Police: Car Thief Caught Who Escaped Chase, Crash With Patrol Car

The third man allegedly involved in a July car theft that began a high-speed chase through Springfield and slammed head-on into a police cruiser was arrested on Friday, police said.

Shakir Souels, 18, of Irvington, was charged with 16 counts of burglary to a motor vehicle and 16 counts of theft. He was also charged with two counts of receiving stolen property (the possession of two stolen motor vehicles), two counts of resisting arrest and possession of marijuana. Bail is set at $50,000.

Souels was remanded to the Union County Jail in Elizabeth and has an initial court date in the Union County Superior Court set for Wednesday.

Andrew Goins, 19, and Hakeem Camacho, 18, both of Irvington, were arrested hours after the car chase but while detectives were able to identify Souels as the third person involved, locating and arresting him was initially unsuccessful, police said.

Detective Sgt. Stephen Studlack and Detective Anthony Voorhees received a break in the case when they learned Souels was due to appear in the Irvington Municipal Court on Friday for a prior marijuana arrest by the Irvington Police Department. The detectives went to the Irvington Municipal Court where Souels was arrested.

When searched at Springfield Police headquarters, Souels had a small bag of suspected marijuana hidden in his clothing that he was in possession of while appearing in court for the previous drug charges, police said. 

"Patrol officers did an exceptional job on July 18th in apprehending two of these actors who, together with the third, had come into Springfield to brazenly just walk from car to car stealing anything and everything from 16 separate vehicles," Chief of Police John Cook said in a statement.

"The arrest of Shakir Souels was due to diligent and persistent detective work and his capture shows that suspects who commit crimes in Springfield may run and they may even hide...but not forever."