An East Orange man faces charges after allegedly lying to police
NEWARK -- Carjacking is an all-too-common crime in the city, so when an East Orange man told police his 2010 Nissan had been taken at gunpoint early Monday morning, his account may have seemed plausible.
But then, with just a little investigation, police say Kirk Patrick A. Chambers' story fell apart.
Chambers called police just after 3 a.m. and told them he had left a bar near Bloomfield and Clifton avenues and got into his car when two men, one armed with a gun, approached from either side, a department spokesman, Sgt. Ron Glover, said. Chambers said the men forced him out, got in and drove off.
Chambers was taken to the robbery squad to make a formal statement and was interviewed by Det. Richard Warren, who taped the statement, Glover said.
When Warren checked into the incident, he discovered that Chambers' car had been involved in an accident in East Orange and that two men were seen running from the crash, Glover said. The accident also occurred nearly 15 minutes before Chambers said he'd been carjacked, Glover added. When Chambers was confronted with this information he still maintained he had been carjacked, police said.
When police later interviewed Chambers' friend, who allegedly witnessed the carjacking, the friend said the two had actually left Newark in Chambers' car and headed into East Orange, where he lost control, Glover said. The two then returned to Newark, the friend also said.
Chambers was charged with false swearing and making a false report to a law-enforcement officer.
"We will not tolerate people reporting crimes that didn't happen. We will not hesitate to arrest the offender and prosecute him to the fullest extent that the law allows. We wasted time on a lie when we could have used those man hours for someone who may have really needed the police," said Police Director Eugene Venable.
"We caution alleged victims not make false reports to police regarding any crime. When justified, and after all other alternatives have been exhausted, we will not hesitate to arrest those whom endanger public safety by causing the police department to waste valuable resources on investigating crimes that did not happen."
Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaulMilo2. FindNJ.com on Facebook
