HOLMDEL — The pursuit of a stolen car early Friday morning ended with a crash.

The incident comes as police have begun taking advantage of a change in policy governing police chases.

With the increase in stolen cars, Acting Attorney General Matt Platkin announced on April 29 changes to his office’s vehicular pursuit policy that will allow pursuits at least through the end of 2022 based on the commission of several additional crimes, including car theft and receiving a stolen vehicle.

In the two weeks since the announcement, there has been an uptick in pursuits including brief pursuits in Jackson and Manalapan on Sunday.

A BMW 3-Series sedan reported stolen in Lawrenceville was spotted by a Tinton Falls police officer on the Garden State Parkway on Friday morning, according to Holmdel police. A brief northbound pursuit was terminated by the officers due to excessive speed.

The BMW exited the Parkway and was spotted by Holmdel police officers on Crawsfords Corner Road. Another pursuit ended with a crash at the intersection of County Route 520 and Everett Road. Two of the four individuals inside were found in Thompson Park in the Lincroft section of Middletown. The other two are still on the loose.

Kyree D. Lane Jr, 18, of Irvington, and Dupree Turner, 18, of East Orange, were charged with receiving stolen property, resisting arrest and obstruction of law. One of the men charged was injured during the foot chase.

They are being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institute for a bail hearing.

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden (Dino Flammia, Townsquare Media NJ)
Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden (Dino Flammia, Townsquare Media NJ)
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Complaints from law enforcement

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden is pleased that Platkin has loosened the pursuit restrictions but still believes that tougher penalties are the key to decreasing car thefts.

"It helps the officer in the sense that the officers and the supervisor can make the decision to pursue or not to pursue. My fear is that we're pursuing individuals that have been involved in the stolen car theft ring for some time and that they are reoffenders and they should not be out on the street," Golden told New Jersey 101.5.

The sheriff said car theft is classified as a nonviolent crime. Under bail reform, offenders are released in 24-48 hours even for a second offense. In the case of juveniles, they're held for even less time.

"In the juvenile's case, we're just doing repeat-and-revolving door station house adjustments. They will continue to be used as mules for these car rings around the state. That's impacting public safety because we have repeat offenders on the street involved in these car chases that should not be there," Golden said.

Other circumstances that will allow pursuits are unlawful weapon possession, possession of a gun or explosive device for an unlawful purpose, burglary of a home and bias intimidation.

Previous reporting by Michael Symons was used in this report

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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