Three New Jersey teenagers were arrested for allegedly ramming a stolen 2020 blue Mercedes-Benz GLS 450 into multiple police cars Sunday.
The wrecked Mercedes was driven by a 16-year-old and had a 17-year-old in the passenger seat, and a 16-year-old in the back seat, according to the New York Post. The teens were all charged with second-degree grand larceny and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon after causing potentially “career-ending” injuries, and damaging roughly $250,000 in police property, the outlet reported.
The driver of the stolen Mercedes also faces charges for fleeing in a motor vehicle as well as five counts of second-degree assault. The stolen vehicle reportedly contained a 9-millimeter gun and 15 rounds of ammunition.
A detective attempted a traffic stop shortly after spotting the stolen vehicle Sunday. The young driver allegedly fled and ended up crashing into multiple police cars, according to the New York Post.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder released a statement expressing his frustration and detailing the severity of this incident.
“My cops are getting hurt trying to recover your property, that if it was locked, we wouldn’t be in this situation. I wouldn’t have 5 cops out sick and maybe with career-ending injuries,” he said. (RELATED: California Police Find 2-Year-Old Boy In Stolen Car)
Two detectives and three officers were allegedly injured during the ordeal and taken to a local hospital for treatment, according to the New York Post. The officers reportedly suffered various injuries, while one of the detectives suffered a concussion, and the other reportedly suffered a cervical injury, according to the outlet.
Three NJ teens crash stolen Mercedes into Long Island cop cars https://t.co/ytCxuiUqis via @nypmetro
— Furlicity #IVU (@Furlicity) April 27, 2022
“We’ve got 16- and 17-year-olds who, they know the difference between right or wrong,” said Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, according to the New York Post.
“They’re committing crimes, and they’re doing things like injuring police officers and destroying police property and stealing cars and involved in gang activity. In the past, they were treated like adults. Now we treat them like they’re little kids,” he said, according to the outlet.
Two of the teens have since been released from police custody, but one of them remains in police custody due to an outstanding warrant stemming from New Jersey for stealing a car, according to the New York Post.