Official Police Report on Friday's Springfield Avenue Incident

Today, Captain Paul Conlon of the Maplewood Police Department has provided a full statement on the events of last Friday on Springfield Avenue that caused a code "yellow" at Seth Boyden Elementary School—a lockdown during which all students were brought inside and held inside until the all clear. Seth Boyden dismissed students 15 minutes late as a result.

From Captain Conlon:

Jan. 22, 2010: Burglary/Robbery—Police responded to a 911 call from a resident of Springfield Avenue at approximately 12:30 p.m. in the afternoon on Friday. The caller, who was outside the home as Police arrived reported to the officers that his girlfriend was in his apartment and that four men with guns had just broken in and were assaulting the woman. As Officers attempted to gain entry into the first floor apartment, three black males ran from a basement door through backyards towards Boyden Avenue. Several officers pursued them on foot and apprehended two suspects in the area of Jacoby St and 44th Street.

Located inside the apartment was the female victim, a 28-year-old woman from East Orange. The woman sustained minor injuries in the assault and was treated by the First Aid Squad on scene. She refused transportation to the hospital.

As patrols conducted a preliminary search of the home they found one suspect hiding in a crawl space in the basement and arrested him. Also recovered in the basement were two hand guns and one rifle.  

At the time of the incident it was unclear if there were any suspects remaining inside the home and the K-9 units from both Essex and Union County Sheriff's Departments were called to assist with the search of the home and the surrounding area. After an extensive search of the home and the surrounding neighborhood, the area was determined to be safe at approximately 3:30 p.m.

Arrested by Maplewood Police were: Shaka Patterson, 25, of Williams Street, East Orange; Shane Williams, 24, Vernon Tr., East Orange; and Wakene Darwood, 23, of 183^rd Street, Queens, NY.  All three suspects were charged with: Burglary; Robbery; Kidnapping; Terroristic Threats; Resisting Arrest; Aggravated Assault, and several weapons offenses.  All three suspects were transported to the Essex County Jail. Bail was set at $400, 000 for Patterson and $200,000 for Williams and Darwood. Maplewood Detectives are still investigating the incident to determine the identity of the fourth suspect and a motive for the incident.   

The remainder of police blotter items for the week of January 19, 2010:

Jan. 19, 2010: GPS Theft—A van parked in a driveway on Hillcrest Rd was entered and a Tom Tom GPs unit was removed from the dashboard area.  Approximately $20.00 in cash and coins was also taken from the center console of the unlocked van.  The theft occurred sometime during the overnight hours.

Jan. 20, 2010: Theft of Purse—A house cleaner working at a home on Orchard Rd reports that someone removed her purse from an unlocked car between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm on Wednesday afternoon.  The purse was recovered by a resident on Hillcrest Rd sometime later that afternoon.  A large amount of cash and a digital camera were reported missing from the purse.

Jan. 20, 2010: Attempt Auto Theft—Sometime between 7:30 pm and 10:30 pm someone broke the driver's side window of a 2007 Jeep that was parked in front of a home on Berkeley St.  Once inside the Jeep the actor damaged the ignition in an attempt to start the vehicle.  No items were reported missing from the Jeep.