From the South Orange Police Blotter:
Carjacking Arrest
On April 1, 2022 at 10:15am a Turrell Avenue resident arrived at her residence and pulled down her driveway. She noticed a white Audi following her down her driveway and park right next her vehicle. A male exited the Audi and demanded her keys to her car. The victim hesitated and then the suspect placed his hand in his pocket and threaten to shoot her if she did not comply. The victim then tossed her keys on the ground, the suspect took them, entered the victim’s Buick and fled the scene. Victim immediately notified South Orange Police and reported the incident.
When officers arrived they checked the registration of the Audi left behind by the suspect and that was a stolen car out of East Orange. Detectives began an investigation and were able to track the victim’s Buick utilizing On-Star service and the stolen Buick was located in Flanders, NJ. Detectives notified Mt. Olive Police and they responded to the area where the Buick was and located it at a Walgreens parking lot unoccupied. Shortly thereafter, another carjacking was reported in that Walgreens parking lot, a bank down the road from the Walgreens parking lot was robbed and then Roxbury and Randolph police pursued the second carjacked vehicle where it crashed on Route 10 in Randolph.
The suspect, Howard Parks, a 53 year old East Orange resident, was arrested and transported to Randolph PD. Parks was interviewed by detectives from Randolph and Morris County Prosecutors Office where he confessed to the crime spree. Parks was charged in South Orange for Carjacking, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purpose and Receiving Stolen Property (stolen Audi). Parks is also facing numerous charges in Morris County.
