Three Men Charged in Alleged Thefts of Car Radio Units

A Bridgewater resident was one among three arrested for burglary Wednesday after allegedly stealing items from vehicles at Adesa Auto Auctions in Manville, according to a release from the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.

According to Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano, Kenneth Wiles, 21, of Old York Road, was charged with third degree burglary, third degree theft and third degree criminal mischief after he was found with items stolen from the vehicles.

Sean Niles, 24, of Tennessee, and Joseph Hegyi, 22, of Somerville, were also charged with the same offenses.

According to Soriano, at 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, the three defendants were seen by a Manville Borough patrol officer as they were walking over the Van Veghten Bridge on North Main Street in Manville. The men were wearing dark clothing, and Wiles and Hegyi were carrying overstuffed backpacks with metal objects protruding out, Soriano said.

Soriano said the officer saw the men were also wearing clothing covered in mud.

An initial investigation, Soriano said, found that the backpacks had eight Chrysler Satellite Radio/DVD/Navigation Units inside. These were valued at $2,000 each.

In addition, Soriano said, seven more units were found wrapped in clothing beneath the bridge.

Soriano said an investigation at the Adesa Auto Auction parking lot found that the units had been removed from 16 different vehicles. Out of that 16, Soriano said, two of the vehicles were found to be damaged in excess of $500.

All three men were lodged in the Somerset County Jail with bail set at $20,000, 10 percent to apply.