Two Jersey City teens were arrested for stealing vehicles and burglaries in Secaucus about two weeks ago, Police Chief Dennis Miller announced.
On January 11th at approximately 5:30 a.m., Secaucus Police responded to Mallard Place on a report of several individuals wearing ski masks in the process of burglarizing vehicles, Miller said in a statement.
When the first responding patrol units arrived, a Honda Pilot was driving at a high rate of speed and narrowly missed striking a marked police vehicle.
Police officers observed the occupants wearing ski masks and ascertained the vehicle’s license plate, but lost sight of it almost immediately, due to the reckless manner it was being operated.
It was reported that three vehicles were burglarized and attempts were made to burglarize four others. Shortly thereafter, Paramaus police entered the Honda Pilot as a stolen vehicle.
On January 18th the stolen Honda Pilot was recovered in Montclair and taken to the Secaucus Police Department where it was processed for evidence by detectives from the Secaucus PD Anti-Crime Unit.
While collecting evidence, detectives recovered a bullet projectile that was fired into stolen vehicle. It is still unknown the circumstances surrounding the vehicle being struck by gunfire.
After a several weeks long follow up investigation, detectives from the Secaucus Police Anti-Crime Unit, under the supervision of Det. Sgt. Matthew Ford, arrested a 16-year-old male on January 24th and 17-year-old male on January 25th.
Both of them reside Jersey City and each were charged with three counts of burglary, four counts of criminal attempt to commit burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, and receiving a stolen vehicle.
While investigating the aforementioned vehicle burglaries, detectives discovered evidence linking the 17 year old Jersey City male to a vehicle that was stolen from Secaucus on October 20th, 2023.
During the overnight hours on that date, the 17-year-old, who was 15 at the time stole an Infiniti Q50 from the 200 block of Meadow Lane. The vehicle was subsequently recovered on November 17th, 2023 in Union.
The 17-year-old Jersey City male was charged with an additional count of receiving a stolen vehicle for this crime.
Both juveniles were released to their parents and placed on home detention until their appearance in court.
“The unfortunate reality is these juveniles are not fearful of repercussions and will continue to commit crimes until they are held accountable. These are not just juveniles out joy riding, they are stealing cars, committing other burglaries and thefts and victimizing our neighborhoods, Miller added.
“The recovery of a bullet from the stolen vehicle is evidence that the stolen cars are involved in other violent crimes. These arrests are a testament to the hard work and determination of my detectives and I am proud to work alongside them. ”