$80K Mercedes Stolen After It's Left Running In Driveway In Ocean County: Police

JACKSON, NJ — Authorities are again urging people to keep their vehicles locked and to not leave them running, even to get a cup of coffee, after a woman's $80,000 Mercedes was stolen from her driveway Monday morning in Jackson.

The woman told police she had started the car in her driveway on Arrowhead Circle about 6:30 a.m., then went back inside her home, Jackson Police Capt. Steve Laskiewicz said. When she went back outside about 6:50 a.m., the car was gone.

Laskiewicz said the woman was able to track her car using a Mercedes app and the car was in Woodbridge and then headed north on the New Jersey Turnpike. As Police Officer Stephen Cilento logged it as a stolen vehicle, they were notified the thieves who had taken it had driven off without paying for more than $100 of gas at a Turnpike rest stop, he said.

Newark police saw the stolen Mercedes in their area and tried to pull it over, but the driver refused to stop, and under the updated New Jersey Attorney General pursuit guidelines, they did not chase it further, Laskiewicz said.

A short time later New Jersey State Police saw the car on Interstate 280, but the driver again took off, he said.

The car was later found abandoned in Newark and it was recovered for the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department CSI Unit to process for evidence, Laskiewicz said.

"These types of vehicle thefts have been plaguing multiple counties and communities throughout the state," Laskiewicz said. "This agency has put out multiple releases on local incidents and has shared news releases from other police departments regarding similar incidents in their towns."

"Once again we are reminding residents to take measures to safeguard their property to not provide criminals an easy opportunity to make you a victim of what is, in many cases, a preventable crime that only takes moments to commit," he said.

He listed the following measures to cut down on the likelihood of being the victim of a theft:

• Please, remove valuables if you can and lock your car when you park your vehicle. The overwhelming majority of these thefts in our area are from unlocked vehicles.
• Do not leave your house keys, key fobs, garage door openers, Iphones, Ipads, other computers and cell phones, cash, identification, passports, jewelry, etc. when you park your vehicle overnight.
• Do not leave an unlocked and unattended vehicle running, especially when parking it in front of a convenience store.

"It may only take a moment to run in and get your morning coffee but that’s also how long it takes for someone to get into your car and drive away," Laskiewicz said.

Anyone who sees suspicious activity in their neighborhood is urged to call police dispatch at 732-928-1111 to report it so officers can investigate. Anyone with information about the theft or who may have seen the suspects is asked to call Jackson Police Detective Robert Reiff at 732-928-1111.