Northern Valley Press Police Blotter, July 23, 2018

[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]

– On July 10 at 7:53 a.m., Patrolman Christopher Barbieri and Patrolman Joseph Sanfilippo responded to a Closter residence on a report of a stolen car.

Upon arrival, the officers spoke with the victim’s wife, who stated her husband had called police but was not home. Police spoke to the husband, who stated he had left his house at 3:30 a.m. and noticed his vehicle was missing from the driveway.

The man took a taxi to work to find all the vehicle registration information—as it is a company vehicle—and then called police to report it. He parked the vehicle—a New Jersey registered 2016 Lexus IS300, black in color—in his driveway on July 9 at 7 p.m. and noticed it was gone at 4 a.m. the next morning. The man stated the spare key may have been left in the vehicle.

The vehicle was entered stolen into a police database.

On July 10 at 2:28 p.m., Closter police were notified by Irvington Police Department that the vehicle was recovered in their jurisdiction. (The car’s value was estimated at $30,000.)

– On Friday, June 22 at about 11 p.m., Patrolman Justin Krapels was observing traffic on Closter Dock Road at Lewis Street. A dark colored Dodge Charger passed his position at a high rate of speed, turning onto Perry Street to travel south. Krapels watched the vehicle in his side view mirror “turn at such a high rate of speed that the tail end had skidded out before correcting to travel straight.”

Krapels exited the parking lot, pursued the vehicle and conducted a motor vehicle stop. As he approached the driver—later identified as a 19-year-old male from Emerson—Krapels observed he was extremely nervous, shaking, and sweating. Krapels went back to his vehicle to request back up.

When he returned to speak to the driver again, Krapels observed him “to be more nervous than before,” breathing rapidly and not making eye contact. Krapels inquired about the odor in the vehicle and the driver admitted to having marijuana. He was asked to exit the car.

The driver admitted to having a mason jar with marijuana in his backpack on the passenger floor board. The driver was asked to retrieve the backpack and remove the items, which he did, revealing a large mason jar containing greenish brown vegetation and a blue metal grinder used to break up marijuana, plus two THC cartridges and one THC vape pen and cartridge.

The driver was asked if there was anything else in the vehicle and stated that there was a prescription pill in the center console and possibly unknown other substances. Krapels entered the vehicle to retrieve the items, finding three clear plastic zip lock bags in the center console. One bag contained a yellow capsule marked “NVR R30” (later determined to be Ritalin, a schedule 2 controlled substance). The other two bags contained a white powdery substance. The driver stated he believed it to be cocaine.

The driver was arrested, searched and taken to police headquarters where he was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana under 50 grams, possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was also charged with two motor vehicle summonses. All charges were pending a court date in Hackensack.

[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]

– A 62-year-old woman from Demarest reported a counterfeit check to police on July 5.

The woman was notified by a bank that a transaction for $7,900 was “not authorized.” The counterfeit check was payable to and endorsed by a man the woman was not familiar with.

“The appearance of the counterfeit check has a similar likeness to the company check, however the sequence number is not correct,” Patrolman Niall Bresnan wrote in his report.

The woman ordered new checks and the bank flagged the account for any future transactions.

– On July 6 at 2:28 p.m., Sgt. Raymond Coleman, Patrolman Brian Oliver and Patrolman Paul Connelly responded to a residence on Delmar Avenue to a report that a resident’s son had possibly overdosed.

The officers were invited in the front door and told that the son in question was in a rear bedroom. The man was lying supine, breathing and snoring.

The officers woke the man, who appeared confused and under the influence of a narcotic and alcohol. Emergency medical services responded and evaluated the man.

The man was transported to Englewood for evaluation. Prior to being placed in the ambulance, the man was asked if he had anything illegal or weapons on him and he shrugged his shoulders. Tucked into his waistband was a pack of Swisher Sweets brand cigars with marijuana inside. The man also had a pack of SweeTarts candy that his brother believed may have been laced with something.

The marijuana and candy were confiscated for safe keeping and logged into the evidence system. The report indicates the man was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle.

– On July 9 at 2:01 a.m., Patrolman Matthew Banta  was traveling west on Madison Avenue in the area of the firehouse when he observed an eastbound vehicle. The police cruiser’s Automated License Plate Recognition system signaled an alert for an unregistered vehicle on the passing car.

Banta turned his vehicle around and caught up to the vehicle on East Madison Avenue by Kings. He confirmed the car’s registration was expired and conducted a motor vehicle stop by Legion Drive. Detective Charles Franke was sent as backup.

Upon approaching the driver, Banta immediately detected the odor of raw marijuana emanating from the vehicle. Banta also observed the driver—an 18-year-old Cresskill resident—to be extremely nervous. He was breathing rapidly, and Banta could see his shirt  rising and his heart beating through his chest. The driver was unable to make eye contact and answer questions without mumbling.

The driver was asked to exit the vehicle and step onto the sidewalk. He was read his Miranda rights, which he said he understood. The driver told Banta that he and his friends had smoked marijuana earlier and that was probably what he was smelling.

Banta advised that he would be searching the vehicle. The driver subsequently turned over a plastic bag of marijuana from his cargo zipper pocket. A search of the vehicle was negative.

The driver was placed under arrest, handcuffed, searched, and placed into a patrol car. The vehicle was secured in a nearby parking lot.

The driver was transferred to the detective bureau and charged with possession of marijuana and given a motor vehicle summons for having an unregistered vehicle. The charges were pending municipal court proceedings.

– A 56-year-old woman from Cresskill reported to police headquarters on July 6 at 4:44 p.m. that her credit card number was stolen.

The woman stated she used the card to pay for gas at a New Milford station the day earlier and thought the gas attendant looked suspicious. Then, the bank called her to alert her of suspicious charges for iTunes—in the amounts of $44.98, $39.98, $39.97 and $19.99. Her card has since been cancelled.

The complaint was forwarded to borough detectives.

[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]

– On July 11, Norwood Police Department detectives responded to a local bank branch after the branch manager reported that an individual was attempting to withdraw funds from a flagged account.

An 18-year-old male from Bronx, N.Y., was placed under arrest and transported to Norwood Police Department after bank officials advised that a fraudulent check worth more than $20,000 was deposited into his account days earlier.

The suspect was interviewed, admitted to his role in the scheme, and provided detectives with additional information related to similar crimes committed in other towns.

Detectives are working with additional agencies to identify other parties involved in this crime.

The defendant was charged with money laundering and released pending a Superior Court first appearance date.

– On July 11, at about 11:45 a.m., a Norwood patrolman stopped a vehicle after observing the driver cut through a gas station to avoid the traffic light at Broadway and Livingston Street.

Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer was able to detect the odor of burnt marijuana. The driver, a 33-year-old male from Plainfield, admitted to possessing two bags of marijuana in the center console of the vehicle. Written consent to search the vehicle was granted and the drugs were seized.

The motorist was placed under arrest and transported to Norwood Police Department headquarters and charged with possession of under 50 grams of marijuana. This matter will be heard in the Norwood Municipal Court.

[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]