Police in Boonton and surrounding towns found themselves wrangling a convoy of hundreds of cars early Sunday morning that descended on the parking lot at the Boonton Plaza Shopping Center, some “recklessly” speeding in what appears to be a nationwide trend of “street takeovers.”
Before it was over on a frigid night that saw temperatures drop into the single digits, one of many vehicles — a Dodge Charger showing suspected stolen license plates — fled the scene before being stopped on Route 287 by a tire-deflation device deployed by police.
The Boonton Walmart in the Boonton Plaza Shopping Center.
Capt. Christopher Petonak, the officer in charge of the Boonton Police Department, said the incident did not include violence, gun-waving and other alarming aspects witnessed in other “street takeovers” reported around the nation. He said his officers were successful in breaking up the gathering with minimal resistance from the drivers.
“This group was mild, with the exceptions of those riding without license plates, stolen tags attempting to hide their identity,” Petonak said. “Some vehicles had no registration tags displayed.”
The incident unfolded just after 1 a.m. when Boonton Police learned of “an influx of traffic” exiting off Route 287 that “converged and assembled” at Boonton Plaza, anchored by Walmart. Petonak said he believed the group “sought to race on the interstates after they organized.”
“Apparently there is a racing group that goes through different states and causes a lot of traffic disruptions, almost like a pop-up party” organized through social media, Petnonak said.
Advance “intel” obtained by police about the Boonton event allowed the responding officers — with assistance from Boonton Township and Mountain Lakes police — “to prevent their access and disrupt their goal,” Petonak said. The intel indicated the group headed into town was from out of state.
“Our agency traveled through the parking lot and many vehicles filed out of the parking lot orderly, others not so much, Petonak said. “Some vehicles passed the orderly group and recklessly increased their speeds in an attempt to provoke the police officers to give chase.”
Using automated license plate readers, they identified some cars with outstanding warrants, registration issues or other violations, and conducted motor-vehicle stops as the others were directed out of the area. The ALPR technology identified one vehicle, a red Dodge Charger, with Virginia license plates stolen from a 2016 Honda.,
When that car fled the scene, police deployed a tire-deflation spike strip that eventually forced the Dodge to stop on southbound Route 287 in Parsippany. Three occupants of the car remained at the scene and were arrested while the driver and another passenger fled on foot. That passenger suspect, identified as a 21-year-old from Laurel, Maryland, was apprehended after a foot chase with two officers and was cited for obstruction and resisting arrest.
The driver, who fled to the area around the nearby Jersey City Reservoir, remains at large. The highway scene was cleared by 2:25 a.m.
“Simultaneous” car chases involving police from all three towns took place during the response,” Petonak said.
Other than the tire deflation, no vehicle or property damage, or injuries, were reported.
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Boonton NJ area police stop street takeover Sunday