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Newark Boy, 15, Leads Franklin Lakes Police On Route 287 Stolen Car Chase To Morristown

A 15-year-old car thief from Newark led Franklin Lakes police on a chase on Route 287 in one of two vehicles stolen overnight from the same borough home.

Franklin Lakes police

Franklin Lakes police

Photo Credit: Franklin Lakes PD

A Huron Road resident called police before dawn Sunday saying that she activated a burglar alarm shortly before 5 a.m., scaring off someone who rang her doorbell, Capt. John Bakelaar said.

Responding Officer Nicholas Klein moments later spotted the teen, who matched the description of the stranger at the door, Bakelaar said.

He was driving a 2019 Audi that had just been stolen, along with a 2017 BMW, from outside the caller’s home, the captain said.

Klein tried to stop the vehicle on Summit Avenue, but the teen hit the gas and headed onto southbound Route 287, he said.

The pursuit ended more than 10 miles away in Morristown when the boy bailed out of the car, Bakelaar said.

Officers from Morristown, Chatham, Hanover and Madison helped capture him soon after, the captain said.

Responders said a police vehicle was damaged during the chase.

Police signed delinquency complaints against the boy, charging him with motor vehicle theft.

They recovered the Audi following the pursuit, while Newark police later found the BMW, Bakelaar said.

Police also learned that two other residents on the same street had entered their unlocked vehicles overnight, he said.

“No items were reported missing [from those two vehicles] at the time of report,” Bakelaar said. “It is believed that the entries are related to the stolen vehicles.” 

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