Thief Smashes Car Window In West Orange, Steals Cash And Rings

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Someone broke a car window in West Orange and stole several thousand dollars-worth of jewelry and cash last week, authorities say.

The victim reported the theft on Dec. 28. She told police officers that someone smashed the rear passenger-side window of her 2021 Nissan Rogue, stealing several items from a pair of handbags, including $2,000 in cash, a driver’s license, a passport, social security cards, three debit cards and two credit cards, and a Restaurant Depot customer card.

The thief also took several rings that were in the center console of the car, valued at a combined $3,000, as well as the vehicle’s registration, insurance card and title, which were in the glovebox, police said.

According to the victim, she parked the car on the 100-block of South Valley Road and went to work around 10 a.m. When she returned to the car after work around 6:45 p.m., she found the window shattered and the vehicle ransacked.

The victim said she got a fraud alert from Chase Bank via text message around 3:20 p.m., but she wasn’t aware that she’d received it until police arrived on the scene.

According to the alert, someone tried to charge $375 to the card at a Walgreens in Irvington. The transaction was flagged and declined by the bank, police said.

No further alerts were received for the other credit/debit cards, police said.

Officers weren’t able to locate the object used to break the window, or retrieve any surveillance video footage of the scene. The crime scene may have been “contaminated” during the victim’s search of the vehicle, which hindered the processing of evidence, police added.

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