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Police & Fire
Fort Lee Police Detective Nabs Security Guard In Two-Town Burglary Spree Fort Lee Police Detective Nabs Security Guard In Two-Town Burglary Spree
Fort Lee Police Detective Nabs Security Guard In Two-Town Burglary Spree A Fort Lee police detective's persistence produced the arrest of a security guard who burglarized 10 vehicles in town, mostly taking credit cards, as well as seven more in Palisades Park, authorities said. Detective Richard Rochford cracked the case after he obtained surveillance video not only of the burglaries from overnight on Jan. 13 but also from a Walmart where some of the credit cards were used, Capt. Ricky Mirkovic said. After consulting with the Essex County Sheriff’s Office and East Orange police, Rochford charged Marquis D. Porter, 30, of Irvington on Tuesday with a host of offe…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
4 Family Members, 2 Others Indicted For Roles In Franklin Theft Ring: Pros 4 Family Members, 2 Others Indicted For Roles In Franklin Theft Ring: Pros
4 Family Members, 2 Others Indicted For Roles In Franklin Theft Ring: Pros Four family members and two workers at a Franklin Township convenience store have been indicted for running a retail theft ring, the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office said Friday.  Indicted were Somerset residents David Rubin, 61; Lisa Rubin, 54; Sherylee Rubin, 58; and Dunia Patricia Hernandez, 32. Also indicted were Batsheva Rubin-Rivera, 24, of New Brunswick;  and Andre Watts, 30, of North Brunswick.  David Rubin is married to Lisa and Rubin-Rivera is their daughter.  Sherylee Rubin is David Rubin's sister.  Authorities carried out an investigation of Everythi…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Two Adult Pedestrians, Child, 4, Struck Outside Garfield Walmart Two Adult Pedestrians, Child, 4, Struck Outside Garfield Walmart
Two Adult Pedestrians, Child, 4, Struck Outside Garfield Walmart Two adults and a 4-year-old were knocked down by a vehicle outside the Garfield Walmart early Tuesday afternoon, authorities confirmed. A 28-year-old driver was making a turn in front of the Passaic Street superstore when his vehicle hit the three just after 12:30 p.m., police Capt. Richard Uram said. All three were taken to a local hospital with minor bumps and bruises, Uram said.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
River Vale PD: Security Cam Catches House Cleaner From Garfield Swiping $900 From Homeowner River Vale PD: Security Cam Catches House Cleaner From Garfield Swiping $900 From Homeowner
River Vale PD: Security Cam Catches House Cleaner From Garfield Swiping $900 From Homeowner Thanks to a home surveillance camera, River Vale police nabbed a longtime local house cleaner from Garfield as she walked out of a residence with $900 in her pocket, authorities said. The Holiday Farms homeowner “suspected cleaning personnel had been stealing money and installed a video camera,” Detective Sgt. Peter Martin said. He immediately called police after the camera caught 56-year-old Ana Mata in the act, Martin said. Approached by officers as she left the home, Mata pulled out the cash and handed it over, he said. The Holiday Court resident claims Mata took $2,500 since Septemb…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Van Pursuit From NY State Ends In Paramus With Vehicles Struck, Philadelphia Driver Caught Van Pursuit From NY State Ends In Paramus With Vehicles Struck, Philadelphia Driver Caught
Van Pursuit From NY State Ends In Paramus With Vehicles Struck, Philadelphia Driver Caught UPDATE: A multi-agency pursuit Thursday night that began in upstate New York ended 100 miles away in Paramus Thursday night after a Brooklyn man rammed two police cars with a U-Haul van that he was driving on two front rims and a rear flat tire, police said. Mark Simpson, 31, got out of the van shortly after crashing around 10:30 p.m., then hopped the highway divider and ran behind the Suburban Diner before police nabbed him moments later, authorities said. It began more than an hour and a half earlier with a theft from a Walmart in Catskill, NY, they said. New York State Police said troop…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Pohatcong PD: Woman Who Once Pulled Gun On Kids Leads Police On Wild Interstate Chase Pohatcong PD: Woman Who Once Pulled Gun On Kids Leads Police On Wild Interstate Chase
Pohatcong PD: Woman Who Once Pulled Gun On Kids Leads Police On Wild Interstate Chase A 21-year-old woman who pulled a gun on two children allegedly bullying her younger brother lead police on a wild chase after a shoplifting incident in Pohatcong before crashing in Easton, PA, authorities said. Miranda Victoria Velasquez -- on probation for the January gun incident -- took off from the Route 22 Phillipsburg Walmart in a white SUV just as Pohatcong police were arriving to investigate a theft report around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Pohatcong Police Chief Scott Robb said. Officers began following the SUV -- which at one point was heading directly at a police cruiser on a dead-end roa…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Shoplifter Bites Secaucus Police Officer, Authorities Say Shoplifter Bites Secaucus Police Officer, Authorities Say
Shoplifter Bites Secaucus Police Officer, Authorities Say A woman faces charges of resisting arrest and assault for allegedly biting a police officer's hand during an arrest last week in Secaucus, police said.  Officers were called to the Walmart on Plaza Drive Oct. 8 on a report of shoplifting. Officers arrived and arrested Shamina Burton, 26, Tiffany Rodriguez, 28, and Emily Pizzaro, 26, all of the Bronx. The officers recovered about $850 in merchandise, police said.  As she was taken into custody, police said Burton bit an officer. The officer was treated for cuts and abrasions.  All three women have been charged with robbery an…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Union County Police Officer Who Made $83K Found Guilty Of $600 In Thefts Union County Police Officer Who Made $83K Found Guilty Of $600 In Thefts
Union County Police Officer Who Made $83K Found Guilty Of $600 In Thefts A Rahway man who belonged to the Union County Police Department has been found guilty of using his position to commit a string of small thefts at department stores, the Union County Prosecutor's Office said Friday.  Blake Clay, 36, was convicted on charges of theft, theft-by-deception and official misconduct. He is scheduled to be sentenced in November, when he faces up to five years in prison and a permanent ban from public employment in New Jersey.  Clay used counterfeit barcodes to lower the prices of items he purchased at department stores in Clark, Edison and Woodbridge in 20…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Fleeing Shoplifter In Bayonne Drags Person On Scooter, Hits Police Car: Police Fleeing Shoplifter In Bayonne Drags Person On Scooter, Hits Police Car: Police
Fleeing Shoplifter In Bayonne Drags Person On Scooter, Hits Police Car: Police A shoplifter struck a pedestrian and a police car while trying to make her escape from the Bayonne Walmart Sunday, police said.  Siedah Smith, 34, of Jersey City loaded up a shopping cart with more than $230 worth of merchandise and left it in the self-checkout lane around 4 p.m., according to store security. She left the store, found a receipt on the ground and retrieved the shopping cart without paying. Security called Bayonne police when Smith refused to stop as she  continued towards her vehicle with the merchandise, police said.   Police arrived as Smith was driving…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
SAFE & SOUND: Boy, 7, Feared Abducted From Garfield Walmart Walked To Lodi, Police Say SAFE & SOUND: Boy, 7, Feared Abducted From Garfield Walmart Walked To Lodi, Police Say
Safe & Sound: Boy, 7, Feared Abducted From Garfield Walmart Walked To Lodi, Police Say An all-out search for a 7-year-old boy who went missing from his parents at the Garfield Walmart ended Friday afternoon when police found him safe and sound in Lodi. The boy's mother told police they'd gone shopping for school supplies around 1 p.m. when they turned around and he was gone, Capt. Richard Uram said. Security guards who searched the store with no luck were joined by several Garfield police officers, Uram said. An alert also was broadcast to surrounding towns, bringing police from Lodi, Passaic, Saddle Brook and Wallington, as well as Bergen County sheriff's officers. "The en…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Man With Airsoft Gun Who Caused Panic At Union Walmart Turns Himself In Prosecutor: Man With Airsoft Gun Who Caused Panic At Union Walmart Turns Himself In
Prosecutor: Man With Airsoft Gun Who Caused Panic At Union Walmart Turns Himself In A Newark man who caused the evacuation of a Union Walmart Thursday after brandishing an air-soft gun was arrested after turning himself into police later that day, authorities said. Joshua K. Phillips, 20, of Newark was charged with creating a false public alarm, weapon possession and shoplifting, Acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo and Union Police Director Daniel Zieser jointly announced. Police responded to the Springfield Road and Route 22 Walmart around 10:45 a.m. on reports of a black man with a gun in an aisle -- leading to a full evacuation of the building, authoritie…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Suspected Shoplifter Mistaken For Gunman At Union Walmart Suspected Shoplifter Mistaken For Gunman At Union Walmart
Suspected Shoplifter Mistaken For Gunman At Union Walmart A Walmart in Union was evacuated Thursday morning following a report that a man with a gun had been spotted there, police said.  Police later determined, however, that there had been no threat.  ** UPDATE: A 20-year-old Newark man who caused a stir at a local Walmart turned himself into police ** A woman called police shortly before 11 a.m. and said she'd seen a man in a black mask toting a black gun at the Springfield Road store. The store was evacuated and a team of officers entered, where they found an employee and a customer who had not yet left.  Police also found a bl…

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by Paul Milo