Township Police: Facebook Leads To Arrest in Home Burglary

Social networking is a tool used by people to track down old friends, share photos of their children and promote their businesses.

But last week, Facebook became a tool for the local police department as they tracked down a Lambertville man who has since been arrested in conjunction with the burglary of a Wrightstown Township home last month.

According to a press release issued by the Newtown Township Police Department, 36-year-old Steve Pieczynski was arrested last week in conjunction with the September burglary. Pieczynski was Facebook friends with a member of the family who reported the burglary.

In a separate news release, the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office said Pieczynski learned of the vacation plans through status updates on the website.

"Knowing their residence was empty, Mr. Pieczynski broke in and removed property belonging to the victims. Vigilant neighbors noticed a suspicious vehicle in the neighborhood the evening of the burglary and recorded the license plate," said Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns III.

According to police, the victims reported that several pieces of jewelry had been stolen along with several gift cards. Containers of coins had been emptied and approximately 120 DVDs were taken. The victims live on Robin Road.

Police conducted interviews with neighbors and gained a description of a potential person of interest. As the investigation continued, township Detective Chris Bush began to look at the victims' Facebook contacts, which led to Pieczynski.

On October 20, Hunterdon County Detectives and members of the West Amwell Police Department assisted township police in executing a search warrant at Pieczynski home, located on Goat Hill Road in Lambertville. 

Pieczynski was arrested without incident at his place of employment after detectives found proceeds from the burglary in his residence, Kearns said.

Pieczynski was arraigned before Judge Nasshorn and sent to Bucks County Prison in lieu of bail.