Exclusive: Lakewood, NJ – A yungerman had the fright of his life when he woke up Wednesday morning to find a burglar entering his master bedroom in his basement apartment. R’ Leib had gone to the bathroom at about 5 a.m. and returned to his bed to get a final couple hours of sleep when he thought he heard something. He opened one eye and saw the door to his bedroom slowly opening. Figuring that it was just the heat blowing the door, he closed his eye. But then he looked again and saw a man slowly opening his master bedroom door.
“I jumped out of bed and began yelling like crazy that he better get out of here,” related R’ Leib, who lives in the Ridge Avenue area of Lakewood. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
The man made a dash for the door of the apartment, while R’ Leib, glancing at his baby sleeping next to his bed, quickly grabbed his cell phone from his night table and dialed 911. The dispatcher transferred him to the Lakewood Police, who took his information and said that police officers would be right over.
In the meantime, R’ Leib went to the other bedroom of his apartment to check on his child sleeping there. Boruch Hashem, everything seemed okay.
He then headed to his dining room to see what the burglar had done or taken. Immediately, he noticed his jacket on the floor. The contents of an envelope that had contained about $800 were gone.
“The guy was kind enough to leave me the envelope,” said R’ Leib, “but he took the money, which I had just received from my boss at my job.”
Also stolen was a camera, which had been on the dining room table.
Police officers arrived and surrounded the home, not knowing if the intruder was still on premises. The police went into the home above the basement apartment and determined that the robber had escaped.
“What they did find, however,” said R’ Leib, “is that this intruder had entered the house through a first floor window and then made his way downstairs to my basement apartment.”
The first floor window, though, had been locked.
“He cut through the screen, broke the lock of the window to open it, and then actually replaced the screen, perhaps so that it should be difficult to figure out how he got in,” said R’ Leib. “We’re always being told to lock our doors and windows, and here a thief got in anyway.”
We asked R’ Leib how he’s been faring since yesterday’s incident.
“Honestly, it is hard to sleep,” he said. “After all the stories we hear, try imagining finding a criminal entering your bedroom. I had no idea if he had a gun or another weapon. It is simply frightening.”
{Exclusive to Matzav.com Newscenter}
r leib please show your support come fri morning at 8am to the boe at 1771 madison ave
How’s Mrs. Leib doing?
hes climbing in your windows, snatchin your people up….
Let’s think of a reason why this happened. Hmmmmm, the only stolen item is $800 and a camera.
What is the Lakewood PD doing about this now after all these insidents.??????????
why are there so many stories of dangerous crimes in lakewood???
I think it’s time for lakewood to start their own community watch
An experience like that changes things forever.
When I was a little girl, we had a burglar come into my bedroom and my sister, having noticed him going back out the window jumped on my bed….by that time the whole house had been burglarized, wires to the phones cut.
We lived in wmsbg in a basement parlor type apartment and when he had finished the basement, made his way up to the parlor and proceeded to exit right next to where we were sleeping.
We have never been the same since, my sisters and I, my mother was traumatized for life, always looking over her shoulder, even in daylight. I would suggest that someone like that seek help immediately if is affecting him adversly. We have 3 “geneivas” that year…and it was traumatic.
Don’t live in fear…take care of it.
Scary. Also frightening that the incident came the week we lain about a “ba b’machteres.”
these occurences will continue happening in Lakewood especially if you guys cant figure out that your police force is way outmanned by illegal immigrants and gang members
#7 BRECHER
Lakewood already has their own Shomrim watch at the name LCSW-Lakewood Civilian Safety Watch-which has volunteers on different shifts all day & night driving around inspecting streets & looking for anything strange happening. They do everything including holding people down until the cops come to a scene. AND ALWAYS DO A GREAT JOB. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK LCSW
To #8: You can get help even now – you don’t have to live in fear either.
The police force are often busy handing out tickets to the BMG students, it generates income to the Township. Many of those tickets are unwaranted, but the Judge will always uphold the Police as again it funds the Township.
There are some 300 street lamps in lakewood not working, some are out over 6 months while others are out over 18 months. The police are supposed to check on them & report the outage to the electric Co.-They don’t do it. Crime doesn’t like lights.
#3–I was waiting for someone to do that! Thanks! (:
RABBI MAYER KAHANA WAS RIGHT!!!!
Why, Every lakewooder should get a gun. DON”T JUST SAY HAHA.
I am a yungermon. I am a yeshivisher lakewooder.
I HATE CRIME!!
If guns help, GET GUNS!
I swear, a couple window busters see guns, NO MORE window busters.
Gangstas care about nothing. Except a well placed bullet
THIS MIGHT MAKE YOU SQUIRM.
No guns and someone h’y gonna get shot
Gotta watch out for the Mexican Meshulochim
First, check your mezuzos. The, exercise your 2nd Amenment rights. Purchase a legal gun. Nancy Regan has one and keeps it under her pillow.
The next time some creep waltzes through your home at night, pull the legal weapon out from under your pillow and have him immediately meet his Maker and his ancestors.
If enough of us do that, we’ll be able to sleep at night with out having to double check whether our doors are locked.
#12….I am Baruch Hashem fine….My mother, however, may she rest in peace…was looking for that peace her whole life.Now she has it.It left her suspicious, sometimes to the point of paranoia.
Learned alot from her how not to be…how it can destroy you from within if you don’t take care of it. That’s why I mentioned it. This is a story of about 43-45 years ago…. thanks anyway.
How is reb leib faring?
What did r leib have for supper
Hope he gets repaid double
This is so terrible. I feel really bad for this man. What an awful experience. So much crime in Lakewood. Why do we, as frum yidden, allow ourselves to live in crime filled areas. Detroit? There is a kollel in Houston-people there have been held up at gunpoint! Areas of Baltimore and certain parts of Chicago. Frum Yidden rarely are involved in violent activities, so are so many frum communities in or near crime filled areas? Is it the cheaper costs of housing?
Didn’t the basement apartment have a lock on the door?
#3- LOL!!!
Landmines, landmines landmines. They might wake up the neighbors, but the deterrent effect is phenomenal!
Re anon, 21:
I don’t quite see it that way. In all the cities you mention (and no one lives in Detroit anymore, the community is all in the suburbs) no one’s living in slums or close to it, are they?
And a newsflash: we’re in galus. Check out the tochacha. Should we all live in gated communities with personal bodyguards (as if that would stop the atzas Hashem…)
To Fresser:
Just Put up warning signs in spanish…
To all those advocating guns, don’t forget that we all have small children in the house –
keeping a gun under the pillow is NOT a good idea.
That said, if someone ch”v does experience an intruder breaking into his home and does have some kind of a weapon, make sure that you do not just injure him because in this crazy society he could sue you through the roof and WIN.
If you think I’m joking, don’t – it has happened more than once.
#20….check in…and don’t come out before you get the right treatment!