Stolen Newark Vehicles Are Being Used In Other Crimes: Police

NEWARK, NJ — As of April, more than 450 cars have been stolen in Newark so far in 2019. And according to local police, some of them are being used to commit other crimes.

On Thursday, the Newark Department of Public Safety released an advisory, warning residents to take extra precautions with their cars. In particular, people who own “police-type vehicles” should keep their eyes peeled, authorities said.

“In the last few months we had several crimes committed in which the perpetrators were driving stolen police-type vehicles,” Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.

According to Ambrose, the latest such incident was a drive-by shooting that took place near the intersection of Stratford Place and Avon Avenue around 6:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon. During that incident, a 52-year-old suffered non-life-threatening injuries after being hit by a bullet. The shots came from a dark-blue Chevy Tahoe, the type of SUV and color used by many police departments.

The SUV is believed to have been stolen earlier in the day, Ambrose said.

“I can think of a half-dozen incidents where the criminal actors were using stolen black or dark-colored Crown Victorias,” Ambrose stated. “One was a used police vehicle, which was sold with the lights still in the grill.”

According to Ambrose, out of the 462 cars that have been stolen this year, 162 were left idling by their owners as they ran errands or closed or opened driveway gates.

“That’s more than one-third,” Ambrose said. “Obviously, it’s a preventable crime.”

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