Four Teens Charged in Baby Jesus Thefts

I'm willing to put this under seemed like a good thing to do at the time.

Four teenagers charged yesterday in the destruction of a 15-foot crucifix at a borough cemetery and the theft of more than 25 infant Jesus figures from manger scenes "wanted to see the baby Jesuses burn," police said.

"They were looking for things to do. They told us, "We were going to have a baby-Jesus-burning party,' " said Detective Ken Kelly of the Sayreville Police Department. "The reason they picked (the Jesus figures) was because they looked real."

He recalled another statement by one of the suspects: "We just wanted to see their heads burning.

Taken into custody at their homes yesterday were Christopher Olson, 18, of Athens Avenue; Michael Payne, 19, of Maple Avenue; Nicholas Hess, 18, of Spring Hill Road and a 15-year-old boy.

Olson's father, Bob, 40, said he and his family were stunned by the allegations.

"Although Chris is sometimes misguided, this was not something we expected out of him," he said.

The one father saw the problem in perspective. Recently divorced from his wife, the son was expressing his anger in a decidedly unwholesome way and should suffer the consequences of his actions. The community is not in a forgiving mood with the disturbance of a festive holiday so these nitwits will hopefully learn a valuable lesson.

Picnic at Basil's