Police Blotter - Mar. 6th-Mar. 13th: 2 Stolen Vehicles with 1 Thing in Common; Fraudster From Texas

Monthly RPD Reports can be found here.

This is Rutherford publishes incidents that the public may find interesting or informative. The Blotter represents a small fraction of the total calls the RDP responds to regularly. The following information was provided to TIR by the Rutherford Police. All suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Incidents involving juveniles will not be published.

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Saturday, March 9th - Verbal Dispute, Williams Plaza

A 41 year old male from Paterson reported a verbal altercation over an attempted theft at the Williams Center after he suspected a 50 year old Nutley man of attempting to steal his scarf and bag. Each were attending a movie when the Paterson man left the theater to use the bathroom, leaving his belongings at his seat. When he returned, he saw the Nutley man with his belongs, grabbed the man with both hands and dragged him out of the theater. The Nutley man stated he had fallen asleep in the movie and when he awoke, saw items left behind from people who had left the theater. The items were returned and no complaints filed.

Saturday, March 9th - Motor Vehicle Theft, Park Avenue

Two vehicles were reported missing from two different locations on Park Avenue, several hours apart. Both cars were left running, with the keys in them by the owners. The investigation is ongoing.

Friday, March 8th - Simple Assault, Rutherford Avenue

A 38 year old male from Branchburg and his supervisor got into a disagreement at their job site which escalated from a verbal dispute to a shoving match when the 38 year old allegedly punched his supervisor in the face. He will not be returning to the job site. No injury reported.

Friday, March 8th - Fraud, Kip Avenue

A 68 year old female Rutherford resident reported being scammed out of $750 via Facebook Messenger. She received a message from a friend that included a link to follow with information on personal debt. She clicked the link and ultimately ended up in a text message conversation with a man she believed to be an attorney by the name of Kevin James. Based on instructions she received from him, she bought 15 STEAM gift cards for $50 each at Walgreens in Carlstadt. She was then instructed to scratch the codes off the back and send all the card numbers to the party she had been speaking to. After she began to question the process, she called the friend from whom the initial message had been sent, who then explained to the Rutherford resident that her account had been hacked. The resident contacted “Kevin James” demanding her money back, to which he responded “come find me in Texas.”

Thursday, March 7th - Fire, Monona Avenue

RDP responded to a heavy smoke condition in an upstairs bedroom. Officers Caughey and Foley made entry into the house. Officer Caughey deployed the fire extinguisher that is kept in his vehicle before the Rutherford Fire Department arrived and finished putting out the fire. Cause of fire is still under investigation but was determined to be a low burn (a fire low to the ground.) No injuries reported.

Wednesday, March 6th - Suspicious Person, Park Ave

A 26 year old male resident reported seeing a male in his 20s or 30s wearing a blue hooded jacket and winter boots climb a ladder on the fire escape of his building onto the roof. The man was in his apartment when he heard footsteps crunching the snow above on the roof. When he opened his blinds, he saw the man climbing down the ladder from the roof. It was dark and he could not identify race or other characteristics. The suspicious person fled the scene. The resident said he had seen other parties on the roof a few weeks prior but they had been young kids and left without issue. Officers inspected the roof and inspected footprints in the snow. There will be increased patrol of the area and the gentleman has been advised to call immediately if it happens again.

Tuesday, March 5th - Criminal Mischief, Park Ave

A 52 year old male who resides on Park Ave reported his gray 2015 Lexus 4 door had been damaged overnight between 9:40 pm Monday March 4 and 8:30 pm March 5th. A small dent and scratch on drivers front wheel well.