Porsche carjacked in Verona is recovered, then stolen again

Hours after a luxury vehicle was carjacked by gunpoint from a Verona catering hall, it was recovered. Then, it was stolen again from a Newark parking lot, according to police.

Employees of the Richfield Regency on Bloomfield Avenue told police that on Friday, Sept. 20, three black men wearing ski masks entered the parking lot in a silver Acura. Two of them left the car, approached valet employees and demanded keys, including those for a 2011 Porsche Panamera parked in the lot for an event, according to police. One employee said a suspect had what looked to be a gun in his pocket, according to Verona Police Chief Douglas Huber.

After they grabbed several sets of keys from the valet booth, the men fled with the Porsche and in the Acura, police said.

The car was recovered in Newark during the weekend but Verona police were notified that the car was again taken from a Newark lot on Sunday.

"It was towed by the Newark police department to one of their storage areas and then it was stolen from that area," Huber said.

The Newark Police Department was unavailable for comment.

The Porsche is valued at $74,400 to $135,300, according to AutoTrader.com. The car was re-listed in a stolen car registry, Huber said.

Though the car was reported stolen in both towns, Huber said the car theft in Verona is considered a felony theft because a gun was used.

Jude Roppatte, the hall's owner, said surveillance cameras caught the incident on videotape, which was provided to police.

"Everything's on camera, but it didn't solve the whole issue," he said.