Cherry Hill hopes to return thieves' loot to owners

The entrepreneurs kept an inventory so large that they needed to rent space for storage.

The problem, police said, is that the duo were crooks who, for years, pillaged homes from the Jersey Shore to the Pennsylvania suburbs for stock to sell at flea markets.

"If it could be carried out of the house, these people stole it. They stole your computers, they stole your perfume, they stole your flat-screen TV," said Cherry Hill Detective Kyle Brooks. "About the only thing they didn't take was the kitchen sink."

Now, Cherry Hill police hope to find the lawful owners of more than 10,000 items, including jewelry and coin collections, that they said were stolen as far back as 2006. Photos of the recovered booty are posted on the department's Web site, authorities said yesterday.

The accused thieves were arrested in February by police in Cherry Hill who responded to a burglary in progress, police said.

Bradley Marter, 42, and his girlfriend, Maria Dowling, 35, of the 4700 block of Sheffield Street in Philadelphia, were charged with burglary, theft, and related offenses.

As the investigation unfolded, it led to break-ins in numerous other towns, including Egg Harbor Township in Atlantic County and Upper and Lower Moreland Townships in Montgomery County. Brooks said the pair strolled neighborhoods looking for houses where it appeared no one was home and then made their move.

They face charges in other jurisdictions, including Galloway Township, Atlantic County, where they were living in a motel when they were arrested again last month, Brooks said.

"They were selling the stuff at flea markets," Brooks said. "This is how they made their living."

Among the allegedly stolen items were electronics, purses and wallets, hand and power tools, electronic game systems, CDs, DVDs, notebook computers, cell phones, lotions, eyeglasses, sports memorabilia, cards and photographs, and model cars and trains.

There was so much that the pair leased a storage locker in Atlantic County, officials said.

A jewelry box filled with keepsakes was reclaimed from police by a man whose Lower Moreland home was robbed while he visited relatives on Christmas Day 2006, Brooks said.

Other stolen items may also have sentimental value, he said. "We'd love to be able to get the property back to their rightful owners."

To view the goods, go to "Recovered Stolen Property" at www.cherryhillpolice.com. The thumbnail photos can be enlarged. For more information, call Brooks at 856-432-8824.