SOPD Assists With Carjacking Arrest

Two Newark teenagers were arrested Tuesday after carjacking a vehicle in Maplewood and plowing it into a South Ward corner deli and injuring a pedestrian, Det. Lt. Vincent Ricciardi, Hillside Police Department spokesman.

Andrew B. Cappel Jr. and Tamanisha O. Mitchell, both 18, were arrested at the scene after leading Hillside police on a brief chase in a tan 1998 Acura TL they had carjacked earlier out of Maplewood. Maplewood Police Chief Robert Cimino said that the teens carjacked the vehicle on Hughes Street in Maplewood at about 10:45 a.m. "Fortunately the victim was not hurt during the incident," said Cimino.

At about 12:10 p.m., Hillside police Detectives Jamie Howell and Peter Corvelli recognized the vehicle and followed it to the intersection of Williamson Avenue and Aldine Street, where they signaled the driver, Cappel, to stop. Cappel instead led police on a chase through side streets into Newark, where he crashed the car into I.G.L. Supermarket on Hawthorne Avenue and Leslie Street, striking a pedestrian standing on the sidewalk.

Cappel and Mitchell exited the car and began to flee but were apprehended by Hillside police a block away.

The pedestrian, a 48-year-old male from Newark, was transported to University Hospital, where he was treated and released, said Ricciardi.

Cappel and Mitchell were transported to Hillside police headquarters, where Cappel was charged with eluding, receiving stolen property, second-degree aggravated assault, resisting arrest, possession of a weapon (car) and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

Cappel will be held in Union County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail. He is also charged with carjacking by the Maplewood Police Department, which set bail at $100,000.

Maplewood Chief Cimino said, "We want to acknowledge the for assisting Maplewood detectives in the case. And of course thanks to Hillside Police Department and Newark PD and the Essex County Prosecutors Office."

Mitchell is charged with receiving stolen property and resisting arrest. She was  released on a summons.

Around 2 p.m., employees began cleaning up merchandise off the street, picking up bottles of aspirin, candy and gum strewn across the street. Bricks from the building, which appeared to have partially collapsed, were also scattered on the road.

Newark Fire Department units, including the Urban Search and Rescue Squad, were on the scene for about 40 minutes Tuesday, departing after the vehicle was removed.

Witnesses said they saw the stolen vehicle traveling the wrong way down Leslie Street. The car then made a wide left onto Hawthorne Avenue when it lost control and careened into the building.

A man who identified himself as a clerk was in the store when the car crashed through the building. He was visibly shaken but unhurt.