Police Blotter 1/13-1/22: Underwear Bell Ringer; Remember To Lock Your Car Doors... Again

Monthly RPD Reports can be found here. New: October Activity Report

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 Incidents involving juveniles will not be published.

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Tuesday, January 21 - Wednesday January 22 - Car Burglaries

9 car burglaries were reported between 9:00 pm on January 21 and 7:00 am on January 22. All vehicles were left unlocked and most reported nothing missing. Burglaries took place on West Passaic Ave, Stuyvesant Ave, Daniel Ave, Riverside Ave, Preble Place and Cooper Place.

Monday, January 20 - Theft, Union Ave

A 21 year old female stated that after boarding a NJ Transit bus at about 2:50 pm on January 17th at Union Ave and Wood Street, she realized she didn’t have her iPhone with her. She immediately got off at the next stop and walked back to where she had been but it was not there. She was able to track the phone to an unknown Paterson location. She responded to Paterson Police, which advised her to return to Rutherford to report the incident.

Sunday, January 19 - Narcan Administered, Washington Ave

At approximately 9:10 pm a caller reported a male party in his 30s laying in the street unconscious at the corner of Washington and Beech Street. Officers Foley and Callan administered 2 doses of Narcan.

Sunday, January 19 - Suspicious Incident, Washington Ave

A 60-year-old resident called to report that at approximately 6:00 pm that day his mother’s home health care worker responded to their doorbell to find a man standing in his underwear with a bath towel around his shoulder. He was described as 5 ft 10, skinny and possibly in his 50s. When she said she would call the police, the man left.

Sunday, January 19 - Theft, Extended Stay America

A 63-year-old male reported his phone missing after he took an Uber on January 18 from Secaucus Junction to the Extended Stay America Hotel. He had mistakenly left his Samsung Galaxy active in the back of the Uber. but didn't notice his phone was missing until the driver left. The following day he received emails informing him his Amazon and Paypal passwords had been changed. RPD advised him to change his passwords but no fraudulent activity had been found to date. The only charge that had occurred was the driver of the Uber tipped himself $5. The man had unsuccessful attempts to contact anyone from Uber.

Friday, January 17 - Suspicious Incident, Train Station

At approximately 1:34 pm a caller reported a woman in the ladies' room of Java Junction continuously running water. RPD made contact and identified the person as a 64-year-old homeless woman who was taking care of her laundry. The woman was advised of social services available but declined to use them.

Wednesday, January 15 - Suspicious Person, Irving Place

At approximately 12:38 pm a 37-year-old male caller reported his mother received an alert from her Ring doorbell showing a male party attempting to gain entry to her home. Officers responded but saw nothing amiss. A review of the footage showed the unknown man was placing a flyer in the mailbox.

Wednesday, January 15 - Suspicious Person, Train Station

At approximately 10:58 am the owner of Java Junction reported a man possibly sleeping in the women’s bathroom of the train station. RPD identified the man who is currently homeless and known to the RPD. He said he was not sleeping but using the women’s room because it was much cleaner than the men’s room. He left without incident.

Tuesday, January 14 - CDS Possession, Riverside Ave

While on patrol, Sgt. Davalo detected the smell of marijuana emanating from an orange 4-door 2008 Pontiac. He performed a traffic stop and the driver willingly provided a bag believed to be marijuana. He was placed under arrest and released under a Borough summons.

Tuesday, January 14 - Fraud, Chestnut St

A 29-year-old woman reported she had been the victim of fraud as the result of an online relationship she developed with someone calling themselves Graham Johnson-Diego. After speaking online for several months, the man requested a favor that required her to deposit $11,750 that he would send her, then purchase Amazon and Sephora gift cards totaling the same amount. She complied but stated a few days after doing so she noticed the money he had transferred was now missing from her account. She contacted the man who stated it was his secretary’s fault and that he’d fix the issue. After the situation hadn’t been rectified since November, the woman decided to report it to RPD. Her bank told her the money had been removed because the account from which the money had come had been closed. The credit cards on which she purchased the gift cards are holding her accountable for the total amount.

Monday, January 13 - Suspicious Person, Park Ave

At approximately 2:09 pm, a 54-year-old male reported that his 14-year-old nephew had told him that he had been approached multiple times by a suspicious female. The juvenile first observed the woman outside the library, described as white and in her mid-twenties with curly brown hair and dyed red ends. Although she didn’t approach the juvenile at the time, she later approached him further down Park Ave and asked him if he wished to “chill” with her and she had gotten locked out of her residence. He declined and walked away. Shortly later he noticed the same woman milling about Lincoln Park by the gazebo. He went to Walgreens and the woman again appeared in the check-out line. She tapped him on the shoulder and repeated she was locked out and looking for “someone to chill with.” He declined her again. He found this odd and contacted his uncle who notified RPD. Officer Merlo located the woman who stated she was locked out and just looking for someone to talk to. She was unaware the boy was 14 and thought he was at least 18 years old. She understood that what she did was inappropriate and had no bad intentions. The juvenile and his family were satisfied with the outcome.

Monday, January 13 - CDS Paraphernalia, Vanderburgh Ave

At approximately 10:43 am a 47-year-old female contacted RPD to report 5 empty vials found on the ground of the parking lot of Hastings Village. The vials were clear with blue caps and contained a trace amount of white residue. Officers dispatched took possession of the vials and disposed of them properly.