'Numerous' Car Key Fobs Recovered In Berkeley Theft Probe: Police

BERKELEY, NJ — If your spare key or key fob for your car has gone missing, Berkeley Township police say they may have it, after a recent arrest in a car theft turned up numerous keys, they said.

Marquarn Mcquitta, 21, of Trenton, was arrested Sept. 24 in Lacey Township following an investigation of a car theft in the Mill Creek section of Bayville the previous day, Berkeley Police Chief Karin DiMichele said in a news release on Oct. 2.

A resident in the area of Point Pleasant Avenue and Oak Street called police overnight on Sept. 23 to report someone backing his car out of his driveway and stealing it, DiMichele said. The victim had reported his spare key stolen several weeks earlier.

The victim chased the thief and called police, who arrived a short time later. The thief, meanwhile, abandond the car while it was moving and ran off; a search of the area with multiple police and a canine unit failed to turn up the thief, she said.

Detective Joseph Santoro investigated and found a vehicle the thief had arrived in before stealing the man's car, and that vehicle was impounded while police sought a search warrant. The investigation then identified Mcquitta as a suspect, she said. He was arrested the following day by Santoro, assisted by Detective Lt. Peter La Rocca and Detective Michael O’Connor and Lacey Township police officers at the Cornerstone Apartment Complex near Lacey Road.

Mcquitta was charged with car theft and employing a juvenile and the commission of a crime, DiMichele said.

In addition, he had eight outstanding arrest warrants, including three from Ewing on charges of theft and forgery, two criminal trespass warrants from Pemberton Boro, a suspended driver warrant out of Trenton, possession of stolen property from Trenton, and a criminal trespass warrant from Pemberton Township. Mcquitta was lodged in the Ocean County Jail, but as of Oct. 3 he was no longer listed in the Ocean County Corrections website.

Berkeley Township police recovered numerous key fobs for various makes and models of cars as a result of the investigation, DiMichele said.

If you were the victim of some type of theft involving your spare car key, contact the Berkeley Township Detective Bureau at 732-341-1132, ext. 2120.

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Photo by Katie Kausch, Patch staff