Another Night of Car Robberies in North Caldwell

Car thieves driving an Audi stolen from North Caldwell and a Lexus taken from a home in West Orange were chased through multiple towns Sunday morning before police broke chase due to slick road conditions.

North Caldwell Police Chief Mark Deuer said an officer passed two suspicious vehicles, an Audi and a Lexus, on Grandview Avenue at about 6:55 a.m. Sunday. When he turned around to investigate, the officer said he saw a man run out from behind a house and jump into the passenger side of the white Lexus.

Both vehicles took off at high speeds and were pursued into Little Falls, where they made a u-turn on Main Street and a left onto Route 23 toward Cedar Grove. The chase ended on Bloomfield Avenue in Verona when police deemed the roads too slick to continue on after a heavy overnight rainfall.

A North Caldwell officer was able to make out the plates of the Audi and trace it back to the owner in town. Video footage of the pursuit showed the New York plates of the Lexus, which was reported stolen from a house in West Orange.

Meanwhile, four car break-ins were reported on Sunday in North Caldwell, Deuer said. He said an iPod was said to be missing from one of the vehicles. In each case, the car had been left unlocked and the glove compartment was rummaged through as the thieves presumably looked for a valet key which typically comes in the owners’ manual of a luxury car, Deuer said.

North Caldwell Police sent a reverse 9-1-1 call to residents Monday urging them to lock their cars and not leave keys, valet keys or valuables inside their cars.  

Three weeks ago, the borough saw a similar evening of activity, when two cars were stolen and four more were broken into. Both stolen vehicles were.

Towns throughout Essex County have experienced a rash of car robberies, with .