DRIVEWAY CARJACKING CREW TAKEN DOWN AFTER TERRORIZING N.J. NEIGHBORHOODS.
THE ATTACKS: FAST, AGGRESSIVE, AND TERRIFYINGLY PRECISE
Residents in several suburbs described nearly identical encounters. Victims arrived home, headlights cutting through the dusk. As they pulled into the driveway, another vehicle — often a stolen SUV — rolled up behind them, blocking any escape.
Masked suspects would jump out, weapons drawn, and order the drivers to hand over their keys. Some victims were forced out of their cars with children still in the back seat. Others were targeted while speaking on the phone or unloading groceries.
Police say the attackers worked with military-style efficiency:
- One suspect handled the victim.
- Another grabbed the vehicle.
- A third waited behind the wheel of a getaway car.
All of it took 20 to 40 seconds. Then they were gone.
“It felt like a coordinated takedown,” one shaken resident told GSG. “You don’t expect armed men running into your driveway like they’ve rehearsed it.”
THE INVESTIGATION THAT BROKE THE CREW
When the first cases hit police logs, detectives suspected a pattern. When the fourth and fifth incidents landed, the pattern turned into a statewide case file.
A joint task force — including local police, county detectives, and an auto-theft strike team — pulled surveillance footage from doorbell cameras, neighborhood security systems, and traffic-monitoring sensors. They noticed the same stolen vehicles appearing repeatedly, some of them linked to earlier crimes in North Jersey.
The break came when a recently carjacked SUV was recovered behind an abandoned building. Inside, investigators found:
- Partial fingerprints
- DNA material
- A distinctive glove left behind
- And, the jackpot — a cellphone that one suspect had apparently dropped while climbing into another vehicle
That mistake triggered a wave of overnight warrants.
Investigators tracked the crew to a rented house and two stash locations where stolen vehicles were being prepared for resale or long-distance transport. Officers moved in before the suspects could hit another home.
Police described the arrests as “coordinated, high-priority, and absolutely necessary.”
NEIGHBORHOODS LIVED IN FEAR
For weeks, residents felt trapped in their own routines. Families asked relatives to meet them at the end of the street so they wouldn’t arrive alone. Some circled their blocks before pulling into the driveway. Others left porch lights on all night, unable to shake the fear of headlights creeping up behind them.
Parents were especially rattled. Several victims said their children witnessed the carjackings from inside the home, watching masked men point weapons at their parents.
“That’s the part that breaks you,” one father told GSG. “Your kids see you being threatened at your own front door.”
The psychological damage may outlast the stolen cars.
A LONG LIST OF CHARGES — AND MORE COMING
The suspects are now facing:
- First-degree carjacking
- Armed robbery
- Possession of weapons for unlawful purposes
- Conspiracy to commit theft
- Receiving stolen property
- Resisting arrest
Authorities say additional charges are likely as they connect the crew to other theft rings and potentially out-of-state operations.
Officials believe the group was part of a larger pipeline that funnels stolen New Jersey vehicles to buyers outside the country, where luxury SUVs and high-end sedans fetch huge profits.
THE ARRESTS END A NIGHTMARE — BUT NOT THE THREAT
While this crew is now behind bars, law enforcement leaders warn that driveway carjackings are one of the fastest-growing crimes in the state. The arrest is a victory — a loud one — but it’s also a reminder that car-theft crime rings are expanding, evolving, and getting bolder.
New Jersey may breathe easier tonight, but police say the battle is far from over.
For now, though, the crew that stalked driveways is done — and the Garden State can finally pull into its homes without looking over its shoulder.