Police Blotter 8/26-9/1: Have you seen a pantless man?

Monthly RPD Reports can be found here. New: July 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 Incidents involving juveniles will not be published.

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Saturday, August 31 - Sunday September 1 - Suspicious Incident, Milton Court

A 21 year old female Felician student believed an unknown party or parties may have filmed her while taking a shower in a dorm suite. RPD responded and was met by University security and the head of Student Life who stated they were aware of the incident as it had been reported the previous day and determined it was unfounded. They allowed RPD to inspect the bathroom where the incident had allegedly taken place. RPD concluded it was impossible to film a person due to the size and layout of the bathroom and removed the light fixtures to be sure. When asked why she believed she was filmed she stated she overheard male parties discussing it and believed herself to be the person they discussed. She never observed a camera in the bathroom. RPD located the male parties in question who stated they were unaware of anything having to do with the caller. They stated they were unaware of who the woman is and they never joked about a specific female. The following morning the woman again reported an invasion of privacy. Different males were identified by the woman and located by RPD. RPD called the woman to advise her that one individual moved to Ireland months ago and the other graduated in May. She replied to the officer, “Ok, thank you” and hung up. At approximately 3pm she contacted RDP again stating she found a camera in her dorm room. Officers were dispatched and met with Felician personnel. They were taken to the room where the caller advised them that her mirror was really a hidden camera. They checked the mirror and found nothing suspicious. She took the paper covering off the rear but nothing was observed.

Friday, August 30 - Noise Complaint, East Pierrepont Ave

At approximately 11:19pm a 76 year old female called to complain about a loud party in the area. RPD responded and spoke to the son of the homeowner, an 18 year old male from Wallington, who stated he would take the party inside.

Friday, August 30 - Suspicious Incident, Clark Court

A 30 year old male from Rutherford reported his wife’s 2017 Jeep Wrangler had been broken into in the past, and during the past 2 nights between 12:00 and 5:00 am an unknown party had unzipped the rear soft side top the Jeep. Nothing else was disturbed or taken from vehicle. The man had touched the areas in question so no evidentiary value could be gained.

Friday, August 30 - Suspicious Person, Wood Street

At approximately 6:24pm, a 22 year old female reported she observed a male with no pants on go into the property of a neighboring vacant house which is currently for sale. She described him as white, in his mid 40s and wearing a gray shirt. Officers reported the residence did not appear to be occupied or disturbed. RPD checked the surrounding area for a pantless man with negative results.

Friday, August 30 - Harassment, Orient Way

A 48 year old male from North Arlington reported an unknown individual has mailed letters to his new employer insinuating he’s a bad employee and wants it documented. The unknown party makes accusations against the man’s character, intelligence and credibility and advised the recipient that he made a mistake hiring him. The North Arlington resident stated he did not know who the party was and had no recent conflicts with anyone at or outside work. On Aug 30th he received a letter at work from an unknown party similar to the one previously emailed to the boss stating “you fired me along with several other lenders two years ago… we talk every once in a while about what a dumb, incompetent sneaky disloyal manager you were.” Both letters were typed in similar fonts and did not contain a return address. Envelopes were typed and taped on by an unknown party with no distinguishing factors.

Friday, August 30 - Suspicious Vehicle, Extended Stay America

Management at the Extended Stay America reported that between August 23rd and August 30th a white Lexus pulled into the parking lot during evening hours with occupants doing something in the rear seat or sitting in the car for several hours. Guests had also reported this to the front desk, and each time the Lexus had an unknown black male party and unknown black or hispanic female party. They say the parties sit in the front seat for several hours with the exception of a report in which the female was in the back seat with a different unknown male. Management is concerned they’re casing guests’ vehicles or soliciting prostitution. Management was advised that the overnight manager should contact RPD with any suspicious vehicle as soon as it is observed.

Friday, August 30 - Noise Complaint, Hackett Place

At approximately 12:50 am a caller reported a dog outside barking continuously. RPD responded and spoke with a 59 year old female homeowner who stated the dog would be brought inside and would remain there for the rest of the evening.

Thursday, August 29 - Burglary, Hastings Ave

A 67 year female stated she arrived home, parked her vehicle in her garage, locked it, pulled the garage door down and didn’t lock the garage door on August 26th at approximately 3pm. Upon returning on August 29th at approximately 2:00 pm she discovered a piece of Lucas luggage worth $49.99 missing from the garage. Nothing else was missing and the vehicle had not been touched. There were more expensive items in the garage that were not taken. Because she had touched the scene, there was nothing to process.

Wednesday, August 28 - Fraud, Feronia Way

A 61 year old female reported her residence had falsely been listed for rent on the Roomster app. The woman arrived home to find a man at her residence claiming to be there for the room available. The woman had no room available for rent and called RPD. The 19 year old man claimed he had been conversing with someone named Kyle Steadman at 786-588-2899 regarding a rental listing located in Rutherford. The man explained that he had met with Kyle an hour prior and left to go get $1150 in Bitcoin that Kyle requested as a deposit. He then stated that when he returned with the Bitcoin receipt Kyle was gone, but the homeowner was arriving home for the evening. She confirmed she did not have a room for rent and did not know Kyle. The individual stated he and Kyle were standing in the driveway that evening at approximately 6:00 pm and that Kyle opened the side door so he could peek in and see stairs to the left and right of the entryway. The arrangement was that Kyle would give him the key once the Bitcoin cleared. Kyle wanted a $500 deposit and $650 for the first month’s rent. The man advised Kyle originally wanted 3 month’s rent but he was able to negotiate down to one month. He left the residence, went to transfer Bitcoin at a location on Rt 17 in Hasbrouck Heights, returned at approximately 7:30pm and sent the Bitcoin via the Roomster app. The individual stated he attempted to contact Roomster customer service for a refund but found there is no phone number for Roomster. He sent an email and was told someone would respond shortly. The homeowner has a Ring doorbell and alarm and received no notification from either that anyone had been on her property. At 11pm later that night, the man called back and admitted to Sgt. Scannell that Kyle never was at the residence earlier. He explained that he was very nervous and the truth was he went to the home the previous day at 6pm and Kyle wasn’t there, yet he still made the payment without ever having met Kyle and admitted to never opening the door to the residence but that the rest of the story was true. He had receipts to back up the new information. The homeowner was contacted and advised no one had opened her door or was ever physically on her property and Kyle was never posing as the landlord. She expressed gratitude to RPD and stated she felt much better knowing this information. The individual now has to deal with Roomster for his refund. Roomster said they’d never ask for funds via Bitcoin.

Wednesday, August 28 - Suspicious Person, Orient Way

At approximately 6:20 pm, a caller reported an unknown party in the parking lot of a local business acting irate on the phone. RPD reported the man had pulled to the side of the road to discuss family business. He was unknowingly parked in front of a business and stated he would leave.

Wednesday, August 28 - Fraud, Chestnut Street

A 79 year old female was the victim of fraud after she received a phone call on August 22nd from an unfamiliar number: 252-284-4013. She had missed the called and an unknown female party left a voicemail saying there was suspicious activity involving her Social Security number. She later received another voicemail from 800-271-6792 from a male caller claiming to be a law enforcement agency who informed her that her Social Security had been suspended due to suspicious activity. Worried, the woman attempted to go to a physical Social Security location, but was unable to locate an office. She then decided to return home and call the male party. Over the phone, he advised she would need to respond to a nearby convenience store to purchase various gift cards. She complied and went to Walgreens in Rutherford at 7:32 am and purchased a Home Depot gift card for $400. She then scratched off the redemption code on the back and advised the unknown party of the code. He advised her to go back to Walgreens and purchase another. She returned to Walgreens and purchased an eBay gift card for $500 at 8:30 am. The unknown party stated he’d call her back following day and provide further instructions. The next day she realized she’d been scammed and responded to RPD. She was advised that it was a common scam and that no reputable agency would contact you and send you to a convenience store.

Tuesday, August 27 - Suspicious Incident, Elycroft Parkway

A 51 year old female called to report an incident that happened around 4:00 pm on August 26th after her juvenile son was home alone when a bald, medium skinned dark male, approximately 60 years old with a gray beard, khaki pants and dark shirt rang the doorbell. When the juvenile answered, the man asked the juvenile if his parents were home to which the juvenile said “no, why?” to which the man replied “no reason.” He then left and got into a silver or gray sedan. The juvenile had never seen the man before and did not believe the person knew his parents. He locked the door immediately and the mother contacted RDP the next day. Officer Beatini advised that the juvenile should never answer the door for an unknown party and personally put the RPD phone number into the juvenile’s phone. Officer Beatini spoke to another nearby resident who stated that at approximately 4:10 pm she received a knock on the door from an unknown white male who was walking with a cane and asked her about the car in the driveway adjacent to her, saying he could help them get the dent out, then inquired if she owned the minivan in front of the house. When asked if she owned it, she said, “yes” and the man said, “ I really like that van.” The man then walked away and got into a mid size silver sedan.

Tuesday, August 27 - Noise Complaint, Union Ave

At approximately 4:20 pm a caller reported a loud discussion between two parties on the front porch of a residence. Officers dispatched reported a conversation taking place between a 96 year old man and a 65 year old man. The discussion was loud because one man was hard of hearing.

Monday, August 26 - DWI, Glen Road

At approximately 8:05 pm, Officer Arnold was waved down and advised of a hit and run that had just occurred. The vehicle in question was a BMW 4 door sedan. She was advised it fled the scene going east on Glen Road. The driver returned to the scene on foot and wanted to see if there was any damage as she was not sure if she had hit something at the time and proceeded to drive and park on Park Ave. She admitted she was the one driving. Officer Arnold smelled alcohol on her breath and noticed slurred speech. The woman was charged with DWI and careless driving. She registered a BAC of .13%. She was released to a responsible party under John’s Law.

Monday, August 26 - Suspicious Person, Park Ave

At approximately 7:40 pm an anonymous caller reported a black man pushing an “old person shopping cart” walking northbound in the roadway shouting expletives at people. RDP identified a 42 year old homeless man, formerly from Hackensack, near 106 Park ave. Officer Donovan spoke to the party who said he was singing a rap song. He was advised to walk on the sidewalk and be conscious of the lyrics he sings.

Monday, August 26 - Theft of Identity, Belford Ave

A 59 year old female reported she received a letter claiming to be from the IRS advising her an unknown party had attempted to use her Social Security number to gain employment. Concerned and unsure if it was real, the woman first contacted the major credit bureaus who advised there had not been any fraudulent activity. She then called the phone number on the letter and was unsuccessful and came to RPD. Officer Beatini contacted the IRS and spoke to a rep who advised him a party had attempted to use the resident’s Social Security number, but it was quickly thwarted and that the letter was a valid notification. The resident was advised to continue checking all banks and credit card companies and to change privacy passwords.

Monday, August 26 - Harassment, Vreeland Ave

A Rutherford resident reports that between August 1st and 26th she had been harassed and received terroristic threats via text from a woman who resides in California. She knows the female party and for years she has been receiving harassing messages via phone calls, emails, and social media. She has received calls from unknown or private phone numbers where a female party states she is going “to kill her”. She was at one time friends with the woman as were their husbands.

The resident stated the other party sent an email to her husband’s company’s email advising them that her family had set up a fraudulent Go Fund Me account advising them to look into it. RPD reviewed all information provided and did not receive any documents that would have been viewed as terroristic threats. The resident was provided an affidavit and advised of her rights. The accused was contacted by RPD and believes the resident is making false accusations in retaliation because the California woman filed a fraud charge against the Rutherford resident’s mother.