Man Pleads Guilty to Vehicle Burglaries in Brick Parking Lot, Dangerous Police Chase

Andrew Williams (Photo: Ocean County Jail)

The suspect in a string of vehicle burglaries in a Brick Township parking lot pleaded guilty to that crime, as well as leading police on a dangerous chase in which he tried to steal another vehicle after crashing a van on a busy roadway.

Andrew Williams, 45, of Atlantic City, admitted to charges of eluding and burglary in an Ocean County courtroom this week, prosecutors announced Wednesday. Additionally, Williams pled guilty to a second count of burglary in connection with an incident that occurred on Oct. 25, 2021 in Brick, as well as two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card in connection with incidents that occurred in December 2021 in Stafford Township. Prosecutors will be seeking a 10-year-long sentence.

The investigation began Dec. 16, 2021, when an off-duty Brick Township police officer called headquarters to report that he observed two individuals in the area of an active car alarm in the parking lot of LA Fitness on Chambers Bridge Road. Responding officers observed two individuals enter a van and leave the area. They attempted a motor vehicle stop on the van, but the vehicle failed to stop and continued driving recklessly eastbound on Route 70, police said.

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A short time later, the vehicle crashed into another vehicle at the intersection of Burnt Tavern Road and Maple Avenue. After the crash, the driver of the van – later identified as Williams – exited the vehicle and attempted to forcibly remove the driver of a nearby vehicle, opening the door and trying to pull the driver from her car. After that attempt was unsuccessful, Williams entered one of the responding police cruisers. He was quickly removed from the police vehicle and placed under arrest.

Further investigation by responding officers determined that Williams had committed two vehicle burglaries in the LA Fitness parking lot on Dec. 16, 2021. He was subsequently transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he has been lodged since that date.

In an earlier, unrelated incident, Brick police were contacted on Oct. 25, 2021 by an individual claiming that his vehicle, while parked in the LA Fitness parking lot on Chambers Bridge Road, had been broken into and that his wallet had been stolen from within the vehicle. A subsequent investigation by the Brick Township Police Department revealed that Williams was responsible for that vehicle burglary as well, and he was charged accordingly on Nov. 19, 2021. Williams was served with that charge at the Ocean County Jail – where he was already in custody – on Dec. 17, 2021.

In yet another unrelated incident, the Stafford Township Police Department was contacted on Dec. 14, 2021 by employees of the Best Buy store on Stafford Park Boulevard for a report of a man having fraudulently used a credit card. Employees recognized the individual from a previous fraudulent transaction that occurred the previous week. The employees contacted police, but the suspect had already left the store by the time they arrived. Further investigation revealed that Williams was the individual responsible for fraudulent use of credit cards in both instances; he was charged accordingly on Dec. 19, 2021, and served with the charges at the Ocean County Jail.

As part of a plea deal, sentences of 10 years, eight years and two five-year stints will be served concurrently.