Glen Rock driver in DUI nearly struck school worker, police report
An officer on Dec. 12 at 10:46 p.m. responded to 2 Park Ave. on a dispatch call for a motor vehicle crash. Upon arrival he observed a grey Lexus bearing New Jersey registration parked sideways in the driveway.
He also observed that the vehicle was a couple of inches away from the fence for 14 Park Ave.
Parked at the high school driveway, the officer exited his patrol car, took note of the Lexus’s rear license plate cover, which was covering the bottom of the license plate lettering, and was met by three district workers standing in the driveway.
They said they had called the police, explaining that the driver almost hit one of them, who was operating a school golf cart taking out the garbage.
One of the three said they weren’t sure if the Lexus driver had been having a medical emergency, as he had driven in haphazardly and then slumped over in the driver’s seat.
The officer knocked on the driver’s window. The driver sat up and looked at the officer.
The driver was not wearing his seatbelt. The officer ordered him to put his car in park. Instead he put his car in reverse and attempted to back up. The officer yelled for him to stop, which he did.
The officer and opened the defendant’s driver door and immediately detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from the interior of the vehicle. The officer then had the defendant shut off his car. The defendant’s eyes were bloodshot and watery.
The officer called for backup. The defendant, 41, from Glen Rock, denied having had any alcoholic beverages or was a diabetic.
The officer asked for the driver’s key fob, which the driver had a hard time locating. His responses reportedly were unintelligible. He refused to hand over the key fob or to exit the car.
His movements were slow and lethargic. When he did exit the car he swayed, needing to lean against the car for support. His breath smelled strongly of alcoholic beverage.
He failed field sobriety tests, and then was arrested over driving while intoxicated. He was handcuffed and taken to headquarters, and his car was towed.
The man’s wife was contacted and advised.
At headquarters the defendant continually refused to answer questions and was argumentative. He agreed to provide breath samples for testing.
He was issued the following summonses: driving under the influence, reckless driving, careless driving, failure to maintain lane, driving in a manner to cause accident, failure to wear seatbelt, unclear plate, and improper front of driveway.
All summonses were answerable to the Pascack Joint Municipal Court on Dec. 18. At 11:42 the defendant was released from custody and turned over to his wife.
Scam attempt over online sale, but resident unmoved
A resident reported to police last week that she was the object of an attempted fraud. She’d been selling a piece of furniture on Facebook and Craigslist for $1,400 and was contacted by a purported buyer who then sent her a check in excess, directing her to use the remainder to pay “movers” who would be sent.
The woman received a Walmart “bluebird” check for $3,480. Wells Fargo in Park Ridge confirmed that the check was fraudulent.
The woman advised police . She said she did not disclose personal or financial information and that she had not suffered any monetary loss.
Police told her this is a common scam. Detectives were notified.
Disturbed man claims he’s wired to a bomb
At 7:45 p.m. on Dec. 8, seven officers responded to the area of Park Avenue and Rock Avenue for a report of a man with a bomb strapped to his chest.
Upon arrival, they observed a large heavyset man in the middle of the road with his hands raised.
The roadway was shut down between Rock Avenue and Vitmar Place. Officer Lange de-escalated the situation, having the man remove both his shirts, which showed them he was not wearing an explosive vest on his chest as reported.
Lange attempted to have him remove his shoes, however, the subject was unable to due to his body size and level of inebriation.
During the entirety of the encounter, the subject, 52, was asking for help and had his hands raised in the air.
All units converged and handcuffed the subject without incident. He was escorted to an ambulance staged nearby.
Police said they could detect an alcoholic beverage emanating from the man’s breath. He also said he was under the influence of mushrooms. He said he was coming from his friend’s house in Park Ridge and was very sad over a lot of things.
He said he had been thrown out of his friend’s apartment. He also began yelling contradictory things about his own sexual identity.
The man was handcuffed to the stretcher and transported to New Bridge Medical Center with officers following. He was signed in as an involuntary patient.
The person who called police stated he was driving west on Rock Avenue when the subject approached his vehicle and said, “I have a bomb on my chest.”
The caller sped across the intersection to separate himself from the subject but kept him in view to update incoming police units on his movements.
Detectives contacted the man the subject was distraught about. He confirmed he and the subject were drinking in Hillsdale earlier in the evening. There the two purchased mushrooms from another patron and they ingested them at the restaurant.
The two returned to an apartment downtown where a brief altercation took place, with no injuries reported. The subject then departed the residence.
Police confirmed that there were no firearms in the subject’s house, in Hillsdale.