haddonfield-nj.gov.
“Crime is not unique to Haddonfield,” Cutler said. “We’re doing the best we can.”
In the first nearly five months of the year, Haddonfield has sustained nine commercial burglaries and four residential burglaries, the borough reported. Seven of the nine commercial burglaries were attributed to one man, Vito Anderson of Pleasantville, who was remanded to the Atlantic County Jail on related charges March 28.
Comparatively, in the first five months of 2023, Haddonfield had sustained six commercial and five residential burglaries.
