Two men who allegedly fled Millburn in a stolen car this morning were arrested after a chase in morning traffic along South Orange Avenue in the South Mountain Reservation, according to South Orange Police Chief Jim Chelel.
A witness who was at South Orange Avenue and Pleasant Valley Way in the South Mountain Reservation shortly before 8:30 a.m. said the two men were in a “brand new” BMW SUV and started swerving around other cars to get away from police pursuing them. The men were involved in an accident which dislodged a wheel. They then left the car in the middle of South Orange Avenue, jumped out and started running into the South Mountain Reservation with officers on foot in pursuit.
Chelel explained that the two men were driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen from West Orange on December 28. Chelel said the vehicle had license plates stolen from a car in East Orange on December 30.
Chelel said that the stolen vehicle was involved in an incident on Jan. 5 in South Orange in which a snowblower was stolen from a garage. He said Millburn police had also identified the vehicle driving in Millburn yesterday but the occupants were able to elude police at that time.
This evening, the Millburn Police Department released this statement:
On January 22, 2015, Millburn Police received information from Livingston Police regarding an attempted auto theft in their jurisdiction near the Millburn border. The actors were reportedly driving a 2013 BMW with a temporary license plate. Millburn Police Officer Jamal Poyner observed a vehicle fitting the description on Parsonage Hill Road. As Officer Poyner turned to get behind the car, he lost sight of it. Other Millburn and Livingston units then observed the vehicle traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of South Orange Avenue at Old Short Hills Road.
The suspect vehicle was involved in a motor vehicle accident at South orange Avenue and Brookside Drive. The vehicle became disabled and both occupants fled on foot but were taken into custody moments later by officers of the Millburn Police Department and Essex County Sheriff’s Department.
Umar Yasin age 25 of East Orange and Troy Turner age 33 of Newark were arrested and charged with receiving stolen property. The BMW was reported stolen from South Orange. Both when were additionally charged with possession of a handgun which was recovered from the vehicle.
Bail was set at $100,000 on Millburn charges. Additional charges are pending against both men in Livingston and South Orange.
