Nutley Cops Warn Of ‘Suspicious’ Man With Pizza Box

NUTLEY, NJ — Nutley police issued a Tuesday advisory about two “suspicious incidents” that occurred on Beech and Prospect streets. Both incidents involved a tall, thin man with bleached hair tips that allegedly rang the residents’ doorbells while holding a pizza box that appeared to be empty.

According to the Nutley Police Department, both residents didn’t order pizza and refused to open the door. When the residents advised the man they didn’t order anything, he “appeared to get agitated” and left the area in a “dark-colored” BMW. A resident stated that there was a second individual in the car.

Nutley police wrote:

“Police are actively investigating this incident and are attempting to identify the actor. We are asking all residents to be alert for this type of incident and remind you to be vigilant and report any suspicious incidents. If possible try to get a good description and a license plate number.”

On Tuesday evening, Detective Sgt. Anthony Montanari told Patch that police continue to investigate the incidents, but that authorities are also considering the possibility that the whole thing may be a "misunderstanding" and that no criminal intent was planned.

"We don't know at this point if it was a prelude to a crime or just something that we need to clarify," Montanari said. He added that Nutley police are reaching out to local pizzerias in an effort to find out if the "suspicious" man was really just a delivery driver.

Montanari said that 9 times out of 10, incidents like these turn out to be misunderstandings, and that at the moment there is no need for hysterics or alarm. As of Tuesday evening, police are just asking residents to be aware and to calmly take down and share any information about "suspicious" incidents like the ones reported on Beech and Prospect streets.

"Let us [police] decide if something like this is serious or not," Montanari said.

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File Photo: Flickr / Marc Wathieu