Chaptzem Blog!      

Elliot Shurkin, an 18-year-old man from Engleberg Terrace, remained Thursday in the Ocean County Jail, charged with breaking into Congregation Kol Aryeh and trying unsuccessfully to steal the wall-mounted donation box, known as pushka, according to the complaint signed March 19 by police.

Shurkin was charged at 9:30 a.m. March 18 at Lakewood Police Headquarters with the burglary two days prior at the Hope Chapel Road synagogue, criminal mischief and theft by unlawful taking, according to the complaint by Patrolman Eric Cicerello.

Shurkin’s charges stem from taking cash from the box, then “tearing moulding from the wall that was holding a pushka (donation box) to the wall,” Cicerello wrote in his report, adding Shurkin was unsuccessful at taking the box.

Shurkin was being held in jail in lieu of $7,500 bail with no 10 percent option to pay. Court officials said that Shurkin has no scheduled upcoming court appearances since his first appearance on March 19.

http://www.app.com/article/20140327/NJNEWS14/303270035/Elliot-Shurkin-synagogue-donation-box