Man Arrested In Connection With Criminal Sexual Contact In Westfield

WESTFIELD, NJ — A man was arrested in connection with the criminal sexual contact of a Westfield store employee in 2023.

On Aug. 10 at 9:59 p.m., Jairo Pineda-Angarita, 35, of Plainfield, was arrested on the strength of an outstanding Westfield Complaint Warrant resulting from a Detective Bureau investigation which identified Pineda-Angarita as the suspect involved in an act of criminal sexual contact against a victim working at a store located on the 200 block of East Broad Street on Dec. 26, 2023.

Pineda-Angarita was processed at Westfield Police Headquarters and later taken to the Essex County Jail pending his court appearance date.

Other Westfield Police Blotter items from Aug. 11 to 17:

On Aug. 11 at 9:36 p.m.: Westfield Police Officers conducted a motor vehicle stop on Central Avenue and W. Grove Street and found the driver to have an outstanding traffic warrant out of Jersey City Municipal Court for $1,000. The driver, Saravanan Subramani, 42, of Woodbridge, was processed and released from the scene with a new court date.

On Aug. 12 at 7:04 a.m.: Ryan Gallagher, 32, of Linden, was placed under arrest on the strength of a $1,000 warrant out of Clark pursuant to an investigation into a verbal dispute near the Southside Train Station. Gallagher was released on his own recognizance at Westfield Police Headquarters with a new Clark Municipal court date.

On Aug. 13: A resident of Settlers Lane went to Westfield Police Headquarters for a report of identity theft. The victim stated an unknown person used his identity to rent an apartment in New Rochelle, NY without paying the rent on this property. A collection bill was sent to the victim in the amount of $19,175.38.

On Aug. 13 at 1:35 p.m.: A resident of Sandra Circle reported being the victim of fraud. At an unknown time, an unknown suspect took the victim's May and June 2024 pension checks, likely from the U.S. Mail. The checks were cashed via mobile app.

On Aug. 15 at 4:03 p.m.: A representative of a business on Quimby Street and the business owner reports that unknown actor(s) deceived the employee into removing funds from the business to pay for an alleged item to be delivered to the business. The employee then used these funds and made an electronic deposit, allowing access to the actor(s) of said funds. There was no actual item delivered to the business as the communications were all a deception. Currently the business has suffered a monetary loss.

On Aug. 15 at 6:48 p.m.: A resident of the 200 block of Hyslip Avenue reports fraudulent activity on his personal financial accounts totaling around $245,000. Notifications were made to the victim's financial institutions and the fraud investigation is ongoing.

On Aug. 17 at 7:42 p.m.: A female DoorDash driver and her boyfriend picked up an order at the 7-Eleven food store on the 1200 block of West South Avenue. While inside the store, the male actor stole a pair of black-colored sunglasses valued at around $24.99. The male actor was confronted by the counter employee. The actor subsequently fled the store with the stolen sunglasses and drove away in an unknown direction.

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