Car Thefts Spark Responses From Monmouth County Sheriff, Challenger

FREEHOLD, NJ — In response to a continuing car theft problem, Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden has called for certain steps to be taken by the state Legislature.

Golden, who is running for re-election as sheriff this year, said in a news release from his office that the state should "immediately impose stiffer laws and penalties regarding auto theft, which has and is currently increasing at alarming rates throughout the state of New Jersey." Apart from serving as sheriff, Golden is also the Republican party leader in Monmouth County.

But Golden's challenger in the sheriff's race, Democrat Larry Lutrell of Holmdel, said there are steps the county can take under existing laws and criticized what he called Golden's "campaign narrative that Democrats are to blame for the rise in auto theft."

Golden laid out some statistics on the issue: Monmouth County had 314 car thefts in the first eight months of 2021 and 446 the first eight months of 2022, Golden said.

He said in a news release that "This is not a policing problem, but a policy problem."

Golden said he is pressing the Legislature, and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy to address what he called “'Catch and Release' and a failed Bail Reform Act.”

According to the news release, Golden wants the Democratically controlled legislature to adopt a plan that includes a stepped-up scale of mandatory bail and sentencing for re-offenders similar to a three strikes policy; a mandatory hold of re-offending juveniles who should receive mandatory education and counseling; increased penalties and mandatory sentencing for people using electronic GPS tracking devices; a central transparency list of offenders and prosecutions to include published arrests, rearrests, court outcomes and sentences, according to a news release.

Golden said criminal rings use juveniles as "mules" in car theft attempts.

But Luttrell, a lawyer and Holmdel resident, said laws already exist to address car theft rings:

"Sheriff Golden has called on the legislature (to pass) laws with stiffer penalties as the answer to take down auto theft rings. Either the sheriff is unaware that this law already exists or his call is political theater. The law is known as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

"Since it’s passage, RICO has taken down mob bosses for acting as 'criminal enterprises.' It enables prosecutors to tie numerous elements of a crime ring even if they have covered an extensive period of time," Luttrell said.

Luttrell said instead of only prosecuting low level underlings who are easily replaced, RICO allows law enforcement to pursue a ringleader who orders commission of the crimes, but who hasn’t personally stolen the car.

"However, to effectively fight organized crime, it takes organized investigations, not organized press conferences. The resources of the County Sheriff make it best suited to lead this fight and can take action now by forming an organized crime task force. Doing so will give prosecutors the opportunity to file motions to keep suspects in pretrial custody since the RICO is a second-degree felony with mandatory jail time, unlike most auto theft charges," Luttrell said.