Grinches caught on camera in Christmas burglary

Three burglars used rocks to break into the Cherry Hill Mall on Christmas Day and steal more $35,000 worth of electronics from the Apple Store, township police said Monday.

But they didn't factor in the mall security surveillance cameras, which foiled their getaway.

Cameras captured the burglars driving up to the mall in a Nissan - which police later discovered was stolen - putting on ski masks, and breaking-in around 4:45 a.m., Lt. Bill Kushina said.

Mall security immediately contacted police.

"While they were breaking in, we had guys en route," Kushina said.

The burglars managed to get out of the store with stolen items stuffed in trash bags.

They led Cherry Hill police on a brief chase on Church Road, across Haddonfield Road and onto Sixth Avenue - a dead-end, Kushina said. They bailed out of the car, leaving the stolen goods in the Nissan, which had been stolen in Willingboro, Kushina said.

The burglars scaled a fence on Sixth Avenue and tried to get away.

Police arrested Travis Lawson, 22, of Willingboro, on the other side of the fence. A Pennsauken officer later arrested Velencio Creque, 22, also Willingboro, shortly after.

The third burglar got away.

Lawson and Creque face charges including burglary, theft, eluding and receiving stolen property. They were both being held Monday in the Camden County Jail on $102,500 bail.

"They weren't the traditional shoppers, going in and paying for stuff," Kushina said. "They were doing it their own way - albeit illegal."