Four men have been charged in connection with a food theft ring that targeted cargo trucks along the New Jersey Turnpike.

New Jersey State Police said Monday the suspects, all from Philadelphia, were apprehended in the middle of another break-in. Shaun Coleman, 23, Salahudin Reddy, 37, Hanif Tucker, 31, and Rashan Clark-Reddy, 26, face multiple counts of conspiracy, criminal mischief, burglary and possession of stolen goods. Law enforcement said they are connected to numerous thefts over the past three years in the area, involving items worth millions of dollars.

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Police said the arrests followed a two-month investigation nicknamed “Operation Beef Bandit.” Officers had been searching for the crew responsible for a string of burglaries at service areas off the New Jersey Turnpike, all nine of which involved the theft of meat, alcohol, seafood and other high-value items from parked trailers. In many cases, the vehicles were occupied.

Early Friday morning, state troopers noticed two suspicious vehicles enter the Molly Pitcher Service Area off the turnpike, authorities said. Four suspects exited and attempted to steal boxes of meat from a tractor trailer parked in the lot. Police quickly caught Tucker and, after a brief foot chase, Coleman. But Reddy and Clark-Reddy fled in a stolen vehicle, crashing into an occupied, unmarked police car and two marked police vehicles in their escape attempt. Police pursued and apprehended the pair, with three state troopers sustaining minor injuries. One officer was treated at a hospital and later released.

Sgt. Charles Marchan could not say if the suspects were connected to the recent cargo thefts in South Philadelphia. In August, thieves swiped about 350-400 pounds of tuna from a refrigerated trailer truck at Samuels Seafood Co. In September, six men in masks stole another three pallets of seafood from Seventh Street and Packer Avenue. Police also reported cargo thefts of snow crab, beef, salmon and bourbon in the city earlier in the summer and spring.

While Marchan acknowledged that the “same MO” appears in numerous cargo thefts across the region, he stressed that the investigation is still ongoing. New Jersey State Police is soliciting tips regarding these crimes at 732-522-4295, extension 3226. All four suspects have been taken to Middlesex County Jail, where they await bail detention hearings. 

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A Willow Grove, Pennsylvania man died Saturday when his motorcycle crashed on the New Jersey Turnpike in Mercer County, the New Jersey State Police said.

Jeffrey Ford, 42, was riding in a group of motorcyclists when multiple collisions occurred among them at about 3:50 p.m. and his Kawasaki motorcycle overturned, ejecting him, police said. The crash occurred on the outer, northbound lanes at milepost 61.7 in Robbinsville.

The incident remained under investigation Sunday, the State Police said.

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump is safe after gunshots were fired Sunday near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the GOP presidential nominee was playing golf, the Trump campaign confirmed.

“President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity. No further details at this time,” Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director, said in a statement.

U.S. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said on social media that “a protective incident” involving Trump occurred shortly before 2 p.m. Eastern and that the Secret Service was investigating the incident with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. He confirmed that Trump was safe.

Guglielmi added the two agencies would brief reporters Sunday afternoon.

Law enforcement has not identified a shooter and it’s not immediately clear if Trump was the intended target. The private golf club is about 4 miles from Trump’s primary residence at Mar-a-Lago.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, said on social media that she had been briefed and she is glad Trump is safe.

“Violence has no place in America,” she said.

The White House said that President Joe Biden had also been briefed.

“They are relieved to know that he is safe,” the White House said of Biden and Harris. “They will be kept regularly updated by their team.”

The incident follows a July 13 assassination attempt of Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

This is a developing story and will be updated.