A Manchester Township man was the final piece of the criminal puzzle and once that once he caught, a three-month investigation as police in Ocean County broke up a commercial burglary ring that led to tens of thousands of dollars in stolen items being recovered.

Police had arrest warrants for 43-year old Craig Orler of Manchester but when they tried to arrest him on Wednesday, he took off in his car and let it sit in the water before he fled on foot.

Orler was caught and arrested early Friday morning and along with 49-year old James Bendyna and 52-year old Roy Bowman of Philadelphia have all been charged in connection to numerous burglaries throughout Ocean County.

The Manchester resident faces multiple charges for money laundering, being the leader of an organized retail theft enterprise, burglary, theft, criminal mischief, eluding police (on Wednesday), resisting arrest, and possession of a control dangerous substance.

Bendyna and Bowman face multiple charges for burglary, theft, and criminal mischief.

Bendyna was taken into custody without incident on Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Bowman has not yet been apprehended and police believe that he is in the Philadelphia area.

Manchester Police Captain Todd Malland said that the commercial burglaries took place over the span of three months and resulted in the theft of vehicles, trailers, outdoor power equipment, cartons of cigarettes, CBD products, and cash with a combined estimated value of approximately $100,000.

Detective Adam Guker with Manchester Police and Detective Mark Bajada with Toms River Police worked diligently to identify Orler, Bendyna and Bowman as suspects.

Detectives then kept their eyes on Orler over several weeks, which led to the identification of three addresses, two storage units and two vehicles used to store the stolen equipment/merchandise between New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

During the surveillance, detectives witnessed Orler purchase numerous all-terrain vehicles worth tens of thousands of dollars with proceeds derived from this criminal enterprise.

On Wednesday investigators executed seven search warrants between New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The searches recovered a large quantity of the stolen proceeds, and further evidence suggesting an even larger involvement by Orler in this criminal enterprise.

In addition, numerous assets, including the four all-terrain vehicles, were seized pending forfeiture.

"With the arrest of these suspects, business owners throughout Ocean County can rest a little easier knowing this criminal enterprise is out of commission."

The Manchester, Toms River, and Berkeley Township Police Departments were assisted in the investigation by the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crimes Unit, the New Jersey State Police Aviation Bureau, the United States Marshals Service, the Robbinsville Township Police Department, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Maryland State Police.

More From WOBM News:

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

See the Must-Drive Roads in Every State

More From 105.7 The Hawk