Stafford Twp, NJ Police Spot Stolen Car, Pursue Thieves on GSP

Stafford Township Police posted a recap on Facebook of the action-packed sequence of spotting and chasing the occupants of a stolen vehicle early Saturday morning.

Police first became aware of a BMW that was stolen from New York City when the vehicle passed a police license plate reader on Rt. 72 in Manahawkin at about 1:23 am Saturday.

LPR cameras are a specialized type of video surveillance camera designed to capture numbers and letters of license plates on still or moving vehicles.

The Police LPR tracked the car onto the Rt. 72 Causeway Bridge into Long Beach Island. Police began to pursue the stolen vehicle, a  2021 black BMW SUV as it traveled at a high rate of speed, now westbound on Rt. 72, according to the report.

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The stolen vehicle raced down Rt. 72 and got on the Garden State Parkway northbound with police in pursuit. Stafford Twp. Police say they used a tire deflation device on the highway to stop the vehicle, successfully puncturing the front two tires of the BMW SUV.

That wasn't enough to stop the vehicle immediately, however, as it continued up the Parkway, briefly exiting at exit 67 for Barnegat Township and then re-entering the GSP northbound.

By the time the BMW reached exit 69 of the GSP, the vehicle pulled over and three people got out and ran.

Stafford Twp Police, now aided by State Police and support units from Toms River, South Toms River, and Beachwood Police, were able to catch two of the three people fleeing from BMW.

Police took Joseph Young-Stewart, 25, and Tamir Pitts, 18, both of Newark, into custody and charged them with stealing the vehicle and a host of other charges. The two men were taken to the Ocean County Jail.

The third suspect, whose identity is unknown, is still on the loose.