EAST WINDSOR, NJ — The East Windsor Police Department arrested a suspect in connection with a wheel theft that occurred on Covington Drive.
On Jan. 29 at approximately 2:51 a.m., officers responded to Covington Drive for a reported theft in progress.
Upon arrival, officers met with the victims, who stated that two men wearing ski masks had stolen all four wheels from their vehicle.
The victims were alerted when their dogs began barking.
When one of the victims confronted the suspects, a brief struggle occurred before the suspects fled the area prior to police arrival.
The case was assigned to Detective Joseph Amejka.
During this timeframe, numerous wheel-theft incidents were occurring in East Windsor as well as in multiple jurisdictions across New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Over the course of ten months, Det. Amejka pursued multiple leads and collaborated closely with several law enforcement agencies.
One of the suspects was identified as Pedro Lorenzo Tejeda, 22, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a warrant was subsequently issued for his arrest.
Lorenzo Tejeda was taken into custody on Dec. 9 by the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Task Force and transported to the Mercer County Correction Center, where he is being held pending a court hearing.
The vehicle used during the commission of the crime was also recovered and was found to have been stolen out of Lindenwold.
An additional individual associated with that vehicle has been identified as a person of interest in this investigation and was arrested by the Evesham Police Department for similar wheel-theft offenses.
