Manchester SUV Thief Was Drunk at the Wheel, Police Say

A drunk Manchester woman who stole an SUV from a home on Ridgeway Road last week was caught within two hours, about 10 miles away in Toms River, Manchester Police said.

Deje M. Coviello, 32, was passed out in the driver's seat of the stolen 2003 Nissan Xterra when Toms River Police officers found her around 5 p.m. at Hooper Avenue and Brokaw Boulevard, police said, after she took the SUV from a home on Ridgeway Road in Manchester.

Manchester officers responded to a report of the theft around 3:15 p.m., police said, after the Nissan's owner, who had left the keys in the unlocked SUV, reported it missing after he returned home from work.

Manchester Officer Kyle Rickvalsky dropped the truck's information into a national database following the report, which led to Toms River Police finding it that same afternoon, police said.

Coviello was arrested by Toms River Police and charged with driving while intoxicated and had to be taken to Community Hospital for treatment; Manchester Police later charged her with theft and motor vehicle burglary, as well as filing charges in Toms River for possession of stolen property.

Coviello was served with those charges while at the hospital, and was later released on her own recognizance.