Six minors between the ages of 12 and 14 were arrested Sunday after they allegedly stole a car in Fairfield and later crashed it following a police pursuit, authorities said.
A resident of Big Piece Road called the police shortly after 3 a.m. after seeing several people pulling on car door handles in his driveway, according to a statement from the Fairfield Police Department. The people were soon seen leaving the area in a stolen red 2020 Kia Forte, driving toward Horseneck Road, police said.
Officers found the car on Esposito Drive and tried to pull it over but the driver refused to stop. Cops chased the car, but stopped due to the high speed of the chase, the department said. A short time later, the sedan crashed in nearby West Caldwell and three minors who were inside were arrested, police said. They were taken to police headquarters and processed.
The West Caldwell police then began receiving calls about three other minors banging on doors in a residential area not far from the crash site. Police said they were also inside the stolen Kia, and the three were arrested, as well.
All six were charged with receiving stolen property, resisting arrest, conspiracy, burglary, and possession of burglary tools, and released to the custody of their parents with the exception of one, who was taken to the Essex County Youth House in Newark, investigators said. Their names were not released due to their age.
Fairfield Police Chief Anthony G. Manna said Sunday’s arrests part of a bigger problem in the state.
“This case strongly emphasizes the problem of the continuing stolen car epidemic in New Jersey as the ages of the juvenile offenders involved in this case ranged between 12-14 years of age with one of these offenders having a court-ordered monitoring device on him at the time of the arrest,” Manna said.
“Until there are meaningful consequences for such activity or until our society can divert these youthful offenders away from committing such crimes and rather be involved in other productive activity, we will continue to be faced with this problem.”
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
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