NJ car thieves get prison for massive, $1M auto theft ring

🚘 Cars stolen in 6 NJ counties
🚙 Stolen vehicles worth $1M
🚨 3 NJ men, 2 teens sentenced

Three young men and two juveniles have all been sentenced after admitting to a massive auto theft ring that involved nearly $1 million in stolen high-end vehicles.

On May 9, 19-year-old Tikeem Shearin, 20-year-old Carlos Espinal, and 21-year-old Sincere Sims were each sentenced to five years in state prison.

The young men, all Newark residents, had each pleaded guilty in Superior Court in Union County to second-degree leader of an auto theft trafficking ring.

Around the same time, two juvenile co-defendants were both sentenced in Union County Family Court to three years in Jamesburg Juvenile Detention Center for their roles in the same operation.

All five individuals were arrested last fall by a task force of municipal and county law enforcement members.

A 15-year-old New Jersey boy is in trouble in two states after police say he stole an elderly New York woman’s car and then led police on a chase near the George Washington Bridge.

Read More: Mahwah teen accused of NY carjacking and NJ police chase

A four-month investigation that ended in September revealed the juveniles, aged 16 and 17, would drive stolen Kia, Honda and Hyundai cars to look for high-end luxury vehicles, including BMWs, Mercedes, Range Rovers and Audis.

Investigators confirmed nearly $1 million in stolen vehicles from 16 towns spanning six counties — including Union, Roselle, Garwood, Kenilworth, Cranford, Hoboken, Jersey City, Maplewood, Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Montville, Fair Lawn, Woodbridge, Irvington, Montclair, and Newark.

The teens would enter homes where the targeted cars were parked and search for keys or key fobs.

Shearin, Espinal and Sims would then direct the teens to potential buyers for the stolen vehicles.

“This operation was a testament to the exceptional collaboration between law enforcement agencies spanning six counties,” Union County Prosecutor William Daniel said on Thursday.

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