Hawthorne Woman Accused of Leaving Children at Department Store

A Hawthorne woman was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of her children Wednesday.

Milagro Mejia, 45, is accused of leaving her children unattended at Toys "R" Us for more than an hour, police said. The manager called at about 6:15 p.m.

Patrolman Matthew Parrello took the children, ages 12 and 4, to police headquarters. Thirty minutes later, Mejia called looking for them.

When she arrived at the station, she admitted to leaving the kids while she went shopping for herself, police said. She was charged and released on her own recognizance.

• Garfield man charged with credit card fraud

Patrolman Richard Menhinick responded to Lord and Taylor at Thursday at about 2:30 p.m. after a report of a credit card fraud.

When he arrived, reports said, he spoke with mall security, who said Daniel Driver, 27 had tried to make a purchase of $1,401 using a fraudulent credit card. Menhinick arrested Driver, a Garfield resident, and charged him with fraudulent use of a credit card, possession of a stolen credit card and identity theft.

Driver was sent to Bergen County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail. 

• River Edge woman charged with money laundering

On Thursday at about 6 p.m., Patrolman Jeffrey Lattanzi responded to the Garden State Plaza after a report that a woman had used two counterfeit $100 bills to make purchases at two stores.

Lattanzi spoke to mall security and confirmed that the bills were counterfeit, reports said. He spoke to Samantha Soler, 20, who was still in the mall, police said, and she admitted to using the counterfeit money.

Lattanzi arrested the River Edge woman and charged her with money laundering. She was released on her own recognizance.