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Police Need Help Tracking Down Burglar Caught-On-Tape In South Jersey

By Todd Quinones

SOUTHAMPTON, N.J. (CBS) -- Police in New Jersey are hoping you can identify the man seen on a surveillance video. He's wanted for one of the most bizarre and brazen home invasions they've seen.

He's a burglar in no rush to break-in.

In his first of many attempts the suspect takes his time.

He looks around through a back window of the house perhaps to see if anyone is home.

He then turns around and walks off the deck.

But he is far from done. On the second time around the burglar decides things are just too bright, so he unscrews one of two lights. The surveillance camera than switches to night vision.

Again the suspect walks off the back deck.

For almost an hour the man fumbles around the back of the home on Carranza Road in Southampton.

Investigators with the New Jersey state police are surprised not only by the burglar's apparent lack of urgency, but also the time he struck. It was at one in the morning.

"They generally do tend to target the residences during the daylight hours when they perceive the homeowners may be at their place of business," said New Jersey State Police Trooper Wayne Blanchard.

Confident no one is inside at one point the burglar tries to use his cell phone for a light before he again walks off out of camera range.

He then decides to come back and unscrew the other light to makes things pitch black, that's when he breaks in through a rear door.

Once inside, police say he set off a loud motion alarm.

A few minutes later he can be seen scrambling out the back dropping some items while carrying a chest filled with thousands of dollars worth of jewelry.

But he is far from getting away with it.

The surveillance video from the January 21st burglary is so clear it's being sent to state police headquarters to be run through facial recognition software.

"We're going to get an enhanced photograph of the suspect. It helps us match up with the New Jersey DMV database," Blanchard said.

Police are also hoping someone recognizes the suspect and calls the New Jersey State Police at their Red Lion barracks, by dialing 9-1-1.

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