'Suspicious' Man Climbed Ladder to Apartment Window, Cops Say

Parsippany police are investigating an apartment burglary and a possible attempted break-in which occurred within hours of each other on Saturday.

Police were called to Tivoli Gardens Apartments on Parsippany Boulevard just after 4 p.m. on Saturday on a report of a burglary. The resident told police she came home from work and noticed that jewelry was missing from her home.

She also noticed that her dresser drawers had been gone through, she told police.

“Signs of forced entry were observed on the rear door of the apartment as if it were pried open,” Parsippany Police Ptl. Earl Kinsey said in a written statement.

The Parsippany Police Investigative Division as well as members of the Morris County Sheriff’s Department are investigating the incident.

“The total value of the items stolen was not available at the time that the police report was filed,” Kinsey said. “The incident occurred between 6:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.”

At 10:04 p.m. on the same day, police were called to the Rutgers Village Apartments, located at 80 New Road, on a report of a "suspicious person."

“Alert residents reported to the Parsippany Police Communications Center that there was a man on a ladder climbing up to a second floor window behind one of the apartment buildings,” police said.

Residents told police the man on the ladder was a white male in his late 20's or early 30's with shoulder-length brown hair, Kinsey said. He was wearing red and black sneakers, they said.

When questioned by the residents, the man responded that he lived there and was locked out of his apartment. But the resident who reported the incident told police that he knows his neighbors and had never seen the man before.

“The man that was on the ladder fled the location on foot carrying the ladder with him,” police said. “He was last seen running towards the Partridge Run Apartments.”

It is unclear whether or not the two incidents are related, said Parsippany Police Sgt. Yvonne Christiano.

Anyone with information regarding the incident or with information that could possibly identify the individual should contact the Parsippany Police Department at 973-263-4300 or email Crime_Tips@parpolice.com.