Summit Police Beat: Cars, Fobs Stolen; Man Arrested In Bike Theft

SUMMIT, NJ — The Summit Police Department on Tuesday arrested Ronald Jones, 57, of Irvington, in connection with the theft of two bicycles occurring on Aug. 30 and Sept. 24. At the time of his arrest, Jones was found in possession of approximately $625 worth of merchandise recently stolen from CVS on Deforest Avenue in Summit, police said.

Jones is charged with two counts of third-degree theft and one count of third-degree shoplifting, police said Tuesday. He was released pending an Oct. 19 appearance date in Union County Superior Court.

Police said, "The investigation remains ongoing as Jones is a suspect in multiple, recent bicycle thefts in Summit."

Chief Andrew Bartolotti said, "This is an example of diligent and successful police work by the department. Using video footage and evidence gathered from witnesses, detectives and patrol officers were able to identify a suspect, and establish surveillance to effectively apprehend the suspect.”

Summit Police are encouraging residents to report any suspicious activity, and to lock their bikes when left unattended, especially overnight.

In other recent police news in the last month:

Unlocked car with drum set: On Aug. 29 at 8:12 a.m., police took a report on the theft of an unsecured motor vehicle from the driveway of a Kings Hill Court residence. Taken from the driveway was a 2020 white Ford Fusion with the key fob inside. Inside of the vehicle was also one Roland electric drum set and one black leather men’s wallet. The value of the car at the time of the report was approximately $30,000, the drum set was valued at approximately $3,000, and wallet $20.

Speaking of fobs left in cars: On Sept. 1 at 8:32 a.m., police took a report of an unsecured car stolen from an Ashland Road driveway. Taken from the driveway was a 2014 black Infiniti QX6 with the key fob inside of the vehicle. The value of the car was not known.

Key fob and leather jacket: On Sept. 7 at 9:19 a.m., police took a report of a car and key fob stolen from a Rotary Drive residence. Taken was a black BMW 540, along with the black Italian leather jacket inside. The value of the car wasn't known at the time of the report. The jacket is worth $1,300.

An entire shopping order: On Sept. 8, at 5:07 p.m., police took a report for a theft of groceries from an Instacart delivery person. On Euclid Avenue, the victim was approached by a man who asked, “Instacart?” Then he took $340 worth of groceries, placed them into a cobalt blue BMW, and drove off.

Numerous bikes: Numerous bikes were stolen from the area. Among the more expensive, someone took a $1,000 bike from a DeForest Avenue business. The victim reported the incident occurred approximately 30 minutes prior to contacting police when a blue Trek bicycle was removed from the storefront. It had a water bottle on the frame and a black bicycle helmet attached to the bike.

Men in ski masks: On Sept. 24 at 6:06 p.m., police took a report of an attempted burglary to several unsecured vehicles parked in the driveway to a Hillcrest Avenue residence. Victims said they saw two black males seated in the driver’s seat of two of the vehicles wearing ski masks. The victim startled the suspects, who immediately fled on foot and entered a third vehicle waiting on the street, police said. At the time of the report, the victims noted nothing of value to be missing from either vehicle.

More fobs: On Sept. 26 at 6:28 p.m., a report was taken for a theft of an unsecured motor vehicle with the key fob inside from a Crest Acre Court residence.

Still more fobs: On Sept. 27 at 1:06 p.m., police took a report for a burglary to an unsecured motor vehicle parked in the driveway to a Summit Avenue residence. Taken were an Apple iPhone 6S, a brown bi-fold leather wallet containing credit cards, and a leather change pouch containing approximately $25. The total value of the stolen items was approximately $445.

Prob not a fob: On Sept. 30 at 7:22 a.m., police took a report of a 2020 gray BMW 330 stolen from the driveway of a Club Drive residence. The car was worth $40,000, police said. "The victim did not believe to have left a key fob in the vehicle," police said, "however, there may have been a valet key inside."

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