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Police Blotter Nov. 14, 2008

(by Albina Sportelli, Editor - November 13, 2008)

Burglaries
A home on Getty Avenue was reported broken into on Nov. 4 between 3 and 5 p.m.
The basement door was forced open to gain access and residents aren’t sure what was stolen.
 
A home on Spencer Avenue was reported broken into on Nov. 5 between noon and 2:30 p.m.
Jewelry and cash from the master bedroom were reported stolen. Entry was gained through an unlocked rear basement door.
 
Canoa’s Restaurant on Lakeview Avenue was reported broken into between Nov. 6 and Nov. 10.
According to police reports, the restaurant was closed while in the process of changing owners. Restaurant supplies were stolen after access was gained through an alley-side window.
Thefts
A customer of Kohl’s reported her wallet stolen while shopping on Nov. 6
The victim told police she left her purse in the dressing room after trying on clothes, but when she returned it was gone. Police reports show the victim found the purse in the store’s lost and found but the wallet was missing.
Drugs
Gary Zamudio, 20, of Passaic and Jonathan Zamudio, 23, of Haledon, were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and attempt to distribute marijuana on Nov. 5 at 12:18 a.m.
A 1998 Acura Integra was stopped by officers Mohammad Drouby and Robert Domski on Route 3 west for having illegally tinted windows. While speaking with the driver, Jonathan Zamudio, the officers detected the odor of burned marijuana. The driver told the officers he had smoked marijuana earlier in the day, but there was none in the vehicle. The passenger, Gary Zamudio told the officers he had no marijuana, but the officers asked him to open a mint tin in his possession where they found seven small bags of marijuana, according to police reports. The officers also recovered "a large amount" of money in Gary Zamudio’s possession and marijuana in the center console along with a box containing 60 bags of marijuana, reports show.
Gary Zamudio was charged with having an outstanding arrest warrant in Paterson, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute it.
Jonathan Zamudio was charged with possession of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute, along with having marijuana in a motor vehicle.
 
Luis Tomayo, 27, of Passaic, was arrested and charged with possession of heroin on Nov. 1, at 7:37 p.m.
According to police records, detectives Paul Hasselberger and Randy Colondres of the Street Crimes Unit were on Lexington Avenue when they noticed a vehicle being operated with non-working headlights. While the detectives were questioning the driver, Tomayo, a passenger, exited the car and reached into his pants pocket. The detectives, according to police reports, told him to take his hands out of his pocket. Tomayo then threw something on the ground and attempted to grind it, reports show. The officers recovered a glassine bag with heroin. He was charged with possession of heroin and attempting to destroy evidence.
 
Todd Tracey, 33, of Clifton, was arrested and charged with possession of crack cocaine on Nov. 6, at 11:27 p.m.
According to police reports, Officer Steven Farrell stopped a 2004 Honda Element for driving erratically at Piaget Avenue and Third Street. During questioning the officer noted in his report that the driver appeared nervous while attempting to hide something.
According to police reports, Tracey told the officers he had nothing illegal in the car, but the officer spotted a bag containing a rock-like substance which tested positive for rock cocaine.
Tracey was charged with possession of crack cocaine and issued motor vehicle summonses.
 
Michael Ramirez, 27, of Clifton, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana on Nov. 11, at 12:56 a.m.
According to police reports, officers Robert Suhey and Darren Kester were patrolling Clifton Avenue and Sears Place when they spotted a Honda with a California plates partially obstructed. The officers approached the car and while speaking with the driver, saw a bag filled with a green/brown leafy vegetation in the center console. The substance tested positive for marijuana, reports show.
Ramirez was charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams.
DWI
Joseph Dinatale, 21, of West New York, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI) on Nov. 7, at 3:33 a.m.
According to police reports, officers Jason Ingargiola and Darren Brodie approached a car parked in the empty parking lot at Clifton Commons on Route 3 east with the engine running. The officers approached and found the driver sleeping behind the wheel and woke him. The officers detected signs of intoxication when speaking with Dinatale and asked him to exit the vehicle and perform field sobriety tests. Dinatale told the officers he was not driving and was arrested after failing the field tests. He was charged with DWI after he posted results of .09 on the breath test. (Results of .08 and higher show legal intoxication.)
 
Kyle Dye, 19, of Passaic, was arrested and charged with DWI on Nov. 9 at 2:53 a.m.
According to police reports, officers responded to a motor vehicle accident on Route 21 where the driver had fled the scene.
Officer Nicholas Hriczov found him near Randolph and Mahar avenues, and at first Dye told the officer his car had been stolen. He later admitted to having being involved in the car accident, reports show. Dye was arrested and transported to police headquarters after failing field sobriety tests and was charged with DWI after posting results of .10 on the breath alcohol test.
Robbery
A 17-year-old Passaic male was punched and robbed as he walked on Hadley Avenue and Third Street near Weasel Brook Park on Nov. 9 at 8:45 p.m.
The victim told police two men approached him, and while one pointed a black handgun at him, the other punched him several times in the face and then stole his cell phone. The victim fled and telephoned police who searched the area but found no suspects.
The suspect who punched him was described as dark-skinned, possibly Hispanic, wearing dark jeans, a red jacket and a white bandanna. The gun-holding suspect was described as light-skinned, possibly Hispanic, wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and a ski mask.
 
Germaine Speaks, 35, of Jersey City, was arrested and charged with shoplifting and having outstanding warrants on Nov. 8.
According to police reports, officers David Lee and Wilfredo Valentin were dispatched to the Sports Authority store on Route 3 east on a report of a known shoplifter attempting to steal three Northface jackets. At the scene the officers stopped Speaks as he attempted to leave the area in his 1992 Infinity and was arrested.
Shoplifting
Camille Portee, 57, of Bloomfield, and Barbara Constanza, 66, of Bloomfield were arrested and charged with shoplifting clothing worth several hundred dollars from the Kohl’s store on Main Avenue on Nov. 5.
According to police reports, the women were observed attempting to leave the store without paying for the items by security guards.
 
Elyse Ciappa, 20, of Lyndhurst, was arrested and charged with shoplifting clothing worth $119 from Kohl’s on Main Avenue on Nov. 6.
According to police reports, Ciappa was observed concealing items in her purse and attempting to leave without paying.
 
Cedomir Grozdanik, 48, of Clifton, was arrested and charged with shoplifting several items from Corrado’s on Main Avenue on Nov. 8.
According to police reports, a security officer observed him taking the items out of the store that he had not purchased.
 
Jessica Ward, 19, of Passaic and a 14-year-old juvenile were arrested and charged with shoplifting from Kohl’s on Main Avenue on Nov. 8.
According to police reports, security officers observed the two place $769 worth of merchandise in a shopping cart and then leave the store without paying. The two were observed as they loaded the items into a van and then entered the CVS store. Security officers contacted the police and waited near the van for them to arrive, reports show. When police arrived they arrested and charged the two with shoplifting in the third degree because of the large amount of items stolen. Police recovered the stolen merchandise.
 
Dariene Becherer, 28, of Bloomfield, was arrested and charged with shoplifting assorted items from the Target on Kingsland Road on Nov. 10.
According to police reports, store security observed Becherer enter the store with a large Target shopping bag and walk around placing items in the bag. Security stopped her as she attempted to leave without paying for the merchandise, according to police reports.
Criminal mischief
A 1999 Nissan Pathfinder had its rear window smashed while parked on Campbell Avenue on Nov. 4 at 9 p.m.
 
Two flower pots taken from the front porch of a home on River Road were found smashed on a nearby sidewalk between Nov. 3 and Nov. 4.
Burglaries to vehicles
A 2008 Chevrolet Impala was reported broken into on Nov. 5 between 1 and 1:36 p.m. while parked in the Red Robin parking lot on Route 3.
A suitcase with clothing, a laptop computer and a GPS were reported stolen after the driver’s side door lock was broken off.
 
A 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix was reported broken into on Nov. 4 while parked on Van Riper Avenue.
A GPS unit was reported stolen after a window was smashed.
 
A 1996 Plymouth parked in the lot of the New York Sports Club on Main Avenue was reported broken into on Nov. 4.
A wallet containing credit cards and money was reported stolen after the door lock was broken off. According to police reports, a black BMW with temporary tags occupied by two black males was seen in the lot at the time of the burglary. According to police reports, the BMW fled from the lot as the owner of the Plymouth approached. Also on Nov. 4, a 2007 GMC wagon was reported broken into while parked in the New York Sports Club. The glove compartment lock was broken and cash and an iPhone were reported stolen. A witness told the victim two men were near the vehicle around the time of the break-in.
 
A 2003 SAAB was reported broken into while parked on Dick Street between Nov. 5 and Nov. 6.
A GPS was reported stolen after a window was smashed.
 
A 2008 Ford was reported broken into while parked in the Red Robin parking lot on Route 3 on Nov. 6.
A laptop, a phone and charger and a backpack were reported stolen. The driver’s door lock was popped to gain access.
 
A 2007 Infinity was reported broken into on Nov. 10 while parked in the New York Sports Club on Main Avenue.
The driver’s side door lock was damaged to gain access. The victim is taking inventory to determine what was stolen.
Recovered stolen vehicles
A 2001 freightliner truck reported stolen in Clifton on June 30 was found by the Essex County Sheriff’s Department on Nov. 4.
 
A 2008 Ford Edge reported stolen in Clifton on Sept. 28 was found on Nov. 10 in Newark.
 
A van and two motorcycles reported stolen in Clifton on Oct. 30 were found in East Orange on Nov. 6. The motorcycles had been stored inside the van at the time of the theft.
By Albina Sportelli
Editor
Sportelli@northjersey.com


 

 

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