Suspicious Vehicles Chased From Westfield To Garden State Parkway

WESTFIELD, NJ — As Union County towns continue to grapple with car thefts, Westfield residents have been reporting suspicious people and vehicles prowling the area, as well as people tugging on car doors and burglarizing unlocked vehicles.

Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle noted in her most recent update on Friday that no cars have been stolen in Westfield since May 7. However, on Friday morning, there were two more incidents of people apparently trying to break into cars, she noted. In one case, two suspicious vehicles fled toward the Garden State Parkway after police vehicles arrived to investigate them.

[OTHER CRIME REPORTS: Man With Gun, 8 Rounds Of Ammunition Caught At Westfield Traffic Stop Saturday]

Brindle cited these two reports from the police chief:

Suspicious Activity On Friday

• At approximately 5:15 a.m. Friday, a Westfield police officer on his way to work observed two vehicles, a white Audi and a gray sedan, both with Pennsylvania registrations, traveling on Faulkner Drive between Rahway Avenue and Summit Avenue in close proximity to one another. The off-duty officer observed the occupants of these vehicles pulling on door handles of parked vehicles. He then summoned the assistance of marked police patrol units. When police cars arrived, the white Audi and gray sedan fled at an extremely high rate of speed north on Boulevard to Clifton Street, and then south on Central Avenue to the Garden State Parkway.
• Chief Battiloro said that later, around 7:46 a.m., a resident of Wychview Drive and his wife observed a passenger exit a white BMW sedan and enter an unlocked 2019 Audi, which was parked in the roadway at the end of the street. The suspect re-entered their white BMW sedan and proceeded towards E. Broad Street, at which point the driver exited the white BMW sedan and attempted to enter a 2018 Jeep Wrangler and a 2019 Mercedes Benz GLC, both of which were parked in the driveway of another residence on Wychview Drive. Both of these vehicles were locked and no entry was gained to either one of them. The white BMW sedan then fled the area via E. Broad Street towards Springfield Avenue.

Brindle said, "At this time, it appears at least one parked vehicle in the area, an unlocked 2017 Porsche Macan parked in the driveway of a residence located on the 300 block of Belmar Place, was entered and $40 was reported stolen."

Brindle noted, "As Chief Battiloro continues to report, unlocked high-end vehicles are being targeted for burglary and theft. Suspects will usually exit accompanying vehicles, approach the target vehicles on foot, and then pull on the door their handles. If the vehicles are unlocked, suspects will enter and attempt to start and steal them. This activity has been recently occurring in Westfield during the early morning, post-dawn hours."

The police department has made several high-profile arrests in connection with car thefts in the last 12 months. READ MORE: 3 Police Injured As Westfield Teen Is Charged In Car Thefts

There have been 11 reported vehicles stolen to date in 2021, all of which have been recovered, Brindle said.

She said the New Jersey State Police Motor Vehicle Crimes North Unit announced the indictment last week of five persons on charges operated a Newark-based ring to fence stolen luxury vehicles. Westfield Police Department officers participated in the investigation.

Earlier Report

There was one earlier report of an attempted car theft in Westfield's recent police releases:

On June 14, a resident told police at 8:29 p.m. that she saw a dark gray sedan "with a chrome accent band around it and out of state plates" lingering next to her husband's vehicle, which was parked on Highland Avenue. She said that an unknown person got out and tried to get in. But the person failed.

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