On July 16, 2021, at about 9:58 pm, Newark Police were dispatched to South Main Street and Amstel Avenue for a report of a vehicle theft that had just occurred. The driver reported that he stopped his vehicle on Amstel Avenue near South Main Street. The driver exited his vehicle, leaving it running and went to purchase food at a nearby restaurant. The driver’s friend was seated in the rear passenger seat of the vehicle.
A suspect entered the vehicle on the passenger side, apparently not realizing that there was a person in the rear of the vehicle. At that time, multiple other suspects entered the vehicle and the passenger attempted to stop them from taking the vehicle by pushing them away. The passenger exited the vehicle and some of the suspects ran from the vehicle. The suspects drove off in the vehicle and were last seen eastbound on Amstel Avenue, police said.
An investigation by Newark Police determined that the suspects arrived in a vehicle that had been reported stolen an hour earlier in Wilmington. The suspects in this incident fled in both this newly stolen vehicle and the vehicle stolen from Wilmington. The vehicle stolen from Wilmington was recovered, abandoned, at the intersection of South College Avenue and Amstel Avenue a short time later.
The vehicle stolen in this incident was recovered on Sunday, July 18 on Route 40 east of Newark.
No weapons or injuries were involved in this incident.
The suspects in this incident are described as five black males in their teens. Some were wearing ski masks and face coverings. The surveillance image below captured some of the suspects in this incident.