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Garfield Police Department

Police & Fire
Police Car Struck, Vehicle Thieves Captured After Crash In Garfield: Authorities Police Car Struck, Vehicle Thieves Captured After Crash In Garfield: Authorities
Police Car Struck, Vehicle Thieves Captured After Crash In Garfield: Authorities A driver wanted for hitting a police cruiser with a stolen BMW was nabbed by Garfield police after he crashed into a pole, igniting a fire, and took off on foot, authorities said. Garfield police spotted the orange 2020 BMW M4 shortly before noon Wednesday, March 27, after colleagues from Newark who were tracking the vehicle via GPS pointed them to Prospect Street after one of their vehicles was hit, Capt. Mario Pozo said. Garfield Police Officer Noah Murphy tried stopping the sedan moments later, the captain said, but the driver threw it in reverse, hit the gas and accidentally slammed int…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Involved In Undercover Shooting Charged With Drug-Induced Death Of NJ Man Ex-Con Involved In Undercover Shooting Charged With Drug-Induced Death Of NJ Man
Ex-Con Involved In Undercover Shooting Charged With Drug-Induced Death Of NJ Man UPDATE: An ex-con from Garfield who served time for a botched drug deal that led to the shooting of an undercover police officer was arrested on Thursday and charged with causing the overdose death of a 30-year-old user late last summer. Melvin Guzman, 29, is charged with strict liability in the drug-induced death of Ivan Santiago of Passaic last Sept. 17, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced on March 28. Santiago and another user were hospitalized after overdosing at a home on Lincoln Place, the prosecutor said. He was pronounced dead soon after. “A six-month investigation by t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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
Police & Fire
Garfield Shooting: Repeat Offender From Elmwood Park Charged With Attempted Murder Of JC Man Garfield Shooting: Repeat Offender From Elmwood Park Charged With Attempted Murder Of JC Man
Garfield Shooting: Repeat Offender From Elmwood Park Charged With Attempted Murder Of JC Man UPDATE: Bergen County prosecutor’s detectives seized a repeat offender from Elmwood Park who they said shot a 26-year-old Jersey City man several times in a Garfield shopping center parking lot this past weekend. Joshua Casiano, 29, was already wanted on warrants out of Passaic and Clifton, records show, when investigators said he shot the victim and left him behind the Citizens Bank branch at the Mill Shoppes of Garfield just off River Drive late Sunday, June 18. The victim survived the 11:45 p.m. shooting and was reported by Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella to be in stable condition…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! Boy, 15, Robbed Of Bicycle At Knifepoint Outside Walmart, Garfield PD Stings Suspect GOTCHA! Boy, 15, Robbed Of Bicycle At Knifepoint Outside Walmart, Garfield PD Stings Suspect
Gotcha! Boy, 15, Robbed Of Bicycle At Knifepoint Outside Walmart, Garfield PD Stings Suspect Garfield police pulled a clever sting to capture a Dominican national who they said pulled a knife on a 15-year-old boy and robbed him of a bicycle that the youngster had arranged to sell him through Facebook. Cristopher Rosario, 18, of Bloomfield, met the boy in the parking lot of the Walmart on Passaic Street, then threatened him with a silver knife before fleeing on the bicycle towards Passaic shortly after 8:30 p.m. last Thursday, June 1, Capt. Mario Pozo said. The youngster had gone there after Rosario agreed on Facebook Marketplace to buy the bike for $850, the captain said. Garfield…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Lodi Ex-Con, South Carolina Companion Busted With Gun, Hollow Points In Garfield Traffic Stop Lodi Ex-Con, South Carolina Companion Busted With Gun, Hollow Points In Garfield Traffic Stop
Lodi Ex-Con, South Carolina Companion Busted With Gun, Hollow Points In Garfield Traffic Stop A convicted felon from Lodi and a South Carolina companion were arrested after a Garfield police officer found a loaded gun during a traffic stop, authorities said. Officer Marvin Monroig stopped a speeding BMW 320 with North Carolina license plates after the driver ignored a “No Turn on Red” sign going from Midland Avenue to Passaic Street and then blew through a light at Palisade Avenue shortly after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, Capt. Mario Pozo said. Backup Officer Elihud Santiago spotted a black Taurus G3C 9mm handgun in the glove compartment as the driver, Chad Thomas Stillwell, 51, of …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Habitual Offender Who Bathed In McDonald's Bathroom Gets Tased Twice: Garfield PD Habitual Offender Who Bathed In McDonald's Bathroom Gets Tased Twice: Garfield PD
Habitual Offender Who Bathed In McDonald's Bathroom Gets Tased Twice: Garfield PD A habitual offender who used a McDonald's bathroom to bathe fought with responding Garfield police officers and ended up being tased twice, authorities said. Officers responding to a call at the Passaic Street fast-food restaurant shortly before 10 p.m. Monday, Nov. 28, were told that Robert P. Glodek, 33, was "using their bathroom as a shower and refused to leave," Capt. Mario X. Pozo said. Officer Joseph Kopacz approached Glodek outside the McDonald’s and tried getting his ID in case McDonald's wanted to pursue criminal charges, the captain said. Glodek, of Union Township, "refused to co…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Authorities: Coke Dealer Who Drove Down Elmwood Park Sidewalk To Avoid Arrest Freed By Judge Authorities: Coke Dealer Who Drove Down Elmwood Park Sidewalk To Avoid Arrest Freed By Judge
Authorities: Coke Dealer Who Drove Down Elmwood Park Sidewalk To Avoid Arrest Freed By Judge A drug-dealing café worker from Elmwood Park drove down a sidewalk to escape detectives, authorities said, then was almost immediately released by a judge after his subsequent arrest. Dominick Nicolosi Jr., 30, sold cocaine to an undercover detective multiple times over the past several weeks, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. He had just pulled up for another arranged buy with nearly a half-pound of the drug in his car on Wednesday, Oct. 26, when members of the Bergen County Regional SWAT Team and detectives from Musella’s Narcotic Task Force moved in to arrest him, the prosecuto…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Sheriff’s K-9 Sniffs Out Fleeing Offender Who Tried Hiding In Vacant Garfield Building Ductwork Sheriff’s K-9 Sniffs Out Fleeing Offender Who Tried Hiding In Vacant Garfield Building Ductwork
Sheriff’s K-9 Sniffs Out Fleeing Offender Who Tried Hiding In Vacant Garfield Building Ductwork A repeat offender bolted from Garfield police but was tracked down by a K-9 and removed with the help of firefighters after he tried hiding inside the ductwork of an abandoned building, authorities said. Officers Richy Mendez and Jaroslaw Wdowiak were responding to a resident’s car burglary call when they spotted city resident Jayden M. Barbarino Costa, 18, in the backyard of the victim’s Van Winkle Avenue home shortly before 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Capt. Richard Uram said. Costa hopped several fences with the officers in pursuit. A perimeter was quickly established with help from Passaic poli…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Carjacker Captured By NJ Police Officer Moments After Taking BMW Carjacker Captured By NJ Police Officer Moments After Taking BMW
Carjacker Captured By NJ Police Officer Moments After Taking BMW A Garfield police officer captured a carjacker moments after he took a sedan as the owner warmed it up early Friday, authorities said. The Pierre Avenue victim told police he was sitting in his 2018 BMW 530 shortly before 7:30 a.m. when a robber opened the driver’s side door and told him to get out, Capt. Richard Uram said. When he refused, the owner said, the robber lifted his jacket, displaying a dark-colored object in his waistband, Uram said. The owner got out and the carjacker drove off in the sedan, the captain said. Officer Lukasz Chmielewski responded instantly and spotted Daniel …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
WILD RIDE: Hackensack Man With Arrest Record Goes For Officer's Gun In Ambo, Garfield PD Says WILD RIDE: Hackensack Man With Arrest Record Goes For Officer's Gun In Ambo, Garfield PD Says
Wild Ride: Hackensack Man With Arrest Record Goes For Officer's Gun In Ambo, Garfield PD Says A Hackensack man with a history of fighting with police tried to disarm a Garfield officer during a struggle in an ambulance, authorities said. Michael Rufrano, 45, was acting irrational when officers responding to a 911 call found him outside a home on Garwood Court North, Capt. Richard Uram said Friday. Rufrano agreed to be taken to a hospital for an evaluation but then went for an officer's gun and tried to flee during what became a struggle, Uram said. He was unsuccessful and was immediately placed into custody for the ride to Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, the captain sa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Driver Stopped By Garfield PD Jumps Into Passaic River Jersey Shore Driver Stopped By Garfield PD Jumps Into Passaic River
Jersey Shore Driver Stopped By Garfield PD Jumps Into Passaic River A Jersey Shore man stopped by a Garfield police officer on Friday hopped out of his car and into the Passaic River, authorities said. Officer Jaroslaw Wdowiak stopped the 46-year-old driver from Toms River in the parking lot of the Custom Gas Station at the intersection of River Drive and DeWitt Street shortly after 12:30 p.m. Wdowiak was returning to his cruiser to write summonses when the driver suddenly got out, dashed around a fence and clambered down the riverbank and into the water, Deputy Police Chief Ronald Polonkay said. Two civilians helped the officer pull the man from the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Responders Rally For Popular Garfield Police Officer Who Lost Cats, Home In Fierce Fire Responders Rally For Popular Garfield Police Officer Who Lost Cats, Home In Fierce Fire
Responders Rally For Popular Garfield Police Officer Who Lost Cats, Home In Fierce Fire YOU CAN HELP: Responders, friends and community members are rallying to assist a Garfield police officer whose home was destroyed by a raging fire that killed her two cats and displaced her family and five others. No one was in the Van Winkle Avenue residence that had been home for more than 30 years to four-year Garfield Police Department veteran Rebecca Schmidt and her parents and brother when the blaze broke out around 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Brother Adam Schmidt rescued the family dog, but his sister’s two cats perished in the fire, which engulfed their home and another and severely damaged…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
SEEN THEM? Pair Sought In Connection With Garfield Burglary SEEN THEM? Pair Sought In Connection With Garfield Burglary
Seen Them? Pair Sought In Connection With Garfield Burglary Garfield police turned to the public for help Thursday in finding two men wanted for questioning in connection with $11,000 in cash, jewelry and electronics during a home burglary. No one was home when the burglars entered through a side window of the Farnham Avenue residence shortly before 5:30 p.m. June 6, Detective Capt. Richard Uram said. Uram described the men in the photos not as suspects but as "people of interest." He asked that anyone who sees or knows them contact Garfield Police Detective Sgt. Marc Amos or Detective Robert Meehan: (973) 478-8500. ****** ALSO SEE: A Garfield m…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: NJ Man Shot With His Own Gun By Domestic Violence Victim Prosecutor: NJ Man Shot With His Own Gun By Domestic Violence Victim
Prosecutor: NJ Man Shot With His Own Gun By Domestic Violence Victim A Garfield landscaper was shot by one of two domestic violence victims he attacked in his home, authorities said. Steven J. Lawson, 42, remained in stable condition at Hackensack University Medical Center, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said late Tuesday. Lawson assaulted two people during a domestic violence incident and was shot with his gun by one of the victims “acting in self-defense” in the rented home shortly before 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Musella said. Authorities charged Lawson with two counts of aggravated assault, child endangerment and weapons offenses, the prosecutor said.…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Garfield PD: Ex-Con Who Ran After Car Burglary Claims He Was Just Exercising Garfield PD: Ex-Con Who Ran After Car Burglary Claims He Was Just Exercising
Garfield PD: Ex-Con Who Ran After Car Burglary Claims He Was Just Exercising A Morris County ex-con chased down by Garfield police after a vehicle burglary told them he was running to get some exercise, authorities said. Officer Nicholas Kopacz spotted Scott P. Cuskaden, 48, in a River Drive parking lot Wednesday night minutes after a man who fit his description broke into a vehicle on nearby Hobart Place, Capt. Richard Uram said. Cuskaden took off as Officer Jonathan Librizzi pulled into the parking lot in his marked police vehicle, the captain said. Librizzi chased down Cuskaden, who told the officer that he’d begun running for exercise, Uram said. Cuskaden, of …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
BEWARE: 'Warrant For Your Arrest' Phone Scams Increasing BEWARE: 'Warrant For Your Arrest' Phone Scams Increasing
Beware: 'Warrant For Your Arrest' Phone Scams Increasing If a caller tells you there’s a warrant for your arrest and that you can make it go away by sending money somewhere, be sure that you don't. A Garfield man recently got such a call. His caller ID showed the name and main number for the Garfield Police Department, authorities said. So he picked up. On the other end was a scammer who had “spoofed” the department’s main number, Capt. Richard Uram said. “Spoofing technology allows a scammer to have a local phone number appear on a caller ID even if they are calling from a different state or country,” Uram said. “[It] makes you think you are…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Garfield PD: Detectives Nab Teaneck Pair In Knifepoint Jordan Sneaker Robbery Garfield PD: Detectives Nab Teaneck Pair In Knifepoint Jordan Sneaker Robbery
Garfield PD: Detectives Nab Teaneck Pair In Knifepoint Jordan Sneaker Robbery Garfield police nabbed two Teaneck men who they said robbed a victim of a pair of $400 sneakers at knifepoint after he'd arranged what he thought was a sale on social media. The victim told police he’d set up what he believed was the sale of the Travis Scott Jordan sneakers in the parking lot of the Burlington Coat Factory on Passaic Street the afternoon of Jan. 10, Police Capt. Richard Uram said Tuesday. Instead, one of two men held him at knifepoint while a second “gestured as if he had a gun in his pocket and threatened to use it,” Uram said. The victim said he backed off as the ro…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: All Clear After Police, Tactical Units Respond To Garfield, Lodi For Shots Fired Report UPDATE: All Clear After Police, Tactical Units Respond To Garfield, Lodi For Shots Fired Report
Update: All Clear After Police, Tactical Units Respond To Garfield, Lodi For Shots Fired Report UPDATE: The investigation into a reported shooting in Garfield ended safely Wednesday morning. A large and immediate law enforcement response followed calls by area residents who said they heard gunshots, city police Capt. Richard Uram said. The initial report involved someone possibly firing at a vehicle near the corner of Maple Street and Pierre Avenue in Garfield and then running off around 10:30 a.m., possibly into Lodi, responders said. Authorities couldn't confirm a witness's report that it resulted from a botched attempted robbery of a drug dealer. No injured victim was immediately…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
WATCH: Soldier Surprises Son With Early Homecoming During Garfield Middle School Assembly WATCH: Soldier Surprises Son With Early Homecoming During Garfield Middle School Assembly
Watch: Soldier Surprises Son With Early Homecoming During Garfield Middle School Assembly Christmas came early for a 12-year-old Garfield middle schooler. Marvin Monroig Jr. was on stage leading his sixth grade class in a holiday sing-a-long last Friday when he felt someone's arm wrap around his shoulder. At first, he just kept singing. But when he looked over, he saw his father, 31-year-old U.S. Army soldier and Garfield police officer Marvin Monroig Sr. Completely shocked, Marvin Jr. hadn't seen his dad since he left for Somalia 10 months ago, and wasn't expecting him until sometime after Christmas. Monroig planned the surprise with help from his girlfriend Jennifer Lopez-R…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Chief For A Day (PHOTOS): Bergen Sheriff, Local Police Bring Joy To Ailing Youngsters Chief For A Day (PHOTOS): Bergen Sheriff, Local Police Bring Joy To Ailing Youngsters
Chief For A Day (Photos): Bergen Sheriff, Local Police Bring Joy To Ailing Youngsters Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton and members of his office joined with local and county law enforcement agencies Friday to host the annual Bergen County "Chief For a Day" celebration. "Chief for A Day" is an inspirational program that offers local children with chronic health conditions and special needs a behind-the-scenes look at law enforcement. Participating agencies planned local community activities, followed by a group photo at the Bergen County Courthouse, a joint motorcade ride, and a presentation lunch at the Venetian Catering Hall in Garfield. Youngsters included A.J. Vigl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Garfield High School Sheltered In Place Amid Series Of North Jersey Lockdowns Garfield High School Sheltered In Place Amid Series Of North Jersey Lockdowns
Garfield High School Sheltered In Place Amid Series Of North Jersey Lockdowns While the vo-techs in Bergen, Passaic & Morris went into lockdown, Garfield High School students and staff were sheltered in place Friday morning after police were tipped off to what was described as "a threatening post on social media." Garfield patrol and ESU officers, along with two officers from the Bergen County Regional SWAT Team, secured the school, Capt. Darren Sucorowski said. "Detectives from the Garfield Police Department conducted an investigation and were in contact with other agencies investigating similar incidents," the captain said. "As a result of the investigation, i…

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by Jerry DeMarco