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Police & Fire
Superintendent: Suspicious Call Locks Down Mahwah Schools Superintendent: Suspicious Call Locks Down Mahwah Schools
Superintendent: Suspicious Call Locks Down Mahwah Schools Mahwah schools went into "precautionary modified lockdown" on Monday after a suspicious call came in to the high school, officials said. The lockdowns began at 12:45 p.m. while police investigate the call to the high school's main office, Schools Supt. C. Lauren Schoen said in an email to parents. The call was deemed non-credible and the lockdowns were lifted at 1:38 p.m., Schoen said. "A police presence will remain on Ridge Road for the remainder of the school day," the superintendent said. "We thank the Mahwah Police Department for [its] continued support in maintaining a safe learn…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
FOUND! Missing Franklin Lakes Boy, 10, Returns Safe, Sound FOUND! Missing Franklin Lakes Boy, 10, Returns Safe, Sound
Found! Missing Franklin Lakes Boy, 10, Returns Safe, Sound The search for a missing 10-year-old Franklin Lakes boy ended early Wednesday evening when he returned home after several hours, police said, adding that the youngster was OK. As a precaution, an EMS unit was responding to the home. "At 2:59 p.m. today, a Pulis Avenue resident reported that [the] 10-year-old child had left the home and was missing," police Capt. John Bakelaar said. "He was last seen running into a wooded area bordering the residence. "At approximately 6:20 p.m., the child returned home." A State Police chopper was in the air and searchers fanned out late Wednesday after…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
CONDO FIRE: Mahwah Resident, 52, Fell Asleep On Couch With Lit Cigarette, Police Say CONDO FIRE: Mahwah Resident, 52, Fell Asleep On Couch With Lit Cigarette, Police Say
Condo Fire: Mahwah Resident, 52, Fell Asleep On Couch With Lit Cigarette, Police Say A Mahwah condo resident was hospitalized with minor injuries after he fell asleep on a couch with a lighted cigarette that ignited a smoky fire, authorities said. Officers and firefighters found smoke pouring from the rear window of a Hemingway Lane residence in the Ridge Gardens Condominiums complex just after 4 a.m., Police Chief Stephen Jaffe said. Firefighters found the 52-year-old victim unconscious on the still-smoldering couch in a rear room of the ground-floor apartment, Jaffe said. They carried him outside to safety with help from Officer Thomas Mitchell, the chief said. Sprinkl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bergen Sheriff's Task Force Rounds Up 8 Defendants Who Skipped Court Bergen Sheriff's Task Force Rounds Up 8 Defendants Who Skipped Court
Bergen Sheriff's Task Force Rounds Up 8 Defendants Who Skipped Court A Fugitive Task Force assembled by Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton snatched up eight people wanted on warrants in one morning. Tuesday morning’s operation “included participation from 18 different agencies and resulted in multiple leads,” Cureton said Wednesday. All eight defendants taken into custody had skipped court appearances, he said. Adrian Gierek, 24, Oakland: burglary; Luz Lozada, 24, Lodi: accomplice liability; Joseph Crawford, 32, Hawthorne: burglary; Whelan Rapaikari, 26, Fort Lee: trespassing; Darrell Davis,36, Hackensack: drug dealing; Kristian Salmeron, 37, Garfield: …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bloodied, Shirtless, Screaming Man Seized By Mahwah Police Bloodied, Shirtless, Screaming Man Seized By Mahwah Police
Bloodied, Shirtless, Screaming Man Seized By Mahwah Police Residents remained inside their homes as Mahwah police seized a bloodied, shirtless, shoeless man early Tuesday. Marvin Corominal, 24, of Mahwah was pepper-sprayed after refusing to comply with officers' demands, Police Chief Stephen Jaffe said. Officers were called to a Catherine Avenue residence on a report of an out-of-control man around 8:40 a.m., a short time after children had left for school. Additional calls came in of Corominal running down the street with no shirt or shoes, bloodied by some type of injury, the chief said. Officer William Hunt found Corominal at the intersection …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Mahwah Police Chief Leaves A Modernized, Professional Department Sensitive To Township's Needs Mahwah Police Chief Leaves A Modernized, Professional Department Sensitive To Township's Needs
Mahwah Police Chief Leaves A Modernized, Professional Department Sensitive To Township's Needs Ask retiring Mahwah Police Chief James N. Batelli for highlights from more than four decades in law enforcement and his attention immediately turns to the accomplishments – large and small -- of the members of the department he’s headed since 2002. “We are a nationally accredited agency through CALEA and that is a tribute to the officers who provide the service,” Batelli said Saturday. “Since the initial accreditation we have received four re-accreditations, which is something our officers work very hard at -- and only 5% of law enforcement agencies in the nation achieve.” Accreditation re…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Mahwah Family Loses Everything In Fire Mahwah Family Loses Everything In Fire
Mahwah Family Loses Everything In Fire UPDATE: A Mahwah family of four lost just about all of their belongings in a morning fire. Anthony Covello sustained a minor burn on his hand and his wife, Kari, was treated for smoke inhalation from the Oweno Place fire, which broke out in a small boiler room around 7 a.m., authorities said. Township police Township Officers Keith Iorio and Rob Birney got the couple and their two children out of the house and to a neighbor’s home, then turned extinguishers on the blaze, Police Chief James N. Batelli said. Unfortunately, "the flames quickly spread throughout the house,” Batelli said. “Th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Treacherous Mahwah School Crossing Gets More Attention After Another Near-Miss Treacherous Mahwah School Crossing Gets More Attention After Another Near-Miss
Treacherous Mahwah School Crossing Gets More Attention After Another Near-Miss A crossing guard was leading Nick LaBate’s 6-year-old daughter and her mom across a busy Mahwah street to the youngster’s school bus stop when an SUV came roaring by – not slowing or stopping, just missing them all by a whisker, as the terrified mother yanked the little girl back. LaBate’s ex-wife “was so upset by what might have happened but for a matter of inches that she was in tears,” LaBate said. For those who live nearby, the street doesn’t have to be named: They know the perils of the stretch of Ramapo Valley Road (aka Route 202) near Island Road all too well. Although the number of…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Mahwah PD: Driver In Stolen Car Carrying Crystal Meth, No ID Fights With Police After Chase Mahwah PD: Driver In Stolen Car Carrying Crystal Meth, No ID Fights With Police After Chase
Mahwah PD: Driver In Stolen Car Carrying Crystal Meth, No ID Fights With Police After Chase A combative driver apparently cranked up on crystal meth was taken to New Bridge Medical Center in police custody after a Mahwah officer caught him speeding in a stolen van, authorities said. Officer Daniel Stewart chased the 2001 Chevy van Saturday afternoon from Campgaw Road in Mahwah to Pulis Avenue in Franklin Lakes before 31-year-old Bruno Ferreira finally pulled over, Police Chief James N. Batelli said. Ferreira, who wasn't carrying identification, was taken to police headquarters, where he "become combative and had to be restrained" during a search, Batelli said. Officers found him …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Aerial Circuits: New Mahwah Police Drones Aim To Boost Protection, Service Aerial Circuits: New Mahwah Police Drones Aim To Boost Protection, Service
Aerial Circuits: New Mahwah Police Drones Aim To Boost Protection, Service If a law enforcement agency is going to add a trio of drones to serve and protect the public, as Mahwah police just did, it might as well get the best. The three new additions are “the most advanced drones available to law enforcement,” Police Chief James N. Batelli said Tuesday. Township police can’t be everywhere, but they can maneuver to unique vantage points with their new mini-squadron. Batelli cited: Search and rescue operations: The drones assist with missing person investigations, Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts and lost hikers, for instance – the last of which will be particularly u…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Safe Stolen From Distracted Mahwah Homeowner Found 75 Miles Away Safe Stolen From Distracted Mahwah Homeowner Found 75 Miles Away
Safe Stolen From Distracted Mahwah Homeowner Found 75 Miles Away A safe stolen from a Mahwah home by a smooth talker and at least one accomplice was recovered – empty -- in Central Jersey, said police who are investigating the diversionary theft. Police asked residents along or near Darlington Avenue who may have been approached or noticed anything suspicious early Thursday evening to contact them. The homeowner said he was doing yard work when the con man got out of an SUV that pulled into the driveway around 6 p.m., Police Chief James N. Batelli said. The stranger was described as white, about 50 years old, 5-foot-9 and heavy-set, with dark hair and a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Crash Knocks Salt Spreader Off Truck Onto Route 17 Crash Knocks Salt Spreader Off Truck Onto Route 17
Crash Knocks Salt Spreader Off Truck Onto Route 17 A landscaper's salt spreader was knocked from the back of his truck and onto Route 17 northbound Thursday morning in a minor collision with a box truck in Mahwah, authorities said. The landscaper was leaving Home Depot just after 7:30 a.m. when the box truck cut him off, causing him to lose control of the vehicle, Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli said. The salt spreader fell off the truck and landed in the middle lane of the highway causing minor delays, the chief said.  No injuries were reported. The accident is under investigation.

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by Cecilia Levine