Cops: Woman Stole Car, to 'Visit Elderly Mother'

Police say what first was a search for a stolen vehicle ultimately lead to charges of receiving stolen property and the recovery of various drug paraphernalia, including three crack pipes.

Officer Joseph Heuneman responded to a call on Jan. 22 from a man that said his silver Nissan Rogue had been stolen by a woman he only knew as "Kim," according to Heuneman's report.

The man said "Kim"—later identified as Kim Kosinski, 33, of Madison—had been at the man's residence along with other people on Jan. 20, according to the report. The man said he had gone to bed and, when he woke up the next morning, the keys he had left on the kitchen counter were gone, as was his vehicle, according to the report.

The man told Heuneman he received a call on Jan. 21 from Kosinski, who apologized for taking his vehicle, saying she needed it to go visit her elderly mother in Madison, according to the report.

On Jan. 22, when the vehicle still had not been returned, the man called Kosinski again but the call went straight to voicemail, according to the report.

The man told police he did not know where Kosinksi lived, but said a friend in common who'd been with Kosinski lived in an apartment on Speedwell Avenue, according to the report. Police spoke to the Speedwell Avenue resident and another person living in the same apartments, but neither was able to provide a location for Kosinski, police said.

Police eventually identified her through a search, and found she had been arrested in Morristown previously, according to the report. Police went to her last known address, in Madison, and were unable to find her or the vehicle, according to the report.

While on patrol, Heuneman spotted a Nissan Rogue, with the matching VIN of the reported stolen vehicle, headed down Early Street toward Mills Street, according to the report. He stopped the vehicle and approached Kosinski, who said the vehicle's owner—identified by her only as "Joe," someone she said she had only met five days earlier—had lent her the vehicle, adding he lends it out all the time, according to the report.

She also said she was en route to returning it when she was pulled over, though she was heading in the opposite direction, according to the report.

When the officer asked why she was heading away from his residence, she did not respond, according to the report. When asked how she had gotten the keys, Kosinski said, "Joe gave them to me," according to the report.

Police then placed Kosinski under arrest, according to the report.

While handcuffing Kosinski, Heuneman asked if there was anything on her person he needed to worry about that could cut or injure him, to which she responded that the black jacket she was wearing was not hers and whatever is found inside it does not belong to her, according to the report.

Heuneman found a Newport-brand cigarette box containing a glass crack pipe, several pieces of burnt wire mesh, one small baggy containing a partially smoked marijuana roach, a small plastic baggy containing a white powdery substance suspected to be cocaine and two yellow pills, later identified to be Risperidone, an anti-psychotic, according to the report.

Another officer also found in the car a baggy containing two additional glass crack pipes, which also had the look of being used, according to the report.

Kosinski was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, theft of a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property, having a controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle, possession of 50 grams or less of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Kosinski was transported to the Morris County Correctional Facility in default of the $2,500 bail, according to the report.

For questions about this post, email john.dunphy@patch.com.