Two Women Arrested in Connection With Thefts From Elderly Residents

Two women were arrested last week and charged with thefts from the homes homes of two elderly Cedar Grove residents, police said Monday.

On Friday, Feb. 10, police arrested Theresa M. Castillo, 31, a home health aid worker, and her accomplice and friend, 40-year-old Martha B. Vazquez, both of Newark, in connection with the theft of money from two elderly residents, for whom one of the defendants had been working as a home health aide.  

The arrests followed a detective bureau investigation into reports that the initial victim, an 86 year-old resident, had $1,235 in cash stolen from her home over a two month period, reportedly during hours when Castillo and her associate, Vazquez, were in the home. 

On the date of the arrests, detectives located Castillo at a different residence in the Township where she was also working as a home health aide. Detectives subsequently developed information that implicated Castillo and Vazquez in the initial theft, along with information that also implicated Castillo in the theft of $1,000 from the home where she was currently working for the second victim, also an 86 year-old resident. 

Both Castillo and Vazquez were arrested at police headquarters, where they were processed on their respective charges and released pending a Superior Court Arraignment on Feb. 16.  Det. Sgt. John Kennedy, Det. Michael Tower and Det. Scott Scherer lead the investigation.