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Officers Slavko Bajovic and Ryan Cottrell were responding to a call from the owner of the Bullard Road home when they saw the teen run from the 2017 Hyundai Tucson to a Sonata parked nearby shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday, April 14, Police Chief Robert Guidetti said.
Guidetti's officers got help establishing a perimeter from a Bergen County Sheriff's K-9 unit and police from Bergenfield, River Edge and Rochelle Park police, Guidetti said.
Bajovic found the Sonata parked on Harrison Street unoccupied, the chief said. A quick check found that it had been reported stolen out of Newark, he said.
In the driveway of a nearby home was a 2022 BMW M8.
The door suddenly swung open and the teen emerged, Guidetti said.
Cottrell, Bajovic and Sheriff's Officer John Johnson chased him down at the corner of Bullard and Lentz avenues, the chief said.
The teen was carrying a screwdriver that he'd used to pop the Tuscon cylinder, he said.
Police issued a delinquency complaint charging the teen with auto burglary, resisting arrest and possession of burglary tools, among other offenses, Guidetti said.
They then released him to his mother.
Guidetti thanked the law enforcement partners for their 'invaluable assistance" with the search.
Their "collaboration and support were instrumental in our efforts," the chief said.
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