‘Butt dial’ leads to cops cracking Branchburg burglary

• Scott Esser charged with burglaries in Branchburg, Ocean Country and Berkeley Heights
• Esser is in Somerset County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail

BRANCHBURG – Police were able to solve a burglary on Lamington Road after they traced a 911 “butt dial” call to Somerset County dispatchers who heard people talking about a burglary.

Scott Esser, 42, of Elizabeth, is in the Somerset County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail following his arrest on Wednesday.

On July 27, according to Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano, the county communications center received what appeared to them to be an errant open-line errant telephone call, commonly called a “butt dial.”

Dispatchers heard male voices discussing a burglary but were unsure of the caller’s location, Soriano said.

Later that evening, Branchburg police responded to a burglary at a Lamington Road residence. Police found that the home had been entered by force and dresser drawers were emptied, with $1,355 in jewelry stolen, Soriano said.

The cellphone company told investigators that the phone from which the errant call was made to the communications center had recently been assigned to Esser, the prosecutor said.

On Wednesday, detectives assigned to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Burglary Task Force set up surveillance of Esser as he drove a silver Toyota Camry from Elizabeth to Stafford Township in Ocean County.

Detectives followed Esser to a home on Mermaid Drive in Stafford but lost sight of him when he got out of the car, Soriano said.

After he got back into the car and left the area, detectives went to the house and discovered it had been burglarized, Soriano said.

State Police assigned to the Bass River Barracks stopped Esser on the Garden State Parkway, where he was arrested by Somerset County detectives.

The Camry was towed to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Forensic Lab, where, after a search warrant was granted, detectives found miscellaneous pieces of jewelry, electronic devices, a Playstation 4 gaming system, a .38 caliber handgun, United States bonds worth approximately $11,300 and burglary tools, Soriano said.

That led to Esser being charged with burglaries in Branchburg, Stafford and Berkeley Heights.

Soriano thanked the New Jersey State Police and the Stafford Township Police Department in Ocean County for their assistance in Esser’s arrest. Esser is in Somerset County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Leading the investigation was the the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Burglary Task Force, which was created to assist municipal, county and state authorities in the investigation of burglaries. The task force collects collect data, analyzes criminal patterns and distributes information to local police agencies.

Also participating in the investigation were police officers from Branchburg, Bedminster, Readington and Berkeley Heights.

Staff Writer Mike Deak: 908-243-6607; mdeak@mycentraljersey.com