Stolen Dog, Car Recovered After North Jersey Crime Spree Spoiled

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ - Police arrested six burglary suspects, five of them juveniles, ending a Thursday morning crime spree and recovering a stolen dog and stolen car in Morris County.

The early-morning thefts spanned four towns across two counties and had engaged more than a dozen law enforcement agencies chasing five suspects who stole a car and took an unsuspecting dog along for the ride.

In the end, after a foot chase with police, the missing dog and missing car were recovered and the five fleeing suspects were caught before they could rendezvous with a sixth person. They had called her for help.

That sixth person, who arrived to pick up the fugitives before they were arrested, was also taken into custody.

According to authorities it all began shortly after 4 a.m. when a resident of Birchwood Drive in Millington was alerted by her Ring doorbell that someone was attempting to open her front door. Responding officers discovered a stolen motor vehicle out of Jersey City with a stolen dog inside it, Long Hill Township Police said.

Shortly after arrival, patrol officers were alerted by another resident that five people were running through her yard which kicked off a search that involved officers from Chatham, Bernards, Warren and Berkeley Heights. Police said they pursued the five in the woods along Midvale Avenue, catching two suspects immediately and eventually rounding up the remaining three, authorities said.

Police said the suspects had entered multiple vehicles in an attempt to steal them to aid in their escape and they also called someone to pick them up the scene. That sixth suspect was taken into custody when she arrived, authorities said.

One adult male, Jersey City's Darwin Moncion, 19, was one of those taken into custody, police said. The names of the remaining suspects were not released because they are minors.

Police said pending charges include receiving stolen property, conspiracy to receive stolen property, burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, obstruction, and eluding/resisting arrest.

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