MOUNT OLIVE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Morris County) — A Budd Lake man has been charged with stealing a neighbor’s vehicle after allegedly failing to return it following a ride to the airport, according to Mount Olive police.
Authorities began investigating Aug. 25, 2025, after a resident reported that her vehicle had been taken without her consent. The victim told police she had asked her neighbor to drive her to the airport in her car. When she returned home from her trip, the vehicle was missing.
The neighbor was identified as Derrick P. Plunkett, 48, of Budd Lake, police said. Initial attempts to locate Plunkett and the vehicle were unsuccessful.
The Mount Olive Police Department’s Investigations Division continued the case. On Oct. 11, 2025, investigators located the vehicle at a tow yard in Livingston. Police said further investigation confirmed that Plunkett had taken the vehicle and failed to return it to the owner.
On Feb. 18, 2026, the Morris County Fugitive Unit located Plunkett outside a hotel in Rockaway and placed him under arrest. He was lodged in the Morris County Correctional Facility.
Plunkett was charged with theft of a motor vehicle and remains in custody pending a court hearing.
