South Brunswick Police and Franklin Police have arrested three suspects in conjunction with a series of crimes early Friday morning.
Police said a resident on Hastings Road called South Brunswick Police at 1:40 a.m. Aug. 29 to report that a group of young men had approached him as he went out to his vehicle.
According to police, the young men asked the resident for money because their vehicle had run out of gas. The resident was suspicious and began to question the men about their vehicle at which time the group began to run.
South Brunswick Sgt. John Penney was responding to the call when he found an unoccupied Mercury Mountaineer parked on the Franklin side of Route 27.
As the officers investigated the vehicle, police said, they learned it came back registered to a Woodbridge resident.
The car owner was contacted and realized the vehicle had been stolen from a garage she stores it at in Perth Amboy, police said.
South Brunswick Patrolman Ben Salihi soon spotted a male walking in a neighborhood on the Franklin side of Route 27, police said.
The male, identified as Ronald Welsh, 18, of Perth Amboy, began to run when he observed the officer.
Police said Patrolman Salihi gave chase through several backyards over a three-block area before eventually capturing Mr. Welsh.
Meanwhile, Patrolman Don Whicker observed a 15-year-old Perth Amboy juvenile walking on Route 27 and Patrolman Jason Gassman located a 14-year-old Perth Amboy juvenile hiding behind a tree in a Franklin neighborhood.
Police arrested all three suspects.
According to police, officers then discovered several vehicles had been burglarized on Hastings Road and Allston Road in South Brunswick.
The suspects have been charged in connection to the stolen vehicle and burglary to several other motor vehicles.
They were all given court appearance dates and released, police said.
Chief of Police Raymond Hayducka credited the citizen’s phone call, officers’ quick response, and a team effort with capturing the suspects.
"That initial phone call from an alert resident combined with a rapid response to the area by officers limited where the suspects could go," said Chief Hayducka. "The coordination with Franklin officers was key to identifying all the suspects and victims."
According to police, there have been 37 cases of cars being burglarized in the overnight hours in South Brunswick during the past two months.
Detectives are investigating if the suspects are connected to any of the other car burglaries including the most recent cases on Oaktree Road last week.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Eric Tighelaar at (732) 329-4000, extension 7486.

