Lyndhurst, NJ
Police & Fire
Wood-Ridge Detectives Crack Rash Of Package Thefts At Avalon Apartments Wood-Ridge Detectives Crack Rash Of Package Thefts At Avalon Apartments
Wood-Ridge Detectives Crack Rash Of Package Thefts At Avalon Apartments A plague of package thefts at a Wood-Ridge apartment complex was cracked with the arrests of two New York City men thanks to dogged investigative work by borough detectives. Packages delivered to the Avalon Bay Community at Wesmont from Amazon, UPS and FedEx were increasing when Detective David Marchitelli and his colleagues began watching the area, reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing victims, Capt. Joseph Biamonte said. The investigators quickly zeroed in on an apartment in the complex that they searched after obtaining a warrant. They found several stolen items as well as the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Paterson Officers Charged With Covering For NYPD Captain Indicted For Brutally Beating Woman Paterson Officers Charged With Covering For NYPD Captain Indicted For Brutally Beating Woman
Paterson Officers Charged With Covering For Nypd Captain Indicted For Brutally Beating Woman UPDATE: The other shoe finally dropped with the arrests of three Paterson police officers in connection with what authorities said was the kidnapping and brutal beating of an off-duty female NYPD commander from New Jersey by a fellow captain she'd been dating. Giuseppe Ciarla, Juan Cruz-Fernandez and Jason Schmid let then-NYPD Capt. Hariton Marachilian leave after finding the victim with clearly visible injuries from a vicious beating outside a Paterson restaurant in December 2022, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. Marachilian and the female captain had been out to dinner wi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
Police & Fire
SEEN HIM? Hackensack Police Pursue Fugitive, Arrest Gal Pal Who Phoned In Phony Report SEEN HIM? Hackensack Police Pursue Fugitive, Arrest Gal Pal Who Phoned In Phony Report
Seen HIM? Hackensack Police Pursue Fugitive, Arrest Gal Pal Who Phoned In Phony Report A search continued for a Bronx man after Hackensack police seized a loaded gun, 700 rounds of ammo and more from a car with bogus license plates that he’d allegedly left parked downtown. Detectives arrested a local caretaker who they said called in a bogus report of a man with a gun in an apparent attempt to throw police off the trail. Meleny Gingel Diaz, 27, of Hackensack was charged with causing a false public alarm, obstruction and hindering apprehension, among other offenses, Capt. Michael Antista said. Diaz spent barely a day in the Bergen County Jail before being released pending cou…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
Police & Fire
Tardy Rochelle Park Hotel Guest Busted With Cocaine, Pills, Knife: Police Tardy Rochelle Park Hotel Guest Busted With Cocaine, Pills, Knife: Police
Tardy Rochelle Park Hotel Guest Busted With Cocaine, Pills, Knife: Police A Rochelle Park hotel guest who overstayed his welcome was arrested after officers found cocaine and pills for sale in his room, authorities said. Police responding to a call of a guest not leaving by checkout time at the Ramada by Wyndham Hotel on West Passaic Street found Anwar Mnawer, 33, of the Bronx disoriented shortly after 1 p.m. Monday, March 18, Capt. James M. DePreta said. “In plain view inside the room, officers observed a large folding knife, prescription pills, a baggie containing a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine, and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia,” the …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Ex-Cons Who Tried To Shake Down Wayne Burglary Victim Caught With Guns: Police Ex-Cons Who Tried To Shake Down Wayne Burglary Victim Caught With Guns: Police
Ex-Cons Who Tried To Shake Down Wayne Burglary Victim Caught With Guns: Police Two ex-cons who demanded $1,000 for the return of a passport and Social Security card that were stolen from a Wayne home were found carrying a gun, a high-capacity magazine and the pilfered documents, authorities said. The victimized Chopin Drive resident kept one of the visitors talking after they suddenly showed up at his home and tried to shake him down early last week, Wayne Police Detective Capt. Dan Daly said on Monday, Feb. 26. Meanwhile, a relative called police. Officers Harrison Kirby and David Beltran got there instantly. They found Newark residents Wahid Floyd, 29, and Alquadir…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
Police & Fire
Man Held Sexually Abused Woman Captive At Gunpoint In Hackensack Home: Police Man Held Sexually Abused Woman Captive At Gunpoint In Hackensack Home: Police
Man Held Sexually Abused Woman Captive At Gunpoint In Hackensack Home: Police A car salesman was arrested by Hackensack police after he held a woman he’d sexually abused captive at gunpoint, authorities said. Christopher Baboolal, 29, was seized without incident at the Poplar Avenue home where the victim had been held against her will, said Hackensack Police Capt. Michael Antista, the officer in charge of the department. They recovered a gun – for which Baboolal didn’t have a permit -- and a high-capacity magazine, which is also illegal in New Jersey, the captain said. Colleagues from neighboring Ridgefield Park brought the woman to city police headquarters, Antista…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
Police & Fire
What Happens When You Try To Rob Two Stores Across From Police HQ? Ask Little Ferry PD What Happens When You Try To Rob Two Stores Across From Police HQ? Ask Little Ferry PD
What Happens When You Try To Rob Two Stores Across From Police HQ? Ask Little Ferry PD "This is a robbery, give me all your Oxy pills and Percocet,” read the note a would-be robber handed to a female pharmacist at a CVS in Little Ferry. “Otherwise my boys are coming in.” The unarmed bandit might have succeeded had he not chosen a target DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET from police HQ. It was shortly before noon Wednesday, Feb. 21, when Santiago Munoz-Pelaez entered the Liberty Street CVS in a blue hoodie, batting gloves and a mask covering his nose and mouth, Little Ferry Police Chief James Walters said. The pharmacist backed up after reading the note and told Munoz-Pelaez, 25, of…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Paterson Man Charged With Murder In Shooting Death Of Victim From Union City Paterson Man Charged With Murder In Shooting Death Of Victim From Union City
Paterson Man Charged With Murder In Shooting Death Of Victim From Union City A Paterson man was charged with murder after police responding to a report of a robbery found a shooting victim from Hudson County, authorities said. A witness directed officers to a house at 258 East 21st Street, off 19th Avenue where they found Logan Gonzalez, 33, of Union City with gunshot wound in his back shortly after 10:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16. Gonzalez was taken to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, where Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Department Officer-In-Charge Isa Abbassi said he was pronounced dead. They didn’t give the time. Valdes and A…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Northern Valley, NJ
Police & Fire
Old Tappan Man Jailed For Domestic Assault Released By Judge Old Tappan Man Jailed For Domestic Assault Released By Judge
Old Tappan Man Jailed For Domestic Assault Released By Judge A 32-year-old Old Tappan resident was charged with a domestic assault, authorities reported. Patrick Santos, 32, was arrested around midnight Feb. 12 after Sgt. Katie Weaver and Officer Andrew Kim "responded to a medical assistance call and learned the victim had been injured due to an earlier domestic-related incident," Old Tappan Police Chief Joseph Tracy said. River Vale police assisted in arresting Santos, who was charged with aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and unlawful weapons possession, the chief said. Santos was booked into the Bergen County Jail on Tuesday, then r…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Accusing Of Pinning Hackensack Woman Down By Her Hair, Plunging Knife Next To Her Head Ex-Con Accusing Of Pinning Hackensack Woman Down By Her Hair, Plunging Knife Next To Her Head
Ex-Con Accusing Of Pinning Hackensack Woman Down By Her Hair, Plunging Knife Next To Her Head A transient ex-con was charged with domestic violence after authorities said he pinned a Hackensack woman to the floor by her hair and threatened her with a knife before dawn Monday. Robert Raghoenathsingh, 40, formerly of Lodi but more recently of Passaic, plunged the knife into the floor next to the victim's head in her Prospect Avenue apartment around 2 a.m. Feb. 5, the woman told police. He then stood on her hair so she couldn't get up, her report says. Raghoenathsingh -- who jail records show is a divorced Yemeni national -- made headlines in 2019 when he brought what proved to be bas…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lyndhurst, NJ
Police & Fire
FAMILIAR FACE: Serial Porch Pirate Spotted By Lyndhurst Crossing Guard Dives Into Dumpster FAMILIAR FACE: Serial Porch Pirate Spotted By Lyndhurst Crossing Guard Dives Into Dumpster
Familiar Face: Serial Porch Pirate Spotted By Lyndhurst Crossing Guard Dives Into Dumpster A Lyndhurst porch pirate was spotted by a school crossing guard, pursued by the township police chief and captured after he dove into a Dumpster, authorities said. Jaquiece Shaddeer Smith, a 35-year-old longtime repeat offender from Garfield, made headlines just last month when he was identified snatching packages there while wearing both a distinctive jacket made of NFL team patches and with bright yellow sneakers. The Lyndhurst incident was no different. Smith -- this time cad in a colorful hoodie -- apparently didn't know the crossing guard had seen him snatch deliveries from a nearby h…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paramus, NJ
Police & Fire
Rochelle Park Detectives Seize Kilo Of Coke, Bust NYC Duo Off Highway Rochelle Park Detectives Seize Kilo Of Coke, Bust NYC Duo Off Highway
Rochelle Park Detectives Seize Kilo Of Coke, Bust NYC Duo Off Highway A pair of Rochelle Park detectives nabbed two men with more than a kilo of cocaine, authorities said. Detective Sgt. Jared Shatkin and Detective Nick Mercoun found an older-model Honda Accord with two occupants over a line in a Midland Street parking lot just off Essex Street between Routes 80 and 17 around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31, Capt. James M. DePreta said. As they approached, a passenger quickly ducked into a nearby business, he said. The detectives immediately spotted a plastic bag filled with what turned out to be more than two pounds of cocaine on the front seat, DePreta said. …

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by Jerry DeMarco