Four charged in luxury car theft ring
- Aug 9, 2017
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State Police have busted a high-end car theft ring, the members of which stole a luxury vehicle in Long Hill Township and at least thirteen more across the state.
Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced four dudes were indicted on Thursday, July 27, on charges they conspired to steal numerous luxury cars in northern and central Fresh Jersey which they attempted to blast on cargo ships or fence in other states in some instances. They were charged in an investigation by the Fresh Jersey State Police Auto Theft Task Force and Division of Criminal Justice.
The Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau obtained a state grand jury indictment on July twenty seven charging each of the following boys with second-degree counts of conspiracy, financial facilitation of criminal activity, fencing, receiving stolen property, and theft by unlawful taking: • Kelvin Vega, 25, of Newark.
• Jonathan Vega, 24, of Newark, Kelvin’s brother.
• Carlos Sanchez Jr., Eighteen, of Newark.
• Bilal Cureton, 27, of Newark.
All four also are charged with third-degree burglary, and Cureton is charged with third-degree attempted theft by unlawful taking.
The defendants allegedly stole numerous high-end vehicles, including various models of Mercedes, BMW and Bentley. The investigation exposed they allegedly used certain catches sight of to “cool off” vehicles, parking them at a hotel in Elizabeth, for example, until they were sure they were not tooled with tracking devices that would lead law enforcement to them.
After a vehicle was reasonably “cooled,” it was moved to a loading location, usually in Irvington, to be shipped, or was fenced domestically.
Several of the vehicles allegedly stolen by the defendants were recovered from shipping containers before being placed on cargo vessels. The defendants were allegedly directly linked to thefts of at least fourteen vehicles with a combined estimated value of more than $800,000.
Vehicles were stolen in Fresh Jersey from Morristown, Long Hill, Jamesburg, Holmdel, Livingston, Closter, Princeton and Mahwah. One stolen Mercedes S550 was traced to Louisiana, where Kelvin Vega allegedly was found in possession of that car and a 2nd stolen Mercedes S550. Other stolen cars were recovered in Maryland and Ohio.
It was not instantly clear if the vehicle stolen in Long Hill was returned to its holder.
“These fellows allegedly scoured wealthy residential areas for the luxury cars they prized, typically stealing them right from their owners’ driveways,” said Attorney General Porrino. “This was big business for these defendants, but our Auto Theft Task Force has taken down their alleged conspiracy.”
“Over the past several years, we’ve arrested scores of car thieves, including violent carjackers, through joint investigations with the Fresh Jersey State Police and our other law enforcement playmates,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “By putting these criminals behind bars and violating up their fencing operations, we’ve made our residents safer and protected valuable property.”
“These callous defendants targeted suburban residents and luxury car owners for their own financial build up,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the Fresh Jersey State Police. “
Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the State Police Interstate Theft Unit, the Division of Criminal Justice and their task force fucking partners, we were able to put an end to this real-life ‘Grand Theft Auto’ scheme.”