Fair 83°
Police & Fire
Glen Rock Homeowner Lets Phony Utility Worker In, Almost Pays For It, Police Say Glen Rock Homeowner Lets Phony Utility Worker In, Almost Pays For It, Police Say
Glen Rock Homeowner Lets Phony Utility Worker In, Almost Pays For It, Police Say A Glen Rock resident narrowly avoided becoming a victim when she let a man who said he was a utility worker into her home, authorities said. After claiming that he needed to check the water pressure, the stranger offered the Rodney Street woman a $50 cash rebate – then asked if she had two fifties to break a $100 bill, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said Monday. “The man was also speaking with an unknown person on his cellphone during their interaction,” the chief added. When the woman began to call a neighbor, the stranger bolted in a dark-colored GMC pick-up truck, Ackermann said. The resi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Tis the Season For Porch Piracy, So Don't Be A Victim 'Tis the Season For Porch Piracy, So Don't Be A Victim
'Tis the Season For Porch Piracy, So Don't Be A Victim Porch piracy has become more rampant than ever, now that more than half of holiday season shoppers buy online. Not only that: Tens of millions of people each year have holiday decorations stolen. Yes, there are organized crews who follow delivery drivers and others who case specific neighborhoods, police say. But "it is most often a crime of convenience," Monica Eaton-Cardone, co-founder and COO of the risk-mitigation firm Chargebacks911, told InsuranceQuotes.com. "The thief sees a package sitting unattended and simply grabs it.” Nearly 26 million Americans had a holiday pac…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
SEEN HIM? Washington Township Police Seek Would-Be Burglary Suspect SEEN HIM? Washington Township Police Seek Would-Be Burglary Suspect
Seen HIM? Washington Township Police Seek Would-Be Burglary Suspect Washington Township police sought the public's help finding a man who they said tried to break into a local residence. In a Ring video released by police, the suspect is seen walking up to the front door of a Hampshire Road road home wearing black gloves. After peeking inside, he leaves. Anyone who sees or recognizes him is asked to contact Detective Heather Castronova: (201) 664-1140. Castronova, meanwhile, urged "residents to be diligent this holiday season by locking their homes, setting alarms, and leaving lights on both inside and outside of their homes." She asked that residents al…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Homeless Thief Spends Night In Vacationing Cresskill Family's Home, Flees In Their SUV Homeless Thief Spends Night In Vacationing Cresskill Family's Home, Flees In Their SUV
Homeless Thief Spends Night In Vacationing Cresskill Family's Home, Flees In Their SUV A homeless burglar who spent the night in a Cresskill family’s home was caught driving their SUV in East Rutherford, authorities said. The arrest of 29-year-old Dirk McCalla underscores the relentless string of vehicle thefts in Bergen County, police said. McCalla was driving the Honda Pilot stolen out of southeast Cresskill when East Rutherford police caught him going door-to-door searching for targets, authorities said. Cresskill police charged him with burglary and theft, Detective Sgt. Jason Lanzilotti said. Police in East Rutherford and the Monmouth County town of Rumson brought simi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Duh! Wallington Thief Caught By Home Security Camera He Stole, Police Say Duh! Wallington Thief Caught By Home Security Camera He Stole, Police Say
Duh! Wallington Thief Caught By Home Security Camera He Stole, Police Say One thing a thief probably shouldn't steal is a home security camera, as Wallington police demonstrated. For one thing, its very purpose is to identify anyone who doesn't belong on your property, which police said included Yimy Garcia-Medina, 38, of Fairview. The owner received cellphone alerts that someone was trying to dismantle the camera, set 10 feet up a tree in front of the Tulip Place house, Detective Capt. Shawn Kudlacik said. The owner took screenshots of Garcia-Medina -- who ended up using his own phone to try and access the camera, the captain said. Made things pretty easy for …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
SEEN HIM? Out-Of-Country Victim Scares Off Cliffside Park Burglar Through Security Video Chat SEEN HIM? Out-Of-Country Victim Scares Off Cliffside Park Burglar Through Security Video Chat
Seen HIM? Out-Of-Country Victim Scares Off Cliffside Park Burglar Through Security Video Chat SEEN HIM? Cliffside Park police are asking the public to help identify a burglar who was scared off when the victim spoke to him via security video chat. The man in the photo used a screwdriver to break into an apartment at 307 Gorge Road – at the corner of Walker Street – this past summer, Lt. Vincent Capano said. The victim was out of the country but has a surveillance camera that allowed him to talk to the intruder after he broke in just after 2 p.m. Aug. 23, Capano said. When he said he was calling the police, the burglar bolted, he said. The lieutenant asked that anyone who knows or …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Hasbrouck Heights Woman: 'Mother God' Door-Knocker Fought Me To Get Inside Hasbrouck Heights Woman: 'Mother God' Door-Knocker Fought Me To Get Inside
Hasbrouck Heights Woman: 'Mother God' Door-Knocker Fought Me To Get Inside Kerry DeAngelo of Hasbrouck Heights was home alone with her two dogs on the Fourth of July when she heard a knock on the front door of her Henry Street home. When she opened it, a woman who appeared to be in her late 20s with dyed blonde hair said she wanted to talk to her about "Mother God," she said. DeAngelo, 21, explained she was busy -- but the woman persisted. "She kept trying to talk and ask me questions -- she kept getting closer and closer," DeAngelo recalled. "My dog started growling, and it's weird because he never does that." The turning point was…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Northern Valley: Three Vehicles Stolen With Fobs Inside, 4 Others Spared Northern Valley: Three Vehicles Stolen With Fobs Inside, 4 Others Spared
Northern Valley: Three Vehicles Stolen With Fobs Inside, 4 Others Spared HARRINGTON PARK, N.J. – Three vehicles that were stolen from separate driveways in Harrington Park this weekend all had the key fobs inside -- the apparent work of an organized crew that's been victimizing the Northern Valley, authorities said. Five other vehicles in Harrington Park were broken into, Police Chief Albert Maalouf said. “However, due to the unavailability of key fobs [in those four], the vehicles were not stolen,” he said. The incidents all occurred within several blocks of Lafayette Road bordered in the map above. The chief asked that homeowners with security cameras within…

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by Jerry DeMarco