HAMILTON TOWNSHIP – An Egg Harbor City man didn’t get the kind of heat he had hoped for Tuesday afternoon when he was allegedly caught stealing two stoves and a gas furnace.

It was the heat of the law that closed in on Carl Pipicz, 41, according Hamilton Township police.

Pipicz was arrested and charged in the theft of the three items from a maintenance storage area on the Hamilton Greene grounds, police said.

The incident began at 11:19 a.m. on April 3 when Hamilton Township police were dispatched to Hamilton Greene for a report of a man stealing appliances and loading them into a truck.

Pipicz was in the process of taking the items when he was approached by Hamilton Greene maintenance workers, police said. As a result, he fled the scene and drove toward Egg Harbor City.

He was then stopped by Egg Harbor City police and held until Hamilton Township officers could arrive and make the arrest.

His truck was impounded at the scene and the stolen property was returned, police said.

Pipicz was charged with theft and released on his own recognizance.