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Six of them were captured following a pursuit and crash involving another stolen vehicle and a Clifton police car later that day, Lt. Robert Bracken said.
Officers interrupted the theft of a 2017 Mazda on Chittendon Road around 3 a.m. Monday, Bracken said.
The thief hopped out of the car while it was still moving, forcing an officer to dive in to keep it from damaging nearby property, he said.
The teen and at least two others fled into neighboring streets. One of them, a 17-year-old boy from Orange, was captured, the lieutenant said.
The two others stole a 2018 Audi Q7 in a nearby town as a family leaving for vacation loaded it with luggage, Bracken said.
Police broke off a pursuit out of public safety concerns, he said.
They determined that the thieves "were responsible for a rash of car burglaries that occurred in Clifton prior to the Chittendon Road incident," the lieutenant said.
The captured 17-year-old -- who had a prior history of crimes including carjacking -- was released to an adult, Bracken said.
Later that day, police responding to a report of a theft in progress on Sergeant Avenue around 9 p.m. Monday spotted the Audi that had been stolen earlier.
They chased it through the streets of Clifton, onto westbound Route 3 to the southbound Garden State Parkway and then onto Route 280 -- going through Newark, Maplewood and South Orange before the police cruiser and vehicle crashed in Union Township.
"All six occupants were taken into custody without incident," Bracken said.
Police confirmed that all six were returning to Clifton to swipe vehicles using key fobs stolen earlier in the day.
Seized were three Newark boys -- ages 17, 16 and 15 -- along with a 16-year-old Edison girl and two other girls from Plainfield, one 15 and the other 14.
Many initially gave false names, Bracken said.
All were issued delinquency complaints that will be heard in the Family Part of Superior Court in Paterson, he said.
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