U.S. Marshals Capture Wanted South Brunswick Fugitive

A fugitive wanted in South Brunswick for his role in an alleged vehicle burglary ring was apprehended by U.S. Marshals in Philadelphia on Monday.

Hassan Brown, 19, of Trenton, is currently being held at the Bucks County Correctional Center awaiting extradition to New Jersey on charges of burglary and theft.

At 4:55 a.m. on Sept. 30, South Brunswick Police were alerted by a resident of Beekman Manor to a male trying to break into vehicles in the development. Officers arrived at the scene to find several unlocked parked vehicles that had been ransacked. 

Officer Tim Hoover was able to locate the suspects’ vehicle in the development. Shortly thereafter, Officer Hoover observed an individual in a backyard at about 6:40 a.m. As other officers arrived at the scene, the suspect jumped from the bushes and fled with Sgt. John Penney chasing him.  

A subsequent investigation by Det. Dennis Yuhasz identified Brown as the other suspect, connecting him to a series of vehicle burglaries that occurred last week in Monmouth Junction and Dayton, according to police. Over a two-day span, there were five reported thefts from unlocked cars. 

In two of the incidents the suspect stole the vehicles, including a 2007 gold Saturn Ion and a 2011 black Mercedes Benz. Police spokesman Sgt. Jim Ryan said the Mercedes that was stolen was located last Saturday in Trenton. The suspect's vehicle is also registered out of Trenton

The crime scene processing for the vehicle also recovered physical evidence that linked Brown to the crime, according to police. The investigation revealed that Brown was allegedly connected to several other motor vehicle thefts and burglaries in central New Jersey.