I believe the term "home invasion" more appropriately applies to some miscreant(s) pushing their way into a home while occupied.

This incident sounds more like the homeowner interrupted a burglarly in progress.

Very troubling that these incidents of crime continue to rise in West Orange. Mayor Parisi has opened the doors to the criminal element and has done nothing to support the safety of the citizens of WO.

Yeah, and let's just ignore the REAL Facts that West Orange Crime Rate is DOWN this year....Where do you Bo-bo's come from? And Ignore the Fact that THEY CAUGHT THEM?

Im sorry where in the article does it say they apprehended the men involved???? Other then in the heading thats it. The closing paragraph states several agencies are involved in the ongoing investigation. And Gary it is a home invasion due to the struggle w home owner escalating it from a burglary.

i found it It was not in the original article Good job guys good guys.

2 links provided to me by GG to address my skepticism about crime declining in W.O. The first is 2011/2012 crime rate comparison. The 2nd is Nolvin Garcia getting caught.

http://thealternativepress.com/towns/west-orange/articles/crime-rates-in-west-orange-for-2012-released

http://thealternativepress.com/towns/west-orange/articles/west-orange-murder-suspect-nolvin-garcia-captured

Correction:Not provided by GG,by GE (Gary Englert)

2C:18-2.3b(1) read it that is what Home invasion is and referred to F Lee Bailey lol But i also believe that there is a separate and distinct charge now foe just that HOME INVASION You might just want to check with the legal eagles there Gary. You see here in NC those persons would be dead lol Great discussing with you again

2C:18-2.       Burglary 

a.  Burglary defined.  A person is guilty of burglary if, with purpose to commit an offense therein he: 

(1)    Enters a research facility, structure, or a separately secured or occupied portion thereof unless the structure was at the time open to the public or the actor is licensed or privileged to enter; or 

(2)    Surreptitiously remains in a research facility, structure, or a separately secured or occupied portion thereof knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so. 

b.     Grading.  Burglary is a crime of the second degree if in the course of committing the offense, the actor: 

(1)    Purposely, knowingly or recklessly inflicts, attempts to inflict or threatens to inflict bodily injury on anyone; or 

(2)    Is armed with or displays what appear to be explosives or a deadly weapon. 

Otherwise burglary is a crime of the third degree.  An act shall be deemed “in the course of committing” an offense if it occurs in an attempt to commit an offense or in immediate flight after the attempt or commission.

UMMMM Ok Gary Does the article not state that the homeowner struggled with the guys??? Does it not state that The homeowner confronted the burglars??? Hence the upgrade to a 2nd degree charge. Again i do not recall all several hundred charges in the 2C code manual but the wording "home invasion" is used in it. If you refer back to my original reply to you i suggested you speak w one of the Legal eagles there they can give you the proper charge if one for it IF NOT it is a charge that i cited

HOME INVASION

Home Invasion

A person commits a home invasion crime when, without authority, he or she knowingly enters a home of another, when he or she knows or has reason to know that the home is occupied, and intentionally causes a crime within the dwelling.  Simply threatening to use force against an occupant of the invaded home may also be sufficient to trigger the home invasion charge.

While only a small number of states (Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts) currently have specific Home Invasion statutes, most other states punish home invasions through their burglary statutes.  Burglaries of homes that are committed when the occupants are present are considered home invasions, and are usually punished more severely than other burglaries.  Use of a weapon in the course of a home invasion will draw the most severe criminal penalties. 

May I ask why you are arguing over semantics?

Yes Gary it does make it that IF as statute states confronts or threatens

My only concern was that this happened 3 doors away and I am concerned about why this happened on my block. It is a very tight neighborhood and is not a through street. Not a smart place for theft, if you ask me. We all know if there is a car on our street that doesn't belong there and we all watch out for each other. This happened to my friend and it was very upsetting.

In 2010 for the entire year, there were 35 robberies . In the first half of 2011, there were 24 robberies .There were 47 assaults in 2010. In the first half of 2011, there were 21 assaults. For all of 2011, there were 131 burglaries . In the first half of 2011,there were 94 burglaries . There were 156 incidents of domestic violence in 2010. How many were there in the first half of 2011? How many thefts were there ?Based on the numbers, I feel that people who believe that the number of serious crimes like robberies and burglaries and auto thefts increased from 2010 to 2011 {Police Director Parisi's first full year } are correct. I am happy to see a decrease in 2012.

Correction There were 18 aggravated assaults in the first half of 2011, not 21.

Simple assaults rose from 52 in 2011 to 54 in 2012 . NOT on Police Director Parisi's report . No figures for theft or domestic violence either . Per pupil spending was 15k because the State allowed many exemptions . Oops ! Actually 21k, as many people had pointed out on numerous occasions . Teacher attendence numbers are fraudulent . Many absences are simply excluded. Now we see no numbers for domestic violence, thefts, and there's been a slight increase in the number of simple assaults ..... " those specifically reported are of the greatest concern to people" People aren't concerned about thefts and domestic violence ? Oh, I'm sorry. They are undoubtedly of "great concern" to people, but not of the " greatest concern" to people. Crime is down year after year . NUMBERS PLEASE ! Major cities where crime rates are sky high often report steady declines in major categories of crime .Is the city safer, or is it just less dangerous ? Present the NUMBERS and let people decide for themselves . As Disreali said ," There are lies, there are big lies , and there are statistics. " When there are not intentional omissions , there are half - truths, manipulation of the facts, and and there are ALWAYS exercises in pure semantics. By the way, before I forget, WINNING !

I think that I'm going to ask 'Police Director' Parisi to make sarcasm and hostility on the Patch a crime. I have to think about what an appropriate punishment might be. :-)

Nowhere does it say this was a preliminary report. The article states "The most recent Uniform Crime report { UCR } comparisons for the first half of 2011 versus the first half of 2012 shows a 20.1% decrease in the town's crime rate " Where does it say preliminary report ? Where does it even infer that ? Where does it say this is an incomplete report ? Where does it even suggest that ? That report was worded to be intentionally misleading,and blatantly so.Where are the domestic violence and theft numbers?The increase in the number of simple assaults would have lowered the 20.1% reduction in crime .Judging by that omission, methinks thefts and domestic violence figures would have been included IF the numbers were favorable to Police Director Parisi . I'm inclined to believe they weren't. How do you stand it ? Police Chief Edward Palardy was paid $1,000 to do double- duty as the Police Director . Police Director/Mayor Parisi receives no extra compensation for the post .Ahhh ,but Jack Sayers got $127,000 as our full- time Police Director .He retired with a pension of $93,000. He instantaneously got a 500% raise as our Business Administrator. Councilwoman McCartney said " I never thought of Jack as a full-time Police Director .I always considered him a part- time Director and a full-time B.A." No other Councilperson refuted her statement .BUT how did they PAY HIM ? Talk about betraying the public . Omissions, half- truths ,manipulation of the truth , and semantics. WINNING !

If Police Director parisi had included the simple assault numbers and the arson numbers in his report, , the drop in crime would be almost exactly 15% , NOT 20.1% as reported . One can only speculate what including the comparative numbers of thefts and incidents of domestic violence might do to the 20.1% reported decline in crime. Let me conclude with this ; Isn't it interesting that Gary R. Englert was capable of and willing to provide the numbers for simple assaults and arson, but Police Director Parisi wasn't ?

Gary R. Englert ; "Crime is down.... overall and in every category.....with the noticeable exception of motor vehicle thefts where there has been a slight increase. " Gary R. Englert ; " Simple assaults went from 52 in 2011 to 54 in 2012." {sigh } Yet another sad commentary on the public school's failure to teach basic arithmetic .

I agree Donna! Well said!

OMG - you guys know how to beat a dead horse... for goodness sake...

The homeowner is very lucky to be alive. My cousin walked in on something similar and was beaten and shot. He managed to get out of the house and collapsed on the street where a passing police officer spotted him. Thank God he survived.