Man Stole Car, Fled From Cops In Gloucester Township: Police

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — An Atlantic City man was arrested in Gloucester Township over the weekend after police say he stole a car and attempted to run from the cops.

Gloucester Township police spotted a gray Kia sedan that had been reported stolen out of Pennsylvania as it entered the Autumn Ridge Apartment complex at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, police said Monday morning.

When police attempted to stop the car, they said the driver sped off on Erial Road, driving recklessly and refusing to stop. Police said they called off the chase and last saw the car entering the Blackwood Estates.

Plain clothes police officers in unmarked cars then entered the development and found the stolen car unoccupied and abandoned in the area of State Street and Carol Avenue, police said.

Officers set up a perimeter and used a K9 track to find 23-year-old Elijah Thomas riding a bicycle in the area of Evergreen Avenue, police said. Thomas ditched the bike and fled towards the fence line of the Autumn Ridge Apartment Complex, police said.

Thomas began climbing the fence while removing some of the clothes he was wearing and began running through the courtyard of the complex, police said.

Officers tracked him to the stairwell of a building, where he was trying to hide, police said. Thomas was arrested without further incident, and no injuries were reported, police said.

Thomas was charged with receiving stolen property, eluding, resisting arrest by flight and numerous traffic violations. He was remanded to the Camden County Correctional Facility pending First Court Appearance in accordance with the NJ Bail Reform Act.