Holmdel Car Theft Suspect Should Remain In Jail, Says Monmouth Sheriff

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ — Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden — who was just re-elected Tuesday to his fifth term — said he is "outraged" an accused Holmdel car thief is back on the streets after being released from county jail last Thursday.

The suspect is Dayvon Savage, 24, of West Orange. He was charged with auto theft in this incident on Oct. 16, where police say a total of four suspects crashed a stolen BMW X4 on the Parkway north in Hazlet and then fled the crash site on foot.

The BMW had been reported stolen in Totowa.

After a brief search of the area, police apprehended one suspect on Holmdel Road and two more in the Bayshore Medical Center parking lot in Holmdel. The fourth suspect was not found.

Then, minutes after that first stolen car crashed, troopers were advised that Aberdeen Police were in pursuit of a green Lexus SUV stolen from a home on Holmdel Road, allegedly by the fourth suspect.

Aberdeen and Holmdel Police, plus State Police, chased the stolen green Lexus onto the Parkway northbound but lost the car. While in pursuit, a State Police car got into a crash with two other cars in Union. The trooper and another driver sustained minor injuries.

Savage was admitted to the Monmouth County jail the day of his arrest, Oct. 16; he was released Nov. 3.

Golden said that's simply not enough time in jail and he wants Savage to remain behind bars until his trial. Savage also has previous arrests for illegal gun charges, receiving stolen property and giving false information.

"It’s outrageous that, after spending two weeks in jail, the net result for this offender is released on supervision, all due to a broken bail reform system," said Golden. “We can now add another brazen offender to the list of the more than 100 people who were released in a two-year period, in connection with similar circumstances of second- and third-degree auto theft."

"It’s abominable how, in broad daylight on a busy weekend in Monmouth County, that residents are placed in jeopardy and police officers in danger as a vehicle and foot chase ensued," he added.

For more than a year now, Golden has been calling for New Jersey to end bail reform and bring back cash bail. Car theft is up 66 percent in 2022 in Monmouth County.

Car theft is on the rise because those stealing the cars know they will quickly be released from jail, he said.

"The process of catch and release must end," said Golden.

Another of the four men arrested that day, Unique Woodard, 22, of Irvington is due in court Thursday for his detention hearing. This is not the first time Woodard was charged with car theft in Monmouth County.

In 2017, then Gov. Chris Christie signed NJ bail reform into law, under pressure from Democratic lawmakers. This law eliminated cash bail for many crimes in the state, under the argument that innocent people were being held in jail for days, simply because they could not pay bail.

However, many New Jersey police officers have come to criticize bail reform, saying that people they arrest for stealing a car or breaking into a home are often let out of jail that very same day.
Sometimes, those people go on to commit additional crimes in the following days or weeks, said Golden.

In May, Holmdel Assemblywoman Vicky Flynn and Middletown Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger introduced this bill that would bring back cash bail for those caught stealing a car, and increase their prison term if found guilty. This would particularly apply to people found guilty of stealing a car for a second or third time.

Their bill also calls for mandatory prison time for an adult who commissions or entices a teenager to steal a car.