Kids Robbed Cedar Grove Home, Stole Car: Police

CEDAR GROVE, NJ — One teenager was charged and police are looking for another after an apartment was burglarized and a vehicle was stolen early Tuesday morning, police said.

The teenagers escaped from the Green Residential Juvenile Detention Center in Ringwood and stole a vehicle from there prior to what occurred in Cedar Grove, said Chief Joseph Cirasa.

A 13-year-old boy from Camden was charged with conspiracy to commit burglary, theft, car theft, receiving stolen property, and obstruction by flight, said Cirasa.

An investigation showed that two "male subjects" burglarized an occupied first floor apartment while the residents were asleep, Cirasa said.

One of the boys got in the apartment through an open window and stole a resident's purse with the car keys inside, Cirasa said, while the other acted as a lookout.

The boys then stole the resident's car, a 2018 red Volkswagen Atlas. Officer Connor Grawehr was patrolling Route 23 southbound when he saw the vehicle and tried to stop it for a violation at 2:26 a.m., the chief said.

The driver turned onto Harper Terrace and pulled over quickly, Cirasa said. Grawehr exited his car and the vehicle sped away; he then saw the vehicle rolling down Harper Terrace, unoccupied, and crashed into a utility pole, the chief said.

Officer Dominick Buscio arrived to assisted Grawehr and found a 13-year-old boy hiding in backyard on Harper Terrace, Cirasa said.

Detectives are trying to find the second juvenile. The Little Falls and Wayne Police departments are investigating the boys for vehicle burglaries and using stolen credit cards, Cirasa said.

"Fortunately no one was injured during their crime spree," Cirasa said. "Officers Grawehr and Buscio conducted themselves to the highest standards of policing and are a credit to the department."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com