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Four masked thieves in all were pulling on vehicle door handles when police pulled up in response to a call on Oak Hill Drive in Wayne shortly before 5:30 a.m., Detective Capt. Dan Daly said.
The crew also tried to break into a home through the back, the captain said.
Officer David Talerico spotted an occupied vehicle with a smashed backseat passenger window and no rear license plate on nearby Timberline Drive, Daly said.
It apparently was the getaway car.
As Talerico approached it, the driver accelerated and sped past him out of sight, the captain said.
Police converged on the area from various locations. One of them, Officer Dan McDermott, had his patrol vehicle nearly struck by the fleeing crew on Ratzer Road, he said.
Talerico pursued the vehicle onto Black Oak Ridge Road and then Route 23, where the driver began speeding south down the northbound lanes, Daly said.
The officer immediately terminated the pursuit out of extreme safety concerns, he said.
The driver pulled back onto the right side of the highway and police resumed the pursuit – this time onto eastbound Route 80 to the Totowa exit.
The vehicle became disabled, however, and slowed into a grass field near the New Jersey State Police barracks. All four occupants quickly piled out and ran into the nearby woods.
Talerico, McDermott and Officer Dan McLaughlin grabbed one of them after he got stuck in the mud, Daly said.
Little Falls police, Passaic County sheriff’s officers and state troopers converged on the scene in an attempt to find the other three, the captain said.
K-9 units were summoned, along with both a drone and a State Police helicopter. The vehicle was impounded to be searched for evidence.
As that was happening, a 911 caller reported seeing a male running across Route 46.
Officers responding to the area of the Route 46 Lounge in Totowa found discarded wet clothing on the ground. They seized their suspect a short time later when he tried to hide in a shipping container, Daly said.
Police signed delinquency complaints against the pair, both from Newark, charging them with receiving stolen property, resisting arrest, hindering apprehension and obstruction, as well as possession of burglary tools and joyriding.
The older boy was released to a guardian, Daly said.
The younger boy was sent to Essex County Juvenile Detention Center after police discovered an outstanding warrant for him out of Newark, the captain said.
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