In Nutley: Daisy Theft, Drug Arrests, Identity Theft, IRS Scam, Shoplifting

Editor’s Note: The following incidents are taken directly from the Nutley Police Blotter, which may not include the full scope of police activity in the area. All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

5/16/15

CDS arrest – Franklin Avenue - A motor vehicle stop resulted in the arrests of both occupants. Passenger Joseph Kaplan, age 34, of Lyndhurst, was found to have an outstanding warrant out of Jersey City, was additionally charged from Nutley with Possession of CDS (heroin and Oxycodone), and issued a motor vehicle violation for failure to wear a seatbelt. He was processed and released on his own recognizance from Nutley and advised of his mandatory court date. He posted the proper bail for the warrant out of Jersey City, and advised to contact the Jersey City Courts for a new court date. The driver, Jayson DiCosta, 38, of Verona, was charged with Possession of CDS in a motor vehicle (heroin and Oxycodone), failure to wear a seatbelt, and improper display of license plates. He was printed, processed and advised of his mandatory court date before being released on his own recognizance.

5/17/15

Identity Theft – Headquarters received a walk in report regarding a cell phone account opened up with the victim’s name and social security number in the amount of $949. Officers advised the victim of their right to register with the Identity Theft Victim program, which they did, and also advised them to contact their banks and credit card companies of the incident.

5/18/15

CDS/arrest on warrant – A motor vehicle stop on Park Avenue resulted in the arrest of Raul Gonzalez, 25, of Newark for and outstanding warrant with the Essex County Sheriff’s Office. Nutley additionally charged Gonzalez with Possession of CDS Under 50 Grams, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Hindering Apprehension (for giving false information on identity). He was processed, advised of his court date, and released on his own recognizance from the Nutley charges, but was placed into custody awaiting transfer from the Essex County Sheriff’s Office.

Motor vehicle stop/arrest on warrant and CDS possession – Washington Avenue – A motor vehicle stop for an unregistered vehicle, in the area of Washington Avenue, resulted in the arrest of Gary Ferrie, age 37, of Belleville, for an outstanding warrant out of North Arlington. He was transported to Headquarters without incident. A search incident to arrest yielded controlled dangerous substance for which Ferrie was charged with possession of CDS. He was printed and processed and released on his own recognizance from Honorable Judge Cocchiola. North Arlington Police were notified of the outstanding warrant and responded to Nutley Headquarters to assume custody of Ferrie.

5/19/15

Arrest on warrant – Park Avenue – A motor vehicle stop resulted in the arrest of Jaeho Sim, 44, Ft. Lee, for outstanding warrants: two from Borough of Little Ferry, and one out of the Borough of Fort Lee. Nutley police issued two motor vehicle summonses for unsafe lane change, and driving while suspended, which were assigned a mandatory court date. The Little Ferry Police Department was advised of the arrest and released Sim on his own recognizance. Fort Lee Police Department was contacted and responded to Nutley Headquarters to take custody of Sim.

Identity Theft – Headquarters received a walk in report regarding a possible identity theft incident. The victim found a package at their doorstep that they did not order. The order invoice contained all of their address information as well as their correct cell phone number. This concerned the victim due to an incident three weeks ago regarding fraudulent charges to their credit card. Information supplied to officers regarding the package indicated that none of the information used to purchase the items belonged to the victim. It does not appear that the victim’s identity was stolen.

5/20/15

Arrest on warrant – A motor vehicle stop on Centre Street resulted in the arrest of Warren Jackson, age 48, of Montclair, for an outstanding warrant out of Montclair. Hillside Police Department was contacted and released Jackson on his own recognizance and advised him of his new court date. He was issued a summons from Nutley for driving after driver’s license suspended and advised of his mandatory court date.

Obstruction – A stop of a suspicious party, in the area of Park Avenue, resulted in the arrest of Erroll K. Scott, 45, of Newark. He was charged with Obstruction, given a copy of his summons and released.

Theft – Franklin Avenue – A store owner responded to Headquarters to report that unknown actor/s removed several bright orange Gerber daisies from their property. The total value of the items was approximately $30.

Identity theft – Victim responded to Headquarters and reported 12 transactions and a large sum of money missing from their bank account. The transaction history recorded $3,362 in transactions that the victim did not make. All of the transactions occurred in Brooklyn, NY. The financial institution advised the victim to file a police report so that they could pursue the theft.

Shoplifting – Franklin Avenue – A local business reported a theft from their store. Officers located a person matching the suspect’s description in the area of Passaic Avenue. Tyrone Ellison, Jr, age 28, of Newton, fled from police but was apprehended off Maple Pl. where he was placed under arrest and subsequently charged with shoplifting and obstruction before being released with his court date. The proceeds from the shoplifting were five Enfamil baby formula powder containers totaling $139, which were located in Memorial Park by the brook. The proceeds were returned to the store and a receipt of the items was provided by the store manager.

Criminal Mischief – Unknown location – Headquarters received a walk in report from a victim regarding damage to their vehicle. Officers observed deep scratch marks along the passenger side front and rear doors of the vehicle. The victim stated that they made several stops within the township and did not notice the scratches until after their last stop, so was unsure when it actually occurred. Victim was advised to contact their insurance carrier.

5/21/15

Fraud – Victim stated that they received a call from a male party who identified himself as a New Jersey State Police Officer and he was requesting the victim send him money due to them owing the IRS $5,000 in past taxes. The victim was instructed to purchase prepaid debit cards and provide the debit card information to the male party. The victim purchased five “Green Dot gold” debit cards from Visa, totaling $2,400, and provided the male party the five card numbers and verification numbers. Officers were able to contact customer service and spoke with a representative who was able to issue five refund checks (one for each card) to the victim, and officers advised them to call headquarters immediately, should they receive additional phone calls from the same male party. Additionally, they were cautioned to keep an eye on their bank accounts.