1 hour ago
A manhunt is underway in New Jersey after an early-morning home burglary turned into a police chase.
Dramatic video shows Fairfield officers trying to stop the suspects after they broke into a home and stole an SUV from the driveway.
Police say they were first tipped off by a separate stolen vehicle the group was using and now believe the suspects may be connected to other crimes across the state.
"He saw the vehicle that was described in the license plate reader hit, right on scene. And, you know, tried to make a stop on it, but it evaded him. It drove over a curb and drove away. And as that was happening, there was two other people at the scene who jumped into the vehicle that they were stealing from the home, and they also took off," Fairfield Police Officer Stacy Chiarolanza said.
The white BMW X7 had been stolen days earlier out of Clifton, where the driver had left it unlocked with the key fob inside.
The thieves drove it to Fairfield, targeting a home with two BMWs parked in the driveway and snatched another one, police said.
"So the police car came up and started honking his horn to alert the other people that something was going on. And, that vehicle drove straight at my officer and then jumped the curb as he tried to block the road to stop him from driving out," Chiarolanza said.
Car theft gangs often target high-end cars that are parked at homes close enough to a highway so they can speed out of town quickly.
Police say the people at the home had unfortunately left a back sliding door unlocked, with the key fobs to the car, easy spot.
This was the first break-in of this kind in Fairfield in quite some time.
Police once again are reminding people to lock doors and to invest in a few things that thieves can't stand to come up against.
"Any kind of lighting is always great. Let me tell you, what's really great is a big dog. Big dogs. They do not like big dogs. And we know big dogs are not scared of anything. Even little dogs. Even the little ankle biters, honestly. Cameras are huge, and they're so cheap nowadays to buy a couple, stick up cameras with that are battery operated," Chiarolanza said.
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