Deal police say video shows attempted car theft in driveway

DEAL — Borough police again have urged residents to lock up their cars and bring key fobs inside, by sharing a home security video showing how fast an attempted vehicle theft can happen.

The edited surveillance video posted on the department Facebook page appeared to show a person getting out of a sedan, idling in the street, and running up to a car parked in a driveway Saturday afternoon. The individual appears to pull at the door handle, quickly realizes the car is locked and gets back into the passenger's side of the car in the street which takes off as the video ends.

Police said the same sedan seen idling in the video was involved in several attempted burglaries that same afternoon. A patrol officer was in the area and briefly pursued the car before the chase was ended by supervisors "for safety reasons."

"This gives you an idea of how fast this occurs and how easy it would have been to steal the car had it been unlocked with the keys inside," police wrote in the post.

"These criminals will not stop for law enforcement and will drive at extremely high rates of speed to flee the area. By simply doing your part and LOCKING your cars you can remove the incentive for them to come to our community."

Deal police posted a warning April 25 about not leaving key fobs inside parked vehicles after several attempts in the borough and "several surrounding jurisdictions."

Monmouth County continues to grapple with luxury cars being stolen from driveways, as two Mercedes were stolen from two different residences on Richards Way in Holmdel April 29, according to Holmdel police. Both cars were unlocked with key fobs inside, police said.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni told the Asbury Park Press in March that Monmouth County was among five New Jersey counties that accounted for 75% of high end car thefts between 2016 and 2019. The same report said Gramiccioni said in at least 60% of those thefts, key fobs were left inside the vehicles.

In 2018, out of 59 cars stolen in Monmouth County, Gramiccioni said in a Facebook post at that time that 47 had been left unlocked with key fobs inside.

FACEBOOK VIDEO EMBEDDED BELOW THIS LINE

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ