News from the Nutley Police Blotter

May 17

After getting a report about a group of people carrying a woman in physical distress, police went to Franklin Ave. and Centre St. where they learned that the woman who was having difficulty breathing had been taken to an area hospital for evaluation.

May 16

At 3:47 p.m. a car hit a dog on Centre St. after it ran from its owners and attempted to cross the street.

Someone vandalized a Nutley High School administrator’s vehicle, according to a complaint filed by the administrator with police at 12:44 p.m. Police are investigating.

A vehicle traveling down Vreeland Ave. was damaged when a man using a weedwhacker inadvertently hit a rock which was jettisoned into the vehicle’s window, police said. No one was hurt. The incident was logged at 12:05 p.m.

Somebody “egged” a Jeep while it was parked on Chadwick Drive during the night, the vehicle’s owner informed police at 10:10 a.m.

At 2:47 a.m. police went to a Bloomfield Ave. residence where a carbon monoxide detector had been activated. After entering through a window, police found the resident who was dizzy and not feeling well. Police then transported the resident to an area hospital for evaluation.

Police were alerted by a 2:20 a.m. phone call to a dog hit by a car at Passaic Ave. and Lakeside Drive. The dog limped away. Police said they located the dog’s owner who told them his boxer apparently got out of the yard.

At 12:50 a.m. a motorist called police to seek help after being stalled in flood waters at Harrison St. and Bloomfield Ave. AAA arrived and pulled the vehicle out of the water.

May 15

At 10:59 p.m. a patrol officer alerted via an onboard license plate recognition system that a passing driver’s registration was suspended stopped the car on Mountainview Ave. and verified the information. The driver, who wasn’t identified by police, was ticketed for driving with a suspended registration and suspended license. The vehicle was impounded.

Police said someone defaced a Stager St. resident’s window by throwing eggs against it and they are investigating the incident, reported at 9:15 p.m.

May 14

The report of a disorderly customer brought police to a local pharmacy at 6:09 p.m. She was advised of her right to sign a complaint.

At 4:25 p.m. police were called to Franklin Ave. and Essex St. to check out a possible robbery. Jason Garcia, 28, of Nutley, told police he was walking home from a Franklin Ave. bank in Belleville when he was confronted by a man he described as six feet with baggy pants and a black hooded sweatshirt who placed what he believed to be a gun to the back of his head and demanded money. After police searched the area to no avail, Garcia told detectives he’d made up the story to hide, from his fiancé, the loss of money he’d allegedly sent to an out-of-state friend. Garcia was charged with making a false police report and released pending a court hearing. Police Commissioner Alphonse Petracco and Police Chief John Holland criticized Garcia for needlessly diverting police.

A dog was fatally struck by a car on Rutgers Place at 1:37 p.m. The driver told police the small white dog jumped from the open door of a parked car and ran into the wheel of the driver’s car. The owner took the dog and left the scene.

A Bloomfield Ave. resident called police at 7:41 a.m. to report the illegal dumping of several trash bags strewn about the resident’s property. Police are investigating.

A random license plate check on Union Ave. alerting police that the registered owner of a 1997 Mercury had an outstanding warrant for $500 led to a traffic stop and the arrest of the driver, Cauldwell Neals, 28, of Irvington. Neals was released, pending a court hearing, after posting bail.

May 13

At 2:52 a.m. police stopped at St. Mary’s Place and King St. to assist a 25-year-old man who was vomiting in the street. He was taken to an area hospital.

May 12

At 11:46 p.m. police dispersed a group of teens following an assault on Myrtle Ave. Police said the tiff broke out as some 30 partygoers became disorderly. Charges are pending and the case remains under investigation.

A two-week-old BMW was reportedly damaged at a local carwash, the vehicle’s owner told police. The incident was reported at 4:20 p.m.

A customer who fueled up at a Kingsland Ave. service station left without paying, police said. The incident was reported to police at 3:43 p.m.

Police are investigating the report of a Rutgers Ave. resident that someone smashed the windshield of his 2007 Jeep Wagon. The incident was logged at 12:28 p.m.

May 11

Investigating an overcrowding complaint at a small Cape Code residence on Brookfield Ave., called in at 10:05 p.m., police discovered two sets of families of four living there, along with grandparents and visiting uncles from Florida. The township Code Enforcement division is pursuing the matter.

Checking out a report of panhandling at 12:05 p.m. at Park and Union Aves., police found Arnold Sanders, 49, of Newark, who, they said, had an outstanding warrant from East Orange. Sanders denied he was panhandling. He was arrested on the warrant and released after a new court date was arranged.

-Ron Leir

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