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The assailant was so intent on intercepting a particular package that he apparently staked out the local postal annex earlier in the day and then took cellphone photos of the contents of the carrier's truck while it was parked outside a downtown residential/commercial building on West Palisade Avenue.
An employee at the Towne Centre at Englewood alerted the carrier to the stranger, Police Lt. Fred Pulice said.
"Can I help you?" the carrier reportedly asked the man peering into his truck.
The man said a package intended for him was inside the vehicle. "I need you to give it to me," he said.
The suspect showed the carrier a tracking app on his phone that listed a package in transit, Pulice said.
The carrier told police he retrieved the package, then explained to the man that he only needed to see some identification before he could release it, the lieutenant said.
The man said didn't have any ID. The carrier responded that he was sorry but had to follow the rules.
The man then grabbed hold of the package, and a struggle ensued.
The two fell to the ground wrestling before the stranger suddenly shouted, "Where's my knife? Where's my knife?"
The carrier said he let go at that point and the man ran off with the delivery.
Curiously, police had been called to the postal annex on Smith Street earlier in the day. Two suspicious men were reportedly walking around the facility as if they were looking for something, Pulice said.
Officers found one of the men sitting in what turned out to be an unregistered vehicle, the lieutenant said. He told them that he and his cousin had come looking for a specific delivery but that his cousin had left.
Police impounded the unregistered vehicle and issued him a summons for it, Pulice said.
Then came the incident on West Palisade.
Detectives have been reviewing surveillance video from the area while seeking witnesses. They described the strong-arm robber as in his mid-20s, Hispanic and about 5-foot-10 with a thin build. He was wearing a green jacket, they said.
Crimestoppers offers cash rewards of up to $1,000 for any information that significantly assists the police in investigations. Tips can be made anonymously on the group’s website (bergencrimestoppers.com) or by calling 844-466-6789 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Or you could call Englewood police detectives directly and remain anonymous: (201) 568-4875.
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