Englishtown Assists In Stopping Car Theft Suspect Fleeing Monroe

ENGLISHTOWN, NJ — Borough police were part of an operation that apprehended a suspect sought by Monroe police, following a license plate reader alert that the person was driving a stolen car.

Monroe police said that on Dec. 8, its Communications Center and patrol units received an alert from a Flock Safety stationary license plate reader that a stolen vehicle had entered the township.

Monroe Officers Nicholas Lafata and Robert Seiden were able to locate the suspect vehicle and attempted to stop it, however the driver began eluding the officers.

In accordance with state guidelines, Monroe authorized a pursuit, and the car entered both Manalapan and Englishtown.

Police said the driver of the stolen vehicle abandoned it in Englishtown, where the officers continued to pursue the suspect on foot.

Officers from the Englishtown Police Department assisted in setting up a perimeter to contain the suspect, while a K9 unit from the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to assist.

The suspect emerged from where he was hiding and after another brief foot pursuit, the suspect was apprehended without incident.

It was learned that the vehicle was stolen out of Old Bridge Township earlier the same day. Detectives from the Old Bridge Township Police Department responded to the scene to assist.

Since Monroe's implementation of the stationary license plate reader system in September of 2023, alerts received from the devices directly led to the arrest of five separate criminal suspects, police there said.

Additionally, alerts received from the system continue to assist detectives in several other ongoing criminal investigations, and the Monroe mayor is planning to double the amount of stationary license plate readers throughout Monroe, authorities there said.