Thefts, Shoplifting at CVS Stores, and a Recovered Shell Casing

Police handled a string of shopliftings, thefts, and also an incident of a recovered shell casing this past weekend.

Arrest

On May 22 at about 11:25 p.m., police were sent to The Source of New York in the Lackawanna Plaza Mall on a report of a burglary. Upon arrival, police spoke to a security guard, who said a passerby had told him that a suspect had removed an item of clothing from the store.

The complainant reported that a man had entered the mall through the Bloomfield Avenue entrance and walked over to The Source of New York Store. The man then used a long pole to remove a pair of pants from a rack, sliding the pants through the store’s security gate. The stolen item is described as a pair of “SP Collection” red athletic pants with black stripes along the side, valued at about $40. The man then left the mall and reportedly walked southwest towards Bloomfield Avenue.

As a result of an ongoing investigation, detectives identified the suspect in this incident as Thomas Hairston. Hairston was located by detectives on Sunday at about 1:30 p.m. in the area of the Shell gas station on Bloomfield Avenue. Hairston, 41, of Montclair, was arrested and charged with theft of movable property. Bail was set at $3,500. He was also found to have a warrant out of Newark with bail set at $5,000, and a warrant out of Orange, with bail set at $500.

Burglary

On Friday afternoon, a burglary was reported at a multi-family home on North Willow Street. The victim said that the incident occurred sometime between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on that date when the home was unoccupied and the doors left open. The victim reports that a thirty-two inch Emerson television, valued at $250, was taken from the living room of the second floor apartment. There are no suspects at this time.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact Detective Charles Cunningham at 973-509-4716.

Arrest

On Friday at about 6:10 p.m., police responded to Pathmark in the Lackawanna Plaza Mall on a report of a shoplifting. Upon arrival, police spoke to a security officer who had detained a woman, identified as Charade Jenkins. Jenkins was stopped after she tried to steal a dozen bottles of Secret deodorant, with a total value of $72.86, and a bottle of Advil PM, valued at $8.99. Jenkins, 46, of Montclair was arrested and charged with theft of movable property. She was also found to have warrants out of Montclair totaling $1,094 and a warrant out of the Essex County Sheriff’s Department, with bail not having been set at the time of the report.

Driving While Intoxicated

On Saturday at about 11 p.m., police were conducting a DWI checkpoint on Bloomfield Avenue when they stopped a Nissan Altima. Police spoke to the driver, later identified as Douglas Jaramillo, and noticed that he had the strong odor of alcohol on his breath. Jaramillo, 33, of Roselle Park, was arrested after he failed to adequately perform field sobriety tests. Jaramillo was issued motor vehicle summons for driving while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated within a school zone, failure to exhibit a registration card, and failure to exhibit an insurance card. He was later released.

Shoplifting

On Saturday afternoon, a shoplifting incident was reported at CVS on Valley Road in Upper Montclair. Upon arrival, police spoke to an employee, who said a man had entered the store on that date at about 2:08 p.m. and retrieved a shopping basket. He placed a light-colored box containing unknown merchandise in the basket and fled the store less than five minutes later, causing the theft sensor at the exit of the store to activate. A witness told the employee that the man then entered the driver’s side front door of a Nissan Altima occupied by three other men and fled the scene in an unknown direction.

The suspect is described as a white man, forty to forty-five years old, 5’9”-5’11”, approximately 180 lbs., and last seen wearing a light-gray T-shirt, light blue jeans, and having a white bandana tied around his head.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact Detective Terence Turner at 973-509-4724.

Recovered Shell Casing

On Saturday afternoon, police responded to the South End Stores on a report of a found item. Police spoke to the caller, who directed them to the side of the Energy Bar Café on Orange Road, where she had located a .22 caliber shell. The shell is possibly a blank. There are no suspects at this time.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact the Detective Bureau at 973-509-7543.

Burglary Attempt

On Saturday afternoon, an attempted burglary was reported at an apartment on Willowdale Avenue. Upon arrival, police met with the resident, who directed them to the damaged front door. Police noticed that the lock to the door had been removed from the cylinder and that there was damage to the door jamb. The victim told police that she had left her home on that date at about 10 a.m. and returned about five and a half hours later. It does not appear that entry was gained to the home and there were no items reported missing from the apartment. There are no suspects at this time.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact Detective Joseph Anderson at 973-509-4706.

Vandalism to a Motor Vehicle

On Saturday afternoon, police received a report from an Upper Montclair resident concerning vandalism to a car on North Mountain Avenue. The victim stated that she parked a Toyota Prius in front of her home on Friday at about 4:30 p.m. When she returned to the car the following day at about 3:30 p.m., she found that the entire driver’s side of the car had been vandalized. The damage consists of a long, thin scratch. There are no suspects at this time.

Theft

On Sunday afternoon, an officer was inside Nishuane Park during the Heritage Day Festival when he was approached by an unidentified man, who handed him a red purse that had been found. Police made an announcement searching for the owner. Shortly thereafter, the owner of the purse responded. After checking the contents of the purse, the woman reported that sixty dollars was missing from the purse. There are no suspects at this time.

Vandalism

On Sunday evening, police responded to Plymouth Street on a report of vandalism. Upon arrival, police spoke to the caller, who stated that a group of juveniles were kicking lamp posts in the nearby parking lot. The caller could not provide any further description of the suspects. Police checked the lot and discovered that three light posts had been bent, appearing to have been kicked.

Arrest

On Sunday night, police saw a Hyundai Sonata driving on Orange Road at a slow rate, with the car weaving from one side of the road to the other. Police stopped the car in the area of Washington Avenue and Madison Avenue and found it to be occupied by the passenger, known to the officer as Timothy Riddick. Riddick was known to have a warrant out of the Morris County Sheriff’s Office. Bail for this warrant had not been set at the time of the stop. Riddick, 44, of Montclair, was placed under arrest after police confirmed the warrant. The driver, a Montclair female, was issued a summons for creating the risk of an accident and released from the scene. Riddick was later turned over to the Morris County Sheriff’s Office.

Burglary

On Monday at about 3 p.m., police responded to an apartment on Pine Street on a report of a burglary. The victim stated that he left his second floor home on that date at about 1:30 a.m. When he returned about an hour and a half later, he saw two people at the top of the stairs. The victim, a twenty year old male, said he recognized the two from attending high school with them, but that he did not remember their names. The victims did not know how the men accessed his apartment, as he had locked the doors when he had left. The victims asked the suspects why they were in his apartment without his permission and noticed that one of the men had a bulge under his shirt.

The victim then noticed that his laptop computer was missing from his living room and asked if either of them had taken it. One of the men replied, “Why don’t you check and see if you have it in the house before you accuse us of taking it?” The suspects then exited the apartment and left in a silver, two door car. The suspect then called the police and, while on the phone, heard a loud bang on his front door. The victim ran downstairs and discovered his laptop, a silver-colored Apple Mac Book Pro, valued at $1,100, lying on his porch. He then saw a window pane on the door had been broken. It is believed that the suspects gained entry to the residence by breaking the glass pane and reaching inside to unlock and open the door. The victim does not believe that anything else was stolen from the apartment.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact Detective Ray Gulbin at 973-509-4739.

Shoplifting

On Sunday afternoon, police responded to the CVS on Claremont Avenue on a report of a shoplifting. Upon arrival, police reviewed surveillance video with an employee. This video shows a white man wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and a white Nike hat on backwards entering the store. The suspect was observed leaving the store carrying eight bottles of Similac Advance baby formula bottles, valued at $6.49, in a red CVS shopping basket without paying for them. Also around that time, another white man wearing a white t-shirt with “TAP OUT” written on the front, gray/blue baseball cap, and long blue jean shorts entered the store, but it was unclear if this man had stolen anything.

Police also spoke to a witness who was parked outside the CVS around the time of the incident. This witness stated that a man matching the description of the second man was standing in the parking lot. The man was heard talking into a cell phone, asking, “Where the f--- are you at?” A man matching the description of the first man was also in the area, carrying a shopping basket full of items. Moments later, a Nissan Altima arrived in the area and picked up the man carrying the shopping basket and was last seen driving east on Bay Avenue into Glen Ridge. The witness stated that one of the men had either a limp or a leg injury.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact Detective Terence Turner at 973-509-4724.

Vandalism to a Motor Vehice

On Monday morning, police were sent to Plymouth Street on a report of vandalism to a car. Upon arrival, police spoke to the victim, who said she parked her Volkswagen Passat in her driveway on Friday at about 4 p.m. When she returned to the car the following day around noon, she discovered that it appeared that someone had used a key to scratch her car from the front passenger’s side fender to the rear fender. The estimated amount of damage is $1,500. There are no suspects at this time.