Glen Rock: Police blotter, July 24-30

EDITOR’S NOTE: Information is provided by by area police departments. The information is released to the press at the discretion of the individual departments and may not represent the total scope of police activity. All persons are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

From July 24-30, 2017, members of the GRPD handled 224 calls for service. Highlights include:

July 24

The manager of Bottle King Liquors on Prospect Street reported an individual attempting to purchase alcohol with a fraudulent ID. Sgt. Frank Riggio subsequently arrested 20-year-old Fair Lawn man for possession of a forged Connecticut Driver’s License. The actor was processed at Police HQ and released on his own recognizance pending an appearance in Glen Rock Municipal Court on August 25th.

July 25

• During the course of a motor vehicle stop on Wellesley Road, P.O. Sarah Orsita arrested a 30-year-old Hawthorne woman for DWI. The driver’s vehicle was impounded and he was transported to Police HQ for processing. The driver was subsequently released to a sober individual in accordance with John’s Law. Additional summonses were issued for failure to maintain lane and careless driving.
• A Glen Rock man reported that his bicycle, valued at $1,100, was stolen from the bicycle rack at the NJ Transit Boro Hall Train Station. He had secured the bicycle to the rack with a lock before getting on a train at about 6:45 a.m. and discovered it missing when he returned after 7 p.m.

July 27

• A Tilghman Drive resident reported receiving an email concerning bank transfer from her Bank of America account, seeking her to pay a fee to the attention of a bank official in Cotonou Benin. The email was poorly written with certain parts not making sense, appearing to have been written by an individual who did not have a full command of the English language. The complainant notified the bank and the Detective Bureau is reviewing the matter.
•  

While on patrol on the 700 block of Lincoln Avenue, P.O. John Tarantino observed a large camper in the driveway of a residential property where an individual appeared to have taken up temporary residence. The officer was attempting to gather information about the vehicle for a referral to the Borough Code Enforcement Official, when he learned that the owner of the camper was a wanted fugitive with a no bail warrant issued by the Passaic County Superior Court. The individual in question, a 53-year-old man formerly of Lodi and Glen Rock, was subsequently taken into custody and detained for the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department.

During the course of the investigation P.O. Tarantino suspected narcotics activity was taking place inside the camper. After obtaining a search warrant from a Superior Court Judge, a search of the camper was conducted. Officers recovered a brick of heroin, 5 loose glassine folds of heroin, numerous pills believed to be pain killers, several dozen hypodermic syringes, multiple glass crack pipes with suspected cocaine residue, several thousand empty glassine folds with suspected heroin residue and $10,000 in cash.

Complaints charging the owner of the camper with possession of heroin, unlawful possession of prescription controlled dangerous substances, possession of hypodermic syringes and possession of drug paraphernalia were signed by P.O. Tarantino. The actor will be processed at the Passaic County Jail where he is being detained and will make an appearance before Superior Court Central Judicial Processing in Bergen County.

Assisting with this investigation were Sgt. Robert Wojtecki, Det. Jim Calaski, Det. Mike Trover, P.O. Greg Carter, P.O. Nick Onove and S.O. Hagopian of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department. The matter of the camper parked in a residential driveway, in violation of the borough’s zoning code, has been referred to the Code Enforcement division of the Building Department for action.

• Patrols were dispatched to an office building on Harristown Road to investigate a terminated employee who was in the parking lot threatening his former employer and a co-worker. The man had fled the scene as officers were responding. The subject was identified and the complainant was advised of his options.
• A tractor trailer hauling an oversized load through the Central Business District was unable to clear the grade of the NJ Transit Bergen County Line railroad tracks on Rock Road. As the truck became stuck on the tracks the crossing protection gates began to lower and were damaged as the truck began to back off the crossing. Both train and vehicle traffic was significantly delayed while officers from both the Glen Rock Police and NJ Transit Police Emergency Services Unit worked to remove and re-route the truck. The damaged crossing protection gate was repaired by an NJ Transit technician who also responded.

July 28

Patrols, along with EMS personnel, were dispatched to Ackerman Avenue and Harristown Road to assist a bicyclist who struck pole. The victim, a 29-year-old Fair Lawn man, stated he was startled by a turning vehicle and drove into the pole. Investigation, which included a witness interview, determined that the vehicle had stopped in order to yield to the bicyclist and there was no contact between the two. The motorist remained on scene until officers and an ambulance arrived. The Fair Lawn man was transported to Valley Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

July 29

Sgt. Frank Riggio was flagged down by a concerned citizen who reported two men passed out or asleep inside the bus terminal shelter on Harding Plaza. One individual was found to be an employee of a local business who arrived on a bus and fell asleep waiting for his shift to begin. The second individual, a 24-year-old Fair Lawn man, was found to have an active warrant out of Union and could not post the $350 bail. The Union Police Department did not have the resources to respond for the man, therefore he was released on his one recognizance with a new court date and departed the area on foot.