POLICE: Car Stolen at Maplewood CVS; 1-Year-Old Child Recovered Unharmed – The Village Green
From Maplewood Police Chief Jim DeVaul:
At approximately 2pm on this date 2/3/22, Patrols were dispatched to 453 Valley St, the CVS store on a report of a stolen vehicle with an infant child inside. The child’s mother was in the store at the time. A description of the stolen vehicle was given out to surrounding agencies. South Orange Police officers observed the vehicle and initiated a pursuit. Maplewood Police officers responded to the area of the pursuit and assisted. The stolen vehicle was abandoned while in motion and the suspect fled the scene on foot. Patrol officers from both towns then initiated a foot pursuit with the suspect into the rear yards off of Waverly Place in South Orange where he was apprehended without further incident. The vehicle continued to roll a short distance with the child inside and struck an unoccupied mail truck then came to a stop. Police called EMS to the scene to evaluate the child. Thankfully the child was unharmed. Mom and child were reunited at the scene of the accident.
The suspect has been identified as Jaquan Shiggs 22yoa of East Orange, NJ. Detectives have reviewed the incident and the charges with the Essex County Prosecutors Office.
They have authorized the following charges: Kidnapping, theft, eluding by flight, endangering the welfare of a child. These charges do not include what if any charges that may have been approved in South Orange as it relates to the pursuit or any subsequent motor vehicle violations. The suspect, Mr. Shiggs will be remanded to the Essex County Correctional Facility.
I want to personally thank the South Orange Police and all of the officers that were involved including our dispatchers from both towns who simultaneously shared information leading to the arrest and rescue of this child within minutes from when the incident occurred.
From SOPD Facebook page:
INFORMATION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On 2/3/2022 at approximately 2:05pm, the South Orange Police Department received a 9-1-1 emergency call in which it was reported that a female victim had been carjacked at knifepoint in the parking lot of the CVS at 453 Valley Street in Maplewood. It was also reported that the vehicle was occupied by the victim’s one-year-old who was secured in a car seat. A description of the alleged criminal actor and the vehicle were broadcast to South Orange Police officers and the Maplewood Police Department was also notified. Moments after that radio broadcast a South Orange Police Officer who was in uniform and a marked patrol vehicle, observed a vehicle matching the description of the carjacked vehicle commit a traffic violation and attempted to stop the vehicle.
After activating lights and siren and that suspected carjacked vehicle began to flee. The officer pursued the vehicle on multiple streets in South Orange and approximately two minutes later it lost control, drove partially off the road and then collided with a parked, unoccupied USPS vehicle.
The driver then rapidly exited the vehicle and began to run away on foot. Multiple South Orange and Maplewood police officers arrived on scene and conducted a foot pursuit through the yards of residential properties, and successfully apprehended and arrested the driver. It was then confirmed that the actor was operating the carjacked vehicle. The child was located in the vehicle and was immediately removed.
The actor is in the custody of the Maplewood Police Department, who is the primary investigating agency for the underlying offense, which occurred in their jurisdiction. Maplewood officers located the victim and brought her to the scene where she was reunited with her child. Medical services responded to the scene to evaluate the victim and the child, both of whom were uninjured.
This is initial information in an ongoing investigation and all information is preliminary. Per policy, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office was notified and potential criminal charges for offenses committed in South Orange are being evaluated.
Village Green is following up on this story.