On Thursday afternoon, at about 2:00 P.M., off-duty Brick Township Police Officer Kevin Ryan was leaving the LA Fitness gym in Brick Plaza after working out when he heard a vehicle alarm sounding in the parking lot. The alarm was coming from a tan Chevy pickup truck. Officer Ryan also noticed a greenish grey minivan parked next to the tan pickup. The minivan matched the description of the vehicle that car burglars have been using while traveling all over the state for the past several weeks, victimizing gym-goers and other shoppers in plazas. Officer Ryan immediately called it in to headquarters. Officer John Canterelli was the closest patrol unit and arrived within minutes. When the suspects saw the marked police car pull into the parking lot they immediately fled in a wild manner with extreme disregard for the pedestrian traffic in the shopping plaza.
Officer Canterelli pursued the fleeing vehicle with lights and sirens but the driver continued driving dangerously through the residential neighborhood directly across from Brick Plaza, along Aurora Place and Bryn Mawr Drive.
Out of concern for the safety of the general public, police terminated the pursuit. By then several police units were in the area and those officers continued to monitor the erratic driving of the fleeing suspects from a distance. By the time the suspects had left the residential neighborhood, they turned from North Lake Shore Drive onto Brick Blvd. south, driving against traffic, going north on the southbound side of Brick Blvd. The suspects continued fleeing dangerously through town, at one time driving against the flow of traffic, going east on the westbound side of Rt. 70. Several motorists were run off the road to avoid colliding with the racing vehicle. Officers continued to monitor from a safe distance and call out the suspectsโ location and direction of travel. At the intersection of Burnt Tavern Rd. and Maple Ave., the suspect ran the light and crashed into a black Audi with two occupants. The crash overturned the black Audi and disabled the suspectsโ minivan. The suspects then jumped out of the minivan and began to run. The driver, identified as Andrew Williams (42 years old from Brooklyn, NY), ran to a vehicle that had stopped near the intersection because of the crash and tried to pull the driver out of the vehicle. She was seat-belted in and he could not extract her. Arriving officers ran towards Williams, at which time William fled on foot and tried to enter an unmarked police car to steal that, but Lt. Terrence Covert and Lt. Jay Matthews pulled him out and placed him in handcuffs.
The passenger, Louis Candelario (49 years old from Brooklyn, NY) fled north on Burnt Tavern Road on foot. Officer John Boronkas caught Williams up the road and placed him under arrest.
Williams was charged with Carjacking, Burglary, Theft, Criminal Mischief, Aggravated Assault, Attempt to Elude in a Motor Vehicle, Obstructing Justice, Resisting Arrest, and dozens of motor vehicle violations. Candelario was charged with Burglary, Theft, Criminal Mischief and Obstructing Justice. Both suspects were lodged in Ocean County Jail.
The victims of Thursdayโs carnage are safe and Detectives continue to investigate the events as they unfolded. More charges are possible upon the completion of the Traffic Safety Unitโs investigation into the crash at Maple Ave. and Burnt Tavern.
Williams and Candelario are suspects in multiple vehicle burglaries and thefts throughout the state of New Jersey.
