Stolen Berkeley Heights computer logs into Facebook, leads to arrest

BERKELEY HEIGHTS -- If you’re going to keep a stolen computer, don’t use it to update your Facebook status.

Police in Berkeley Heights used LoJack and Facebook to track a computer stolen in a burglary there to Passaic. In March, a Dell laptop computer valued at $1,272 was stolen from a home on Ridge Drive in Berkeley Heights, according to Sgt. Frank Fortunato, the department’s spokesman.

Police notified employees at LoJack, a radio transmitting device used to recover vehicles and electronics, to activate a tracking device installed in the computer.

The computer stayed dormant until late September, when police began receiving signals that LoJack had identified a location, the residence of Dayron Johnson, 35, in Passaic.

“We were able to see that he was logging onto his Facebook page and AOL screen name,” said Detective Sgt. Michael Mathis, of the Berkeley Heights Police Department.

Mathis said there was nothing incriminating written on Johnson’s Facebook page, but investigators took the information to the Union County Prosecutor and obtained a warrant.

Some burglaries in Mountainside were similar to the one in Berkeley Heights in which the computer was taken - front door entry and small, expensive goods taken inside a pillowcase - so police from the two communities executed the search in case other evidence was found.

“We walked in and saw the computer sitting on a small desk in the dining room,” Mathis said. “It was turned on and his Facebook page was on the screen.”

Mathis said there was not enough evidence to charge Johnson with the burglary, but police charged him with possessing stolen evidence. Johnson is currently in Union County Jail, being held on $75,000 bail.

“In this case, Facebook helped with identifying and painting a picture of our suspect,” Mathis said. “But, it was LoJack that helped."