2 Arrested on Firearms and Stolen Vehicle Offenses
Two Union County men were discovered in possession of a loaded firearm while in a stolen motor vehicle on South Avenue at High Street on Friday, August 22, 2025.
At approximately 5:44 PM, the Cranford Police Department was alerted to the presence of a stolen U-Haul van through the Flock Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) system. Officer Jason Ingram quickly located the U-Haul on South Avenue near Centennial Avenue. Once Officer Nicolette Tufano arrived at the scene, Officers Ingram and Tufano conducted a high-risk takedown of the U-Haul on South Avenue at High Street. The suspects, later identified as Elijah Ortega, 20, from Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Lamarco Brown, 23, from Roselle, New Jersey, were taken into custody without incident.
Inside the stolen U-Haul, officers recovered a loaded Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun, equipped with hollow-point ammunition and a high-capacity magazine. This firearm had also been reported stolen out of Alabama.
Ortega and Brown were both charged with several offenses, including:
- Second-degree possession of a firearm
- Fourth-degree possession of hollow-point ammunition
- Fourth-degree possession of a high-capacity magazine
- Third-degree possession of a firearm
- Fourth-degree possession of hollow-point ammunition
- Fourth-degree possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine
- Two counts of third-degree receiving stolen property
At the time of their arrest, Ortega and Brown were being held at the Essex County Jail, pending a detention hearing.
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Release date 08/25/2025
s-durkin@cranfordnj.org / 908-709-7346