stolen property

New Jersey- Long Branch


i had my belongings stolen from me by an ex girlfriend and she is claiming to have never even had possession of them

Here is the run down:
Me and my girlfriend were supposed to drive to florida
I arrived at the train station in long branch where she picked me up
i put my stuff in the back seat
we drove to mcdonalds and walked through the parking lot into the establishment and then back to the car
she dropped me off on a corner where i moved my suitcases from the back seat into her trunk
she then drove to her house to get her belongings and wasthen to come back and pick me up
she never returned and i went to her house where she then proceeded to claim to have never picked me up from the train station or that she had possession of my belongings
the police arrived, questioned both of us
searched her car, and found nothing and then told me to leave
which i did.
this happened on october 26th
its november 1st today

I was about to give up on ever getting my stuff back and it then dawned on me that there are probably videos of us at both the train station as well as mcdonalds
if i were to pursue this case to get my things back (or the monetary equivallent, approx. ~$5000) what legal recourse do I have

If you seek a criminal prosecution, that is about sending her to jail. If she has any money, she might be able to pay you back for the lost goods.

If you just want your stuff back, you can sue her.

Or, you can try both.