Teens Face Charges After Stealing Car In New Britain Township

NEW BRITAIN TOWNSHIP, PA — Two teenagers are facing charges after stealing several cars and breaking into several others over the weekend in New Britain Township.

On Oct. 20, police arrested a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy after the stolen Suburu they were riding in broke down while fleeing from police.

The incident began at 6:25 a.m. when police were dispatched to two different addresses on Holly Drive to investigate an attempted theft from a vehicle and a vehicle theft in progress. Officers arrived within three minutes, but the suspects had already fled in a stolen Volkswagen Atlas.

Officers reviewed RING video surveillance footage which showed one of the suspects attempting to open two vehicles in a driveway, but found they were both locked. On this same video, a white Subaru, possibly a Crosstrek, was observed driving slowly in front of the same home, keeping pace with a suspect who was on foot.

Officers collected pertinent information and requested that the owner of the stolen Atlas contact Volkswagen customer service to see if they could track the vehicle. Officers then checked the surrounding area for the stolen Volkswagen and the white Subaru.

Officers located the white Subaru Crosstrek in the Giant Food Store parking lot, located at 4275 County Line Road. When officers attempted to stop the Subaru, it fled out of the parking lot and into the Highlands development.

As the suspects were fleeing, police said the Subaru abruptly stopped due to mechanical issues at the intersection of Highlands Drive at Manor Drive. Officers were able to surround the vehicle and take the suspects into custody.

The suspects were identified as two juveniles, a 16-year-old male and a 17-year-old male. Officers also discovered that the Subaru was stolen from Applecross Circle sometime overnight unbeknownst to the owner.

With the assistance of the owner of the VW and Volkswagen customer service, officers were able to locate the stolen Volkswagen Atlas in a tree line near the Chalfont Fire Department sub-station on E. Schoolhouse Road.

Prior to this incident, on Friday, October 18 at approximately 9:01 a.m. officers were dispatched to investigate a recovered stolen vehicle, a gray Volkswagen Atlas, which had not yet been reported
stolen. The owner of the vehicle used the Volkswagen app on his smartphone to locate his stolen vehicle, which was found on Glennbrook Way. Officers recovered the key to this vehicle along with other stolen property related to the stolen vehicles.

On and between Oct. 18 and 20, thefts from vehicles were also reported, which were connected to the juvenile suspects in police custody.

All stolen vehicles had their keys left in the vehicle, and all the vehicles that were broken into and had property stolen were unlocked, said police. "As a reminder, please do not leave your keys in your cars and do not leave your cars unlocked," police said.

Assisting New Britain Township in its investigation were the Central Bucks Regional Police Department, the Doylestown Township Police Department, the Plumstead Township Police Department and the Warrington Township Police Department & K9 Jolie.