Police: Man Switched Plates in Car Theft Attempt

A township man faces burglary and attempted motor vehicle theft charges after police found him sitting inside of a car—complete with switched license plates—at a Route 9 dealership. 

Toms River Police Department Officers Walter Herman and Robert Westfall issued the charges when they responded to a report of a suspicious male attempting to enter vehicles at a lot on Route 9 at 4 p.m. on Saturday, said Chief of Police Michael Mastronardy

The officers began to check used car lots on Route 9 and found 37-year-old Darren Yurick of Morning Glory Court sitting in a 1978 Trans Am in one of those lots. Mastronardy said the officers asked Yurick what he was doing inside of the vehicle, to which he replied he was looking to buy it. 

An investigation by police found that the steering column was broken and a license plate belonging to another vehicle was installed on the car, Mastronardy said. 

Yurick was charged with burglary and attempted theft of a motor vehicle and is being held in Ocean County Jail in Toms River on $50,000 bail, according to the chief.