Crime & Safety
Police Still Seek Teen Suspected of Vehicle Break-Ins
Male attempted to assault one owner's son when found inside car on Ravine Ave.
Editor's note: Caldwell Police have asked The Patch to repost this story which originally ran on August 23. Police are asking members of the community to notify the department at 973-226-2600 with any information they might have pertaining to this incident.
An olive-complexioned teen is suspected of stealing GPS devices from unlocked vehicles outside Caldwell residences over the last few weeks and for allegedly attempting to assault the son of another car owner over the weekend, Detective/Sgt. Tony Marta said Monday.
According to Marta, police are seeking an olive-skinned male between the ages of 15 and 18 years old who's about 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8 with dark hair and eyes.
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The teenager was found in the passenger's seat of an unlocked vehicle outside a Ravine Avenue residence near the corner of Caton Terrace Saturday night at about 11:45 p.m., Marta said.
The car owner's son and his friend approached the teen, who was found "rummaging through the center console," Marta said.
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The teenager allegedly threw a punch that missed the car owner's son before he took off on foot down Ravine Avenue, Marta said. The owner's son and his friend caught up to the teenager near the corner of Central Avenue, Marta said.
The teenager allegedly had a TomTom GPS device stuck in the rear of his pants, but since he didn't have any items from the vehicle that was parked outside the Ravine Avenue residence, the owner's son let the teen go and called police when he returned home, Marta said.
However, Marta said a Caton Terrace resident reported Monday that a TomTom GPS device was taken from his unlocked vehicle sometime over the weekend.
Marta believes the incidents are connected as well as related to the break-in of an unlocked vehicle outside a Lane Avenue residence on Aug. 5, when a TomTom GPS device was also taken in addition to an iPod and a pair of sunglasses.
Marta urges residents to lock their vehicles and to call the police department at 973-226-2600 with any information regarding these incidents.
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