Police in Montclair are investigating two separate carjackings that happened in the township.
According to police, on December 1, the first victim reported that her 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee was running in the driveway of a Stonebridge Road residence at 6:45 a.m.
Police said that she reported that she was standing nearby when she observed a thin black male wearing all black run-up to her car and enter it.
According to police, it appears as though the male exited a newer model white Mercedes SUV. The victim reported running up to her car and entering the front passenger seat to confront the suspect.
The suspect continuously put the car in drive and reverse while the two struggled to regain control of the vehicle.
Police said that the suspect then pushed the victim out of the car, causing an injury to her nose. The suspect then fled the scene in the Jeep south on Stonebridge Road.
The vehicle was recovered on December 2, parked and unoccupied on Duane Street in Orange.
The victim refused any medical treatment. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Steven Mateo at (973) 509-4721.
Then on December 6, at 7:26 p.m., patrol units were dispatched to a Melrose Place residence on a report of an armed carjacking.
Police said that the second victim reported that she returned home and was exiting her 2021 Porsche Cayenne when two unknown males approached her.
According to police, one of the males was armed with a handgun and demanded she get out of the car and give him her purse, phone, and keys. The victim complied.
Police said that one of the males fled down her driveway with her purse while the other male fled in her vehicle.
A description of the vehicle was broadcast to all units and surrounding police agencies. Minutes later, the Essex County Sheriff’s Department located the vehicle traveling east on Route 280 in East Orange.
Police said that the vehicle got caught in heavy traffic in the area of First Street in Newark, where the suspect bailed out of the Porsche and fled on foot. Sheriff Officers gave chase and apprehended a 23-year-old male from Newark who was ultimately charged.
This incident is still under investigation. Anyone with information can contact Detective Jamar Jones at (973) 509-4705.