Editor’s note: This section is based on facts provided to Pascack Press weekly by neighborhood police departments. Due to pending court appearances and other variations, the following information should be read in “press time” context.
[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]
PARK RIDGE
New iPhone X stolen from truck
A man who had bought a new iPhone X from the Woodcliff Lake Apple Store, left it in its bag on the rear seat of his truck, and stopped off on another errand the evening of Nov. 24 emerged minutes later to find his back window shattered and the phone missing.
The victim, a Grobel Place man, 52, told police he bought the phone, worth $1,000, and left it in his Ford F-150 while he stopped off at the Ridgemont lot near the liquor store.
Four minutes later, he said, he came out of the liquor store to see that someone had shattered the truck’s rear window and made off with the device.
Police who responded said they questioned an Acme employee who had been working in the lot at the time of the theft. He said he saw nothing suspicious.
Police advised the victim that either he was followed from the Apple Store or someone was just walking around, peering into vehicles for valuables in plain sight. He was advised to keep valuables hidden.
No further police action is reported as pending.
Scam website costs woman $50
A Louville Avenue woman is out $50 after falling under the lure of a fraudulent website.
According to the police report, taken the morning of Nov. 25, the woman believed she was Christmas shopping on a legitimate website.
At checkout, she was asked to pay with a $50 Amazon gift card, which she did. Afterward, she realized the site, “mebans,” was a scam.
Amazon told her it was unable to refund her money.
Police looked up the site and saw that others had reported it as a scam. No further police action is pending.
Police find ‘flying squirrel,’ release it outside
Officers investigating a second activated burglar alarm at a Fox Hollow home, at the request of a neighbor, were walking through the residence Nov. 24 just after midnight when, as the police report notes, “these officers saw a flying squirrel scurry across the floor. These officers were able to capture the flying squirrel and release it outside.”
The complaining neighbor, the report notes, “was very gracious of our efforts.”
No further police action is pending.
Dunkin’ Donuts to the rescue
A Nanuet, N.Y. woman is reunited with her wallet after Kinderkamack Road Dunkin’ Donuts staff returned it as found to police Nov. 23.
Officers contacted the woman, who collected it and all its contents the next day.
Dogs fight; owner shows restraint
A Bear Brook Road resident asked police to speak with a neighbor after the neighbor’s dog reportedly attacked her dog on Glendale Road the evening of Nov. 22.
The caller said she did not want to sign a complaint but said she would if the neighbor’s dog attacks again.
The victim’s owner reportedly was walking her dog, a retriever, when the neighbor’s dog sprung on it, prompting a dog fight of some 50 seconds. The retriever’s skin was not broken.
The other dog’s owner told police her dog was on a leash but had gotten away from her husband. She was advised to keep her pup on a leash at all times when on walks or face a summons.
WOODCLIFF LAKE
Arrest made in Victoria’s Secret bra thefts
Police investigating a complaint of shoplifting at the Chestnut Ridge Road Victoria’s Secret connected a suspect with a 2005 arrest for shoplifting from the same mall’s Apple Store.
According to police reports, the investigation, begun the afternoon of Sept. 4, the woman connected with that 2005 arrest was the woman who rented a car for one of two men police would soon arrest for the Victoria’s Secret thefts.
Through their investigation, police would make use of information provided by the loss prevention department of Neiman Marcus at Garden State Plaza, and later the Paramus Police Department.
Armed with information gathered, including from social media, local police identified and arrested a Bayonne man, 27, for the Victoria’s Secret thefts.
The suspect was called in, secured permission from his parole officer to appear at headquarters, and identified most of the suspects in the Victoria’s Secret matter.
He reportedly admitted to police taking the items—24 bras and 15 bralettes valued at a combined $1,074—and giving them to one of the other suspects, two of whom he only knows by their street names.
Charged with shoplifting, he has a court date of Dec. 4.
[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]
MONTVALE
Three in Jeep arrested over drugs, fake IDs
Police arrested three young men on Spring Valley Road over controlled dangerous substances and fraudulent documents after stopping their Jeep Liberty in the early morning hours of Nov. 23.
According to the police report, an officer noticed a Jeep passing him westbound had a nonfunctioning license plate light. He stopped the car.
In reviewing the driver’s credentials, the officer smelled burned marijuana from within the car. The officer identified the front- and back-seat passengers, then advised them he would be searching the Jeep. The officer called for backup.
On the sidewalk, all three men, ages 19, 18, and 18, were found to have the odor of burnt marijuana on their clothing.
A search of pockets turned up a tablet of suspected Adderall and two fake Rhode Island driver licenses with incorrect dates of birth.
Two marijuana cigarettes, loose marijuana, and an open can of Miller Lite were found in the Jeep.
Questioning the men yielded what police describe as negative results. The three were arrested, cuffed, and taken to headquarters in separate police cars.
After they were processed, they were taken back to the Jeep. They have a court date of Jan. 10, 2018.
Fogged windows, wrong-way driving, leads to DWI arrest
A Nov. 25 traffic stop led to a DWI arrest for a Spring Valley, N.Y. man, 37, who police say passed him on Memorial Drive in the early morning hours, heading east on Grand Avenue with his Honda Civic’s windows fogged over.
With police following, the Honda turned onto Hillcrest Avenue and failed to maintain the lane, traveling in the opposite lane of travel. It straightened out, but then stopped abruptly and took a right, without signaling, onto Jefferson Place, again traveling in the opposite lane of travel. An oncoming car had to stop to avoid a collision.
“I activated my overhead lights and conducted a motor vehicle stop. The Honda Civic pulled all the way over to the right, driving over the curb and partially on the grass,” the police report notes.
As there was a tree blocking the driver’s side, the officer approached from the passenger side, knocked to get the driver’s attention, and from the now rolled-down window asked for paperwork. He reports the interior smelled strongly of an alcoholic beverage.
The driver exhibited signs consistent with inebriation, and said he was lost going home.
Told he nearly caused a head-on collision, he reportedly said, “Oh, I didn’t see, sorry.”
He produced a Mexican passport.
The officer radioed for backup, and observed a passenger, who asked whether the driver was OK to drive. The officer said no.
The driver said he was not familiar with the English alphabet and could not count from 1 to 100.
When the other officer arrived, the Honda’s driver was given field sobriety tests, which he failed.
The driver was arrested and taken to headquarters for processing. Dispatched called surrounding towns to see if a Spanish-speaking officer was on duty to assist. Two such officers arrived from River Vale.
The driver was given six summonses and a court date of Nov. 29. He was given information on releasing his car from impound.
[slideshow_deploy id=’899′]