Wayne Police officials said on Saturday, August 27th, at approximately 1:10 p.m., Wayne Police Officers were alerted that two vehicles were involved in a vehicle theft in Montville.
According to Wayne Police, the suspect vehicles were reportedly headed East on Route 46 and the males involved were described as wearing ski masks.
At 1:30 PM, officials said Wayne Police received a call that males wearing ski masks approached an occupied vehicle at the Starbucks in the Willowbrook mall area but abandoned their attempt and fled.
The female in the target vehicle described the suspects as two males who wore ski masks and provided the description and license plate of their getaway vehicle.
Police said that the vehicle matched the vehicle's description in the Montville incident and the license plate check revealed the car had been stolen from Jersey City.
Twenty minutes later, police said Fairfield Police alerted Wayne Police that the suspect vehicle circled back through their town and they had given chase but terminated their pursuit in the area of Passaic Avenue and Route 46 East.
Wayne Police Officer Spencer Schoonmaker positioned himself alongside Route 46 East and observed the suspect vehicle speeding past him one minute after the alert from Fairfield.
According to Wayne officials, Officer Schoonmaker attempted to catch up to the suspect vehicle, which soon caught up in traffic in Little Falls.
At that point, the suspect vehicle driver intentionally rammed Officer Schoonmaker’s vehicle and collided with multiple civilian cars in the process.
Police said five occupants of the suspect vehicle bailed out of the car and ran through traffic on Route 46.
Officer Schoonmaker apprehended one of the suspects after a brief foot chase. That suspect later proved to be a juvenile male.
Officers from multiple area agencies, including Little Falls, Montclair State University, Clifton, Fairfield, Woodland Park, Passaic County Sheriff’s Office and the New Jersey State Police, converged on the area to search for the other suspects.
Little Falls and Woodland Park Police apprehended two additional suspects, one of which was a juvenile male. The other two suspects could not be located.
According to Wayne Police, Mr. Ismael F. Gonzalez, 20, of Newark, was taken into custody and charged.
Police said Mr. Gonzalez was charged with the following offenses on a warrant and placed in Passaic County Jail:
- 2C:20-17A Employing a Juvenile for MV Theft, a crime of the second degree (2 counts)
- 2C:12-1B(1) Aggravated Assault, a crime of the second degree (8 counts)
- 2C:29-2B Eluding, a crime of the second degree
- 2C:39-4D Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purpose, a crime of the third degree
- 2C:39-5D Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, a crime of the fourth degree
- 2C:20-10B Joyriding, a crime of the fourth degree
- 2C:20-7A Receiving Stolen Property, a crime of the third degree
- 2C:29-2A(3)(A) Resisting by Flight, a crime of the fourth degree
- 2C:5-2A(1) Conspiracy, a crime of the third degree (5 counts)
Wayne Police sought detention for the juveniles but were denied by the juvenile screening unit intake officer. The juveniles were released to their respective guardians.