Stolen BMW Drivers Caught In Stafford: Police

STAFFORD, NJ — Two of three people driving a stolen BMW were caught in Stafford after a police chase over the weekend, police said.

Joseph Young-Stewart, 25, and Tamir Pitts, 18, both of Newark, were charged with multiple criminal charges and offenses, Stafford police said. The third subject, whose identity is unknown, had not been located as of Saturday evening, police said.

At about 1:23 a.m. on July 23, Stafford police said they received a hit on their fixed License Plate Reader (LPR) on Route 72 East in the area of the Garden State Parkway for a stolen BMW out of New York City.

The Stafford Township Communications Center monitored the BMW through additional LPR hits from LPRs on Long Beach Island and on the Route 72 Causeway Bridge, police said.

The 2021 black BMW SUV was seen speeding westbound over the Causeway Bridge, and police began vehicle pursuit, police said.

Police pursued the stolen BMW westbound on Route 72 until the northbound GSP exit, where police deployed spike strips which damaged the front two tires of the BMW, police said.

With damaged tires, the BMW still continued northbound on the parkway, briefly exiting into Barnegat before quickly reentering, police said. Around milepost 79.6, the BMW became disabled, and three passengers, including Young-Stewart and Pitts, fled from the car, police said.

Young-Stewart and Pitts were apprehended with the assistance of the New Jersey State Police, Toms River Police Department, Beachwood Police Department and the South Toms River Police Department, Stafford police said.

Stafford police thanked all of the departments that assisted, as well as Stafford's dispatchers who assisted the officers.

This investigation is still ongoing and police said that no further information will be released at this time.