NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) — Two men have been arrested after a police chase involving a Mercedes stolen from a retired judge came to a crashing end in New Jersey on Friday.
Police say the incident began early Friday morning when the suspects forced their way into two homes in Kearny.
Ken Lindenfelser, a retired judge, was fast asleep in his Kearny home after watching the Devils game when he heard strange noises downstairs around 4:30 a.m.
"I heard my car door open and close and I looked out the window in time to see my car pulling out of the driveway with a second car following behind," Lindenfelser said.
Kearny Police determined the suspects had broken into his house, lifted the car key from his bedroom dresser as he slept, and then drove away. Lindenfelser called police and opened the Mercedes app on his phone.
"They actually refueled I could see on my app the miles went, I was like those guys put gas in my car," Lindenfelser said.
Using the car's GPS, police ultimately tracked the stolen vehicle to the Garden State Parkway, where the suspects took off, leading them on a chase through Newark, where the car flew out of control and hit a fire hydrant and pole.
After a short foot chase, police caught the two men and sent Lindenfelser pictures of his damaged car.
Lindenfelser says he doesn't really mind that his car is likely totaled, but it's the fact that armed strangers were in his bedroom that might keep him up tonight.
"It wasn't bothering me, but the more I think about it, the more it makes me a little uncomfortable," he said.
Authorities later recovered a loaded handgun equipped with a high-capacity magazine at the scene.
"So that leads me to believe that some bad guys got into my house and were in my bedroom feet from me while I was sleeping, with a gun," Lindenfelser said.
Police say the two suspects committed two other burglaries on Friday morning, in one incident, using Lindenfelser's car to get away. Officials also found other people's belongings in the car.
The two suspects are now both in custody with charges pending against them.
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