EDISON – A 25-year-old Jersey City man faces drug charges along with eluding after he allegedly led police on a chase in a stolen car, according to police.
The man was charged with receiving stolen property, eluding police, reckless driving and possession of a controlled dangerous substance and drug paraphernalia, Police Lt. Robert Dudash said.
Police Officer Jason Chang was on patrol during the afternoon of June 13 when an Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) in his cruiser scanned the plates on a red 2006 Infinity G35 and identified the sedan as being reported stolen to NJ Transit Police on May 27, Dudash said.
When Chang attempted to stop the car at Talmadge and New Durham roads, the driver allegedly sped away leading the officer on a 1.5 mile chase into neighboring South Plainfield, police said.
The fleeing car jumped a curb on Shadyside Place and sideswiped a tree, causing one of its tires to go flat. The car, when it returned to the roadway, made it onto Regency Place where it again jumped the curb and ended up on the front lawn of a home, police said.
The man, who was apparently hit in the face by the driver’s side airbag, crawled out of the damaged car and surrendered. Inside the car, officers found 37 wax folds of heroin, a crack pipe and two driver’s licenses – from New Jersey and Wisconsin – with alternate identities for the man, Dudash said.
The man was processed and transported to Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick.