In Verona: Home Burglary / Car Dealership Dispute / Vehicle Burglary / Credit Card and Craigslist Fraud / Harassment

Editor’s Note: The following incidents are reprinted directly from the Verona police blotter, a listing of selected incidents that may not include the full scope of activity in the area. All of the following incidents are accusations, and all suspects should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

8/14/2015

8 AM - Officer Erin McGarrity took a report of a burglary to a motor vehicle from an Otsego Road resident. The resident reported sometime during the night his vehicle was entered. Items in the vehicle were moved but nothing appears missing at this time.

3:13 PM - Officer Brendan Huber took a report of a fraud from a Hillwood Terrace resident. The resident reported unauthorized charges on his credit card. He has been in touch with the credit card company and canceled the card. He was provided with identity theft information.

4:05 PM - Officer Huber took a report of harassment from a Claridge Drive resident. The resident reported that he was having a dispute with a company that he hired to do work for him. There has been ongoing conversation between the resident and contractor regarding the work which according to the resident has not been completed. A representative from the contractor has been making harassing phone calls to the resident’s place of employment. The resident was advised of complaint procedures.

4:54 PM - Officer McGarrity took a report of a fraud from a Martin Road resident. The resident reported selling an item on Craigslist. The purchaser sent a check much larger than the purchase price of the item. When the resident contacted the issuing bank and was advised that the check was fraudulent.

8/15/2015

11:16 AM - Officer John Lecreux took a report of fraud from a Montclair Avenue resident. The resident reported several unauthorized transactions on her debit card. The resident has been in contact with her bank and has closed her account. She was provided with identity theft information.

8/16/2015

6:35 PM - Officer Chris Scheper took a report of a burglary at a Woodland Avenue residence. The homeowner stated he was away for several days and upon returning home found the house ransacked and the back door open. The Detective Bureau responded to process the scene and the resident is compiling a list of missing items.

8/17/2015

11:50 AM - Officer Justin Nielsen responded along with the Verona Fire Department on a report of a smoke condition inside a house on Otsego Road. Fire was found in the walls and was extinguished by the Verona Fire Department with mutual aid assistance from the Cedar Grove and Essex Fells Fire Departments.

7:23 PM - Officer Scheper took a report of a theft form a Claridge Drive resident. The resident reported a religious article was taken from her home. The value of the item is unknown at this time.

11:18 PM - Officer Alyssa Kirby took a report of property damage from a Green Acres Drive resident. The resident reported striking a raised catch basin and which caused damage to his vehicle. The value of the damage is unknown at this time.

8/18/2015

10:18 AM - Officer Justin Nielsen took a report of a burglary to a motor vehicle from a Cambridge Road resident. The resident reported that someone entered his vehicle and took the registration, title and insurance card from the glovebox of the vehicle. He was advised to contact the Division of Motor Vehicles to obtain new paperwork for the vehicle.

3:19 PM - Officer Steve Young took a report of property damage at a Bloomfield Avenue business. The customer reported she drove away from the gas pump with the nozzle still in the vehicle. Value of damage is unknown at this time.

7:48 PM - Officer Robert Juliano took a report of a dispute from a Randolph resident. The resident reported he had traded in a vehicle at a local car dealership with the agreement that the dealership would pay the remaining loan balance. The resident received a statement from the loan company and found that the payment had not been made by the dealership. The resident then paid the loan so that it would not affect his credit. At the time of this report he has not been able to work out an agreement with the dealership regarding the vehicle and the payment.

8/19/2015

1:02 AM - Sgt. Dave Wardrope took a report of found property. A woodland Park resident turned in a debit card that he found on Bloomfield Avenue.

4:30 PM - Officer Juliano conducted a motor vehicle stop on Mt. Prospect Avenue after a random check on the MDT revealed an active warrant for the registered owner of the vehicle. While checking the operator’s driver’s license it was determined that he was the owner of the vehicle. The operator Ghalib Choudhury of Belleville was placed under arrest for active warrants from the East Orange and Piscataway Municipal Courts. He was transported to Police Headquarters, processed and released after posting bail.