Five Carjacking Suspects Arrested Yesterday

Newark police yesterday made five arrests stemming from three separate carjackings, the department said in a statement.

Around 11 am, officers from the 5th Precinct, as well as State Police personnel and officers from surrounding towns, were involved in a pursuit of a car reported carjacked on S. 17th Street March 27. The car, a 2009 Acura, was spotted yesterday by Newark police at the intersection of Avon Avenue and Irvine Turner Boulevard, sparking the chase, which wound through Newark, Irvington, East Orange and onto 1-280 and the Garden State Parkway before ending at 61 S. Munn Ave. in East Orange.

At that address, the Acura struck a Newark police before being rammed by another NPD patrol car, a collision that left the Acura inoperable. The Acura’s three occupants -- the driver, Rosendo Perez, 23, of Irvington, and city residents Louis Holmes, 23, and an unnamed 17-year-old -- were quickly caught by officers from various departments after the three fled on foot, police said.

During the foot pursuit, Holmes allegedly was seen discarding a weapon, a .45-caliber handgun loaded with hollow-point bullets later recovered by police.


The 17-year-old has been charged with receiving stolen property and resisting arrest. Holmes, who has four felony prior convictions, three parole violations, and more than a half dozen arrests for offenses including theft, burglary, receiving stolen property, and eluding police, has been charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, possession of prohibited weapons (the hollow-point bullets), receiving stolen property and resisting arrest. Perez has been charged with eluding police, two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer committed while he allegedly drove the stolen car, two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon (the car), two counts of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, receiving stolen property and resisting arrest. Each suspect may be facing additional charges by the other involved police agencies.

The second group of arrests occurred yesterday shortly after 7 pm, when two armed suspects carjacked a woman driving a white 1998 Lincoln Navigator at 46 Dover St. A few minutes later the suspects -- 20-year-old David Manning of East Orange and 21-year-old Malik Manning of Newark -- carjacked a man driving a gold 2006 Jeep Cherokee at 50 Valley St., where they abandoned the Lincoln Navigator. Police quickly responded to the scene and broadcast a description of the Jeep, which was spotted by police a short time later at the intersection of South Orange Ave. and S. 18th Street. Responding officers briefly lost sight of the vehicle but it was quickly spotted again by Newark police and members of the Essex County Carjacking Task Force, who converged the area and found the car abandoned at S. 8th Street and 15th Avenue.

Police canvassing the area came across two suspects being chased on foot by residents on S. 8th Street. Officers apprehended the two suspects without further incident after they led police on a foot pursuit ending at 115 16th Ave. Police recovered a set of gloves and a black ski mask from one of the suspects but did not find the weapons used in the carjackings.  

Both suspects were positively identified by a victim and were charged with carjacking, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and conspiracy. David Manning who has an escape warrant from the Department of Corrections for leaving a halfway house, Kintock House (Halfway House), additionally already has one probation violation, a felony conviction and several prior arrests for robbery, aggravated assault, receiving stolen property, and weapons possession. Due to his felony status he was additionally charged under a law prohibiting felons from possessing firearms. Malik Manning has several arrests as well for burglary, aggravated assault, receiving stolen property and weapons possession.

“Our residents have taken an active role in our crime prevention and reduction efforts with numerous tips leading to multiple arrests and weapons and narcotics seizures. Yesterday’s foot pursuit of carjacking suspects led by our residents is indicative of the level of commitment by our community to become involved and aid the police department. Although that level of involvement is not recommended it should serve as a message to the criminal element that many hardworking, taxpaying citizens of Newark are quite frankly fed up and will not sit back idly and permit lawlessness in their community,” said Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio, who also commended the officers involved in the arrests.