Cops: Footprints in Snow Helped Us Find Alleged Car Tire Thief

A Newark man has been arrested and charged with a slew of theft and burglary-related offenses by Morris Township Police after allegedly stealing spare tires from a local car dealership.

At 12:51 a.m. Monday morning, Morris Township police were alerted by security services for Beyer Jeep on Ridgedale Avenue that they were monitoring a male subject jacking up vehicles and removing tires from them in the parking lot, Capt. Robert Duffy said.

When police arrived they found two Jeeps with spare tires removed and another Jeep with lug nuts removed from its tires, Duffy said.

Police then followed footprints in the snow, and the suspect, Eduardo Melendez, 38, of Newark, was spotted hiding behind a business on East Hanover Avenue, Duffy said. When he realized he had been found, Melendez fled across the street, Duffy said, and was subsequently captured and apprehended by police.

Melendez was charged with theft, possession of burglary tools, defiant trespassing, obstruction of justice, resisting arrest, and criminal mischief.

Morristown Police, Hanover Township Police, and Morris County Park Police assisted Morris Township Police in the investigation.

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