2 Newark Teens Stole BMW, Audi From Secaucus Home April 16: Police

SECAUCUS, NJ — Secaucus Police charged two 17-year-old men from Newark with stealing a BMW M3 and an Audi Q7 from an Arn Terrace home on April 16, the police department announced Friday in a press release.

At 11:46 p.m. on that date, a Wednesday, Secaucus Police received a 911 call from an Arn Terrace resident who stated that he just witnessed his neighbor’s cars stolen from their driveway.

Two of the male suspects entered the Arn Terrace home that night and took the keys for the BMW M3 and Audi Q7, said police. They forced entry into the home, stole the keys and then fled in the two luxury cars.

When Secaucus Police units responded to the Arn Terrace home, they discovered that three men came to Secaucus that night in a Hyundai Sonata stolen out of Irvington.

A passerby alerted a Secaucus Police officer who was conducting a park and walk that a red BMW had just been abandoned in the roadway near 1262 Paterson Plank Road. The passerby said the occupants got out of the BMW and fled in a white SUV, determined to be the stolen Audi.

Sergeant Taylor Ensmann witnessed the stolen Audi driving out of town over 100 mph, said police. He and Police Officer Jude Masullo pursued the stolen Audi onto the highway and into Newark, where they lost sight of the car.

At 3:16 a.m. the next day, April 17, Secaucus Police tracked the stolen Audi to Matawan. When the occupants observed a marked police vehicle, the stolen Audi again fled and another brief car chase was undertaken, but officers again lost sight of the Audi.

At approximately 4:29 a.m. that same day, the Audi was located in Newark. But no arrests were made.

Detectives from the Secaucus Police Department Anti-Crime Unit conducted a several weeks-long investigation and were able to identify two 17-year-old men from Newark as two of the suspects in the April 16 burglary and car theft.

The teens were criminally charged Friday morning, May 9. The two teens were already being held in the Essex County Juvenile Detention Facility on unrelated charges when they were charged by Secaucus Police.

The third man remains on the loose.

The two Newark teens were charged with Residential Burglary [2C:18-2.2], Conspiracy to Commit Residential Burglary [2C:5-2a(1)/2C:18-2.2], two counts of Theft of a Motor Vehicle [2C:20-10.1a], Theft of Moveable Property [2C:20-3a], Receiving a Stolen Motor Vehicle [2C:20-10.2a] and Conspiracy to Receive a Stolen Motor Vehicle [2C:5-2a(1)/2C:20-10.1b]. One teen was also charged with Possession of Burglar Tools [2C:5-5a(1)] and Eluding [2C:29-2b].

“This is yet another clear example that our legislators need to update our laws that would hold juveniles accountable for committing such heinous acts," said Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller on Friday. “Because no firearm was involved, the juveniles cannot be prosecuted as adults. I commend the investigative work of my police officers and detectives and support their decision to pursue these criminals. However, I am frustrated that these juveniles have and will continue to commit these crimes, which is not fair to the victims they prey on.”

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