Warning issued following break-ins at vacant Howell movie theater
The Xscape Movie Theater has been vacant for five years.
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Five years ago, the Xscape Movie Theater in Howell showed the latest Hollywood hits.
More recently, the now-vacant theater has become the target of break-ins and criminal mischief, prompting local police to issue a warning to residents.
“A lot of my friends I know personally who have been inside and they just do it for fun. They kind of like the thrill of it,” said 18-year-old Josh Krutyansky, of Howell.
According to Howell Township police, videos have been posted on social media platforms, such as TikTok showing juveniles entering the property, which is in a state of disrepair and could pose serious danger to trespassers.
In a recent Facebook post, police said the property managers have taken steps to reinforce entry points and prevent break-ins, but despite their efforts, numerous individuals have found ways to get into the building.
Police say most of the trespassers have been juveniles.
“We arrested one adult male 19 years old from Hazlet, and we caught three juveniles - two male and one female juvenile,” said Lt. John Barroquiero. “We've had thousands of dollars of leftover audio and video equipment that was left there, they broke into the heating and cooling system at one point they also damaged the fire suppression system.”
Police are concerned that videos posted on social media from inside the building are drawing attention to the vacant theater and encouraging more juveniles to trespass.
Police say as quickly as the owners and management of the abandoned theater repair the damage left behind, the next round of “urban explorers” arrive, causing more damage.
“The ability to monetize these videos you're seeing these urban explorers from the top of the Empire State Building to a theater in Howell New Jersey,” said Greg Sanfilippo, the vice president of Doyle Security Services. “Unless we start addressing this and the Legislature starts addressing this to discourage it, then the more you're going to see it in the more smaller environments.”
Police are now urging parents to speak to their children and explain that illegally entering the property could result in legal action as well as possible safety hazards.
"Parents have to start holding their kids a little more accountable setting those boundaries," said Lt. Barroquiero.
"Nowadays, social media is everywhere and everyone's on it. You're literally incriminating yourself. I don't know why," added Krutyansky.
