4 Juveniles Arrested After Crashing In Stolen Vehicle In Orange: PD

ORANGE, CT — Four juveniles were arrested Friday after a string of crimes that started in North Haven, then into Milford and ended after a crash in a stolen vehicle in Orange, according to police.

A pregnant woman’s vehicle was stolen around 9:30 a.m. on Friday while she was pumping gas at BJ’s in North Haven, according to police. Four suspects got into her vehicle, a Volkswagen Atlas, and drove off, police said.

“An unmarked vehicle containing members of a regional task force located the Volkswagen a short time later and followed it into Milford,” Milford police wrote in a news release.

The Volkswagen went to Mobil on the Run, 1354 Boston Post Rd. in Milford, and drove up to a woman pumping gas.

“One suspect exits the Volkswagen and gets into a vehicle with a female and her children,” police wrote. “The female drops her phone, the suspect steals the phone, gets back in the Volkswagen and it leaves the parking lot.”

The Volkswagen then entered the parking lot of Costco, 1718 Boston Post Rd., circled the lot and then parked one row away from a woman who was unloading groceries into her car, according to police.

“One suspect exits the Volkswagen, walks over, and steals the female’s purse from inside her vehicle, gets back in the Volkswagen and it leaves the parking lot,” police wrote. “The Volkswagen then enters the Walmart parking lot where all four occupants exit and enter Walmart. Milford Police were contacted and responded. Walmart was temporarily shut down to incoming customers until the suspects left the store.

“The victim at Costco contacted Milford Police and advised that two of her credit cards were currently, trying to be used at Walmart. Officers were stationed at all exits of the parking lot with stop sticks, but the suspects drove over the curb to get out of the parking lot. The Volkswagen was followed by the unmarked vehicle and no pursuit ensued. Surrounding agencies were notified of the incident.”

The Volkswagen then headed toward Orange and struck a vehicle in the area of Boston Post Road and Woodruff Road, according to police.

Police said the Volkswagen continued into Orange where it struck another vehicle and eventually became disabled. All four suspects jumped out of the vehicle and ran away, according to police.

Three suspects were found behind Colony Hardware at 269 South Lambert Rd. and one suspect was found in the area of Porch and Patio, 363 Boston Post Rd., police said.

“All four suspects arrested were identified as juveniles and are currently in custody,” police wrote. “The Volkswagen was recovered from the BJ’s incident, the cell phone was recovered from the Mobil on the Run incident, and the purse was recovered from the Costco incident. Thanks to New Haven PD, Orange PD, West Haven PD, North Haven PD, Yale PD, and Wallingford PD who all played a part in this successful resolution.”

North Haven police also shared surveillance video of a woman’s purse being stolen while she was pumping gas on Friday afternoon. See it below: