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CRIME WAVE: Unprecedented Epidemic Of Vehicle Thefts, Burglaries Grows Alarming In North Jersey CRIME WAVE: Unprecedented Epidemic Of Vehicle Thefts, Burglaries Grows Alarming In North Jersey
Crime Wave: Unprecedented Epidemic Of Vehicle Thefts, Burglaries Grows Alarming In North Jersey Thieves are prowling North Jersey streets in unprecedented numbers, stealing unlocked vehicles or items left inside of them, authorities say. And police alone can't stem the tide. Local and county law enforcement are devoting more resources to stopping the bandits, who are often from out of the area. But they can’t be everywhere at once.  More owners need to lock their vehicles and take their key fobs, they say, or things will only get worse. Think of it this way: Imagine your unlocked vehicle is stolen, is involved in a pursuit and slams into another car. Imagine someone is killed in the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Glen Rocks Adds Top-Scoring New Officer To PD Glen Rocks Adds Top-Scoring New Officer To PD
Glen Rocks Adds Top-Scoring New Officer To PD Glen Rock’s newest police officer was sworn in at a private ceremony attended by only family and department members because of COVID. Officer Andrew Magro was the top scorer among 150 applicants during a comprehensive selection process that began last August, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. “Candidates began the process with a comprehensive written entrance exam conducted by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police,” Ackermann said. “The top scoring candidates then competed in a physical agility test and a command board interview.” They were then interviewed by the borough ma…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Head-On Crash In Glen Rock Sends Two To Hospital Head-On Crash In Glen Rock Sends Two To Hospital
Head-On Crash In Glen Rock Sends Two To Hospital An out-of-state driver and her passenger from Dumont were hospitalized following a head-on crash in Glen Rock, authorities said. A 2019 Jeep had just exited Saddle River County Park headed south when it swerved into the northbound lane of Prospect Street and struck a 2020 Honda Civic shortly after 1:30 p.m. Monday, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. The driver, a 44-year-old Ridgewood man, said he was unsure of what happened, Ackermann said. He refused medical attention, the chief said. Both a witness who lives nearby and the Civic driver -- a 27-year-old Henrico, VA woman -- said the Jeep …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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BEWARE: 'Amazon' Phone Scammer Cons Glen Rock Victim Out Of $10,000 BEWARE: 'Amazon' Phone Scammer Cons Glen Rock Victim Out Of $10,000
Beware: 'Amazon' Phone Scammer Cons Glen Rock Victim Out Of $10,000 A Glen Rock resident lost more than $10,000 in an Amazon telephone scam, authorities said. The victim had just made an Amazon purchase when a text arrived from a purported “customer service representative” claiming there’d been a $1,490.97 purchase that the resident didn’t make, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. The scammer then gave the victim a number to call to dispute the charge, he said. The victim called and was directed to buy gift cards “to fix the security breach,” the chief said. “Over the next five hours the victim purchased over $ 10,000 in gift cards from NIKE, TARGET and E-B…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Jackknifed Tanker Truck Closes Route 208 Right Before Evening Rush Jackknifed Tanker Truck Closes Route 208 Right Before Evening Rush
Jackknifed Tanker Truck Closes Route 208 Right Before Evening Rush A jack-knifed tanker truck closed southbound Route 208 at the Glen Rock/Fair Lawn border just before the beginning of Monday's evening rush. Severe backups immediately began following the crash just beyond the Harristown Road around 4 p.m., Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. "A fuel truck struck the back of a truck and carrier combo, causing the fuel truck to jackknife and spill fuel onto the highway," he said. No injuries were reported, the chief said. "Aerial" view from nearby overpass on Route 208Boyd A. Loving for DAILY VOICE Glen Rock firefighters began cleaning up a fue…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Runaway SUV In Drive Instead Of Park Plows Through Front Window Of Rita's Ice In Glen Rock Runaway SUV In Drive Instead Of Park Plows Through Front Window Of Rita's Ice In Glen Rock
Runaway SUV In Drive Instead Of Park Plows Through Front Window Of Rita's Ice In Glen Rock A Rita's ice shop in Glen Rock was open for business when an SUV plowed through the front window. Fortunately no one was hurt, police said. The BMW came crashing through the Rita's Italian Ice and Frozen Custard on Maple Avenue near the Fair Lawn border just off Route 208 shortly before 7 p.m. The Glen Rock driver, 43, who was operating with an Australian driver's license, told responding officers that he failed to realize that his vehicle was still in drive when he parked, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. The SUV also damaged a side door and some chairs and tables inside, but that was i…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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UPDATE: Fair Lawn Boy Found Nearly 600 Miles From Home UPDATE: Fair Lawn Boy Found Nearly 600 Miles From Home
Update: Fair Lawn Boy Found Nearly 600 Miles From Home A missing 16-year-old Fair Lawn boy was found safe and sound on Friday -- in Ohio, authorities confirmed. The news came a short time after a 16-year-old Glen Rock boy who also was reported missing on Thursday was found in Mahwah. Haadi Abdul-Ghaffar left his Fair Lawn home shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday, police said. Police suspected he might have been headed either to New York's Penn Station of Pennsylvania. He was reported found late Friday morning, Fair Lawn Police Sgt. Brian Metzler said. The department thanked police in Columbus and Dayton, Ohio for their assistance. The news out o…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Driver, 82, Hospitalized After Runaway Sedan Damages Five Vehicles At Glen Rock Auto Body Shop Driver, 82, Hospitalized After Runaway Sedan Damages Five Vehicles At Glen Rock Auto Body Shop
Driver, 82, Hospitalized After Runaway Sedan Damages Five Vehicles At Glen Rock Auto Body Shop Five vehicles at a Glen Rock auto body shop were damaged by a runaway sedan. The 82-year-old driver from Fair Lawn reported having "mechanical difficulty" before her Toyota Camry crossed the double-yellow line on northbound Ackerman Avenue and barreled into the lot at Martens Body and Fender Friday afternoon, borough Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. The damaged vehicles included another sedan, an SUV and a pickup truck. Five vehicles in all were damaged in the Glen Rock chain-reaction crash.Boyd A. Loving for DAILY VOICE A Ridgewood EMS unit took the driver to The Valley Hospital with…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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UPDATE: Current From Lightning Strike Damages Glen Rock Home UPDATE: Current From Lightning Strike Damages Glen Rock Home
Update: Current From Lightning Strike Damages Glen Rock Home A kitchen socket was blown off the wall, a surveillance camera was knocked from the back of the home and a window was blown out when lightning struck a backyard tree in Glen Rock during Wednesday night's storm, authorities said.  "The vacationing homeowner is extremely lucky, as is the family dog," Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. Lightning struck a tree in the backyard of the Prospect Avenue home, sending a current through an overhead electrical wire for decorative yard lights and into the house, the chief said. It blew a surveillance camera off the back of the home, shattered a kit…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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SCAM ALERT: ‘Gypsy’ Thieves Are Back, Con Elderly Glen Rock Couple Out Of $18,000 SCAM ALERT: ‘Gypsy’ Thieves Are Back, Con Elderly Glen Rock Couple Out Of $18,000
Scam ALERT: ‘Gypsy’ Thieves Are Back, Con Elderly Glen Rock Couple Out Of $18,000 SEEN IT? “Gypsy” scammers are out again, police warn, pointing to an elderly Glen Rock couple who came thisclose to losing $18,000. The con artists, also called “travelers,” move around the East Coast using scams and diversions to get into people’s pocketbooks. This time, a grifting group coincidentally came to the door of a couple who’d called a legitimate roofing company for help, Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. When the couple asked whether they were their contractors, they said they were. They then “proceeded to cover the entire roof with some sort of tar or rubberized as…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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GLEN ROCKED: Town Puzzled By Mysterious ‘Explosions’ GLEN ROCKED: Town Puzzled By Mysterious ‘Explosions’
Glen Rocked: Town Puzzled By Mysterious ‘Explosions’ They sounded like explosions and even knocked items off shelves, yet no one could pinpoint the source of a series of Memorial Day weekend booms that were heard – and felt – in a Glen Rock neighborhood. An officer responding to a report of “several loud bangs” that shook homes Saturday on Romary Court heard a series of explosions, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. “However, they appeared to be coming from a distance away,” he said. Backup officers, firefighters and PSE&G crews converged on the neighborhood off Harristown Road. Surrounding towns were also notified. The utility workers “…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Driver ODs, Crashes, Revived By Glen Rock Police Driver ODs, Crashes, Revived By Glen Rock Police
Driver ODs, Crashes, Revived By Glen Rock Police Glen Rock police revived a driver who’d overdosed behind the wheel and crashed, damaging a resident’s lawn, in the middle of the afternoon. Officers responding to a 911 call of an unconscious driver forced their way into the locked 2016 Mercedes SUV on Midwood Road, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. They pulled the driver out and administered Narcan, which brought him around, Ackermann said. Members of the Glen Rock Volunteer Ambulance Corps took over, then brought the driver to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, he said. One of the officers sustained minor injuries as they forced their wa…

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by Jerry DeMarco