Morris Township police arrested a man accused of stealing tires from a local Jeep dealership.
Police received an alert from a security company about a possible theft at the Beyer Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram located at 200 Ridgedale Avenue in Morristown, New Jersey.
According to authorities, store surveillance cameras showed the suspect jacking up and then removing tires from multiple vehicles in the dealership parking lot.
When police officers got to the scene, they saw two Jeeps which were missing spare tires. Additionally, a third Jeep was missing the lug nuts from its tires.
Police officers from Morris Township, Morristown, and Hanover searched the area and eventually located the suspect by following his footprints in the snow. When police found the suspect, he was reportedly hiding behind a business located on East Hanover Avenue.
The 38-year-old suspect, who lives in Newark NJ, has been charged with a number of criminal offenses. Among the most serious charges faced by the suspect are theft of movable property, burglary, criminal mischief, and defiant trespassing.
Additionally, the suspect has been charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of justice because he allegedly tried to flee the scene when he saw police officers closing in.
If the suspect is convicted on the burglary or criminal mischief charges, he could face serious penalties. That’s because N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2 ordinarily classifies burglary as a third degree criminal offense. A conviction on third degree burglary charges can result in a sentence of 3–5 years in NJ State Prison.
For additional information about this case, check out the NJ.com article entitled “Newark Man Tried to Steal Tires from Morris Township Car Dealership, Police Say.”
