Burglary/theft
East Rutherford
On April 11, at approximately 6:28 a.m., a Morris Plains man complained that his 2006 Ford truck was broken into while parked at Chili’s restaurant on Route 17 North. Missing was an IBM laptop computer and accessories.
On April 10, at approximately 1:26 p.m., police received a report of a stolen 2004 Honda motorcycle from a Carlton Avenue driveway over the course of the previous night.
On April 10, at approximately 10:44 a.m., a North Bergen man reported the theft of a GPS unit from a 2003 Chevy van while the vehicle was parked at BJ’s Wholesale Club.
On April 10, at approximately 7:29 a.m., a complainant reported his 2000 Honda Civic stolen while parked in a Uhland Street driveway over the course of the previous night.
On April 10, at approximately 5:45 a.m., a police patrol observed a 2008 Honda Accord with all of its tires removed on Everett Place. The vehicle’s owner was notified.
On April 9, at approximately 12:21 p.m., a Cliffside Park man reported the theft of a laptop and GPS unit from his 2004 Chevy Suburban while it was parked at Chili’s Restaurant the previous night. The man also reported than an unfamiliar screwdriver had been left in his vehicle.
On April 8, at approximately 1:52 p.m., proprietors of East Coast Toyota on Paterson Plank Road reported the theft of a 2008 Nissan Maxima worth nearly $30,000. The key to the car was missing from the dealerships lock box.
On April 8, at approximately 8:07 a.m., a Virginia man reported the theft of a $1,500 laptop from his 2007 Honda Accord while it was parked at the Fairfield Inn on Paterson Plank Road. The perpetrator had smashed the vehicle’s front passenger’s side window.
On April 5, at approximately 3:41 p.m., a Union City man reported the theft of his 1999 Ford Van from the parking lot at BJ’s Wholesale Club. Also missing was $650 worth of soft drinks.
On April 5, at approximately 1:31 p.m., a New York reported the theft of a GPS unit and a briefcase from his 2005 Toyota Camry while it was parked at the Residence Inn on Murray Hill Parkway.
Lyndhurst
On April 13, at approximately 8:44 p.m., police arrested 41-year-old Oyetokun Banmeke of Flanders for shoplifting. Banmeke was spotted at Shop Rite attempting to steal two bags of Ricola cough drops valued at approximately three dollars.
On April 13, at approximately 7:45 p.m., a business on the 500 block of New York Avenue reported someone had broken into the store. Police found evidence of forced entry and about $100 in currency was stolen from an office. Police have a suspect in the investigation.
On April 11, at approximately 1:55 p.m., a business on the 200 block of Chubb Avenue reported a Dell computer was missing.
On April 11, at approximately 7:25 a.m., a complainant reported someone broke into his car sometime between 3 p.m. on April 10 and the time of the report while it was parked in the driveway of his home on the 400 block of Second Avenue. The contents of the glove box were found scattered on the floor of the car and a $300 portable DVD player was missing.
On April 10, at approximately 4:51 p.m., employees at Medieval Times reported a laptop computer was missing and presumably stolen. The computer had reportedly been missing since March 29.
On April 9, at approximately 6:34 p.m., a complainant from Elizabeth reported someone broke into his car while it was parked on the 700 block of Sixth Street. The car’s driver side window was smashed and a GPS device and a satellite radio were missing.
On April 8, at approximately 11:50 p.m., officers observed two males with their hoods up walking along Riverside Avenue. Police considered the two suspicious and stopped to speak with them. The two turned out to be in possession of a newly purchased cordless reciprocating saw which they planned to use to cut the catalytic converters off of cars. There have been reports of catalytic converters getting cut off vehicles in the area. The two, both 17-year-old juveniles from Kearny, were charged with possession of burglary tools and were released to their parents. Police observed that the saw appeared to have not yet been used.
On April 8, at approximately 8:29 p.m., a complainant reported a break-in on the 100 block of Page Avenue. The front door lock was damaged and forced entry had been gained, but nothing was reported missing. Police canvassed the area and received reports that a black male had been seen leaving the floor between noon and 1 p.m. in the afternoon that day.
On April 8, at approximately 4:31 p.m., a complainant reported a break-in in an apartment on the 100 block of Stuyvesant Avenue. The front door lock was damaged and $300 in jewelry was reported missing. The matter is still under investigation.
On April 7, at approximately 12:47 p.m., police arrested 35-year-old Joseph Van Orden of Bloomfield for shoplifting when he attempted to walk out of Shop Rite with a $95 DVD player. Bail was set at $2,500.
On April 7, at approximately 11:49 a.m., a complainant reported an attempted burglary at her apartment on the 100 block of Ridge Road. The person had been sleeping when she heard the window shatter. She yelled and whoever broke the window fled the area. Police observed that the outside screen had been raised and that no entry had appeared to have been gained.
Rutherford
On April 11, at approximately 7:37 a.m., a man reported someone broke into his 2005 Dodge Ram sometime between April 10 and the time of the report while it as parked on Sylvan Street. The driver side window was smashed and a $200 GPS device was reported missing.
On April 9, at approximately 1:07 a.m., a man saw someone lifting the driver side door handle of his 2005 BMW parked at the corner of East Passaic Avenue and Orient Way. The complainant said, "What are you doing?" and the man fled down East Passaic. He was described as a white male with light colored hair, gray sweatpants and a blue sweatshirt.
On April 7, at approximately 10:07 p.m., a resident of an upper floor apartment above Village Gourmet on Park Avenue reported a break-in. The living room coffee table as overturned, a model sailboat on his dining room table had been broken, his bathroom door had been kicked in, a radio was smashed, a CD-DVD case had bee thrown to the floor and items from his closets and drawers were strewn about the floor. Only an $800 Panasonic digital camcorder was reported missing.
On April 7, at approximately 10:09 a.m., a complainant reported someone had evidently attempted to break into his 2005 Chevrolet while it was parked in the driveway of his home on Yahara Avenue. The driver side door lock had been damaged by prying but entry hadn’t been gained.
On April 6, at approximately 10:07 a.m., a complainant at the Renaissance Hotel reported someone broke into his 2008 Cadillac by breaking the rear passenger window and stole a $300 GPS and a black briefcase with $30 in cash and a $200 iPod.
On April 5, at approximately 11:07 a.m., employees of Stadium Auto Mall on Route 17 reported three cars had been broken into and damaged but no items had been stolen.
CDS
East Rutherford
On April 7, at approximately 10:41 p.m., police arrested 19-year-old Joseph A. Colgan of East Rutherford for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Police stopped Colgan when they noticed an expired inspection sticker and tinted windows on his 1990 Ford Mustang. Upon approaching the vehicle, officers detected the smell of marijuana, and a consensual search later yielded four plastic bags of the drug hidden in a black duffel bag in the vehicle’s back seat.
On April 5, at approximately 1:17 a.m., police stopped a white 1989 Chevrolet on Paterson Avenue for expired registration. On approaching the vehicle, the officer saw a plastic baggie between the legs of passenger 18-year-old Matthew Orangio of East Rutherford. The bag contained a substance the officer believed to be marijuana. A search later revealed the vehicle’s driver, 19-year-old Tyler Montiero of East Rutherford, was also in possession of marijuana. Both were charged with possession of CDS.
Criminal Mischief
North Arlington
On April 4, at approximately 5:30 a.m., a complainant reported unknown actors broke into a 1991 Plymouth Voyager parked on Ridge Road near Union Avenue. The victim parked the vehicle at 9:30 p.m. and noticed the rear window had been broken and the actors gained entry to the vehicle. Nothing appeared to be stolen.
Rutherford
On April 8, at approximately 10:24 a.m., police observed the same graffiti tag saying "Play ball" on a stop sign at the corner of East Pierrepont Avenue and Wheaton Place, a dumpster on East Pierrepont, an icebox in front of a business on Park Avenue and on the road on Wheaton Place.
On April 5, at approximately 8:32 a.m., police arrested 20-year-old Nicole Palumbo of Lyndhurst and 23-year-old Jonathan Hall II of Teaneck for slashing the tires of a vehicle parked in front of a business on East Park Place.
DWI
East Rutherford
On April 5, at approximately 4:34 a.m., police stopped 23-year-old Pawel Szczepanski of Clifton for erratic driving and failure to observe a traffic signal. When stopping, the vehicle struck a curb on Hackensack Street. Officers detected slurred speech, watery eyes and the odor of alcohol on Szczepanski’s breath, and executed a series of field sobriety tests, all of which Szczepanski failed. A breathalyzer test later revealed a blood-alcohol concentration of .13%.
Lyndhurst
On April 12, at approximately 4:11 a.m., officers encountered a black Lincoln town car stopped on the roadway on Rutherford Avenue near the intersection with Park Avenue. Officers found the driver, 33-year-old Arthur Sawicki of Clifton, slumped over on the steering wheel. Officers knocked on the glass and Sawicki didn’t respond. When officers opened the driver side door, Sawicki attempted to close it and in the process nearly fell out of the vehicle. Sawicki was charged with DWI and refusal to take a breathalyzer test. He was released to a responsible party.
Fraud
Lyndhurst
On April 8, at approximately 2:58 p.m., a complainant on the 700 block of Lake Avenue reported he had wired money to a Gmail account in response to an advertisement on craigslist for an apartment in Hoboken. Since wiring the money he has been unable to get in touch with the person at the account.
Rutherford
On April 8, at approximately 1:18 p.m., police arrested 25-year-old Rashan Killiebrew of Rockaway for presenting a fraudulent insurance card while attempting to get his 2006 Dodge inspected at a gas station. Killiebrew was charged with exhibiting a fraudulent insurance card to an officer and driving without insurance. He was released on summons.
Miscellaneous
Lyndhurst
On April 11, at approximately 11:30 p.m., police issued a summons to 28-year-old Walter Canales of Fort Lee for urinating outdoors in the parking lot of the Whiskey Café on Wall Street.
On April 11, at approximately 7:19 p.m., police issued a summons to 23-year-old Christopher Dews of Pompton Lakes for urinating outdoors in the parking lot of the Whiskey Café on Wall Street.
Rutherford
On April 10, at approximately 11:30 a.m., police conducted a random license plate check on a vehicle on Route 17 South and discovered the vehicle’s operator was listed as suspended. Police spoke with 48-year-old Marietta Aboud of Union City and found she had a suspended license as well as an outstanding warrant out of North Bergen for $538 and five outstanding warrants out of Union City for a total of $6,314. Union City police took her into custody.
On April 7, at approximately 3:20 p.m., a 10-year-old male was walking near the intersection of Raymond Avenue and Carlton Avenue when a white female in her 40s with brown hair styled in a bun wearing a short sleeve shirt and driving a red mini-van with a black stripe on the side and tinted windows drove up beside him. She said, "Come here." The boy said no and kept walking. The woman repeated the request in a louder voice and the boy said no again. She then drove off heading west on Erie Avenue towards East Rutherford.
