New Jersey: 17-year-old burglarized cars, struck cop in Cranford
New Jersey Law Enforcement
A Roselle teen has been charged after police connected him to a crime earlier this month, where they say he was burglarizing cars and struck an approaching officer with his car. Police said on Jan. 10, a Stoughton Avenue resident called police to report a possible burglary to a car in progress. Responding officers found the suspect in a car on nearby Culin Drive matching the description given by the caller, they said.
Police said that as Officer Dan Donnerstag approached the car on foot, it pulled away, struck him and fled the scene. The car was abandoned a short distance away, police said. They said the officer was not seriously injured in the incident.
The car was impounded and a subsequent search warrant execution found property from multiple car burglaries previously reported in Cranford and nearby towns, police said.
Police said that after a follow-up investigation by Detective Derek Farbanec, the 17-year-old driver was identified and charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, eluding, resisting arrest, unlawful possession of two BB/pellet handguns and receiving stolen property.
The charges will be adjudicated in the Union County Family Court.