This section is based on data provided to Pascack Press weekly by neighborhood police departments. Due to pending court appearances and other variations, the following information shall be read in ‘press time’ context.
Ex-plow worker admits stealing and pawning
An open investigation on the theft and pawning of goods from Feb. 2 led to a motor vehicle stop March 1, and the driver was arrested for several offenses and warrants.
According to the police report, the defendant, 37, who is charged for theft, burglary, and criminal trespassing, additionally is charged with possession of crack cocaine, possession of heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of hypodermic syringes.
The defendant was taken to Bergen County Jail.
The theft, burglary, and criminal trespass activity stems from an earlier incident reported on that led to the discovery of thefts from a snow removal company, which said it regarded the defendant as a problematic employee.
A company investigation involving GPS tracking showed the employee used his work vehicle to make several stops to pawn shops, unloading stolen work equipment: snowblowers and GPS units. A police liaison with the pawn business was of great help in gathering paperwork and video evidence.
Police reported they believed the suspect would not turn himself in, as he had criminal and traffic warrants out on him totalling $3,250. It was unknown where he was residing, as he had listed a post office box on his driver’s license.
The service company he worked for had not confronted him about the thefts, though managers felt he was becoming suspicious as he did not call to get a shift to clear up after recent snow storms.
Working with police, the company arranged for the suspect to pick up a salt truck at a designated address. Officers were waiting. At that stop, they found the drugs and paraphernalia in a bag in the man’s car. He admitted the bag was his but not the contraband.
At headquarters, following an interview of 80 minutes, he confessed to burglarizing his employer’s box truck and taking three snow blowers and five GPS units and selling these to pawn shops.
The follow-up report adds eight motor vehicle summonses: unregistered vehicle, driving with a suspended license, failure to inspect, window tint, failure to possess insurance card, no liability insurance on vehicle, failure to signal, and controlled dangerous substances in a vehicle.
Window tint, air freshener seen: Driver had pot
Police on patrol March 3 at 11:36 a.m. followed a black Nissan Altima northbound on Chestnut Ridge Road, alert to its dark tinted front windows and its tree-shaped air freshener hanging from its rear-view mirror.
Stopping the car on Chestnut Ridge Road just north of Upper Saddle River Road, police requested the driver’s credentials. The officer detected the strong odor of marijuana emanating from the car.
When backup arrived, officers conducted a probable cause search. They turned up 16 rolled marijuana cigarettes and a metal grinder containing marijuana residue.
The driver, 23, was arrested and processed. He was charged for the contraband and given traffic summonses. He was released on his own recognizance. His mother came to pick him up.
Man arrested at court over drugs— then faints
A man walking through the metal detector at Pascack Joint Municipal Court on the afternoon of March 13 evidently smelled of marijuana, prompting an officer to ask him if he had smoked recently. The defendant, 24, said he had, so the officer had him stand against a wall for a search.
In one pocket the man had a plastic container of raw marijuana; in another he had a marijuana cigarette.
Police handcuffed and arrested the man. Backup arrived. As police were alerting dispatch, the defendant fainted. Police eased him to the floor in the recovery position. He came around, and said he didn’t need medical attention. Nevertheless, police called for EMTs.
The man was taken to headquarters where he was processed and given a court date. Then he was released.
Boy, 13, admits to vandalism in school lavatory
A Fieldstone Middle School student admitted to being the young man who had damaged school property in the boys’ main floor bathroom by etching a privacy partition with words and symbols, including, evidently, a swastika.
According to the police report, dated March 14 and referring to criminal mischief, the school administration said there had been “erratic behavior” at the bathroom the day before and that video surveillance was reviewed.
This produced a group of students to interview, from which one student stepped forward as culpable.
Police left a message with Bergen County Assistant Prosecutor and Bias Officer Vered Adoni detailing the incident.