Crime & Safety
Thief Smashes Car Window In West Orange, Swipes Purse: Police
The victim was attending a graduation event when she learned that someone charged $400 to her debit card at a Target store, police said.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — A thief swiped a purse containing credit cards and other items from a car in West Orange while its owner was attending a graduation ceremony earlier this month, authorities say.
According to a police report released Friday, officers responded to the 100-block of South Valley Road on Feb. 3 after getting a call about a motor vehicle burglary.
The victim told officers that she parked her car in a lot at 5:25 p.m. and went into the building to attend a graduation event. At 6 p.m., she received a notification from Mastercard that her debit card had just been charged $400 at a Target store.
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The victim was confused by the charge and went outside to check her vehicle, where she’d left a small, black purse inside. She then discovered that her rear passenger window was shattered and the purse was missing.
Police said the purse also contained her driver’s license, two credit cards that belonged to a friend, a Costco card, a JCPenney card and a Kohl’s card.
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Shortly afterwards, another charge of $318 was reported at a Target in Kearny, authorities said.
Police said the thief may have tried to get into the car by the front passenger’s door first, because there were scratch marks found on the vehicle that are consistent with an attempted burglary.
Eventually, the thief got into the car by breaking the rear passenger’s window, although it wasn’t apparent what object was used to smash it, police said.
DECEMBER THEFT
A similar incident was reported in the township on Dec. 28, police previously reported.
During that incident, a thief broke a car window in West Orange and stole several thousand dollars-worth of jewelry, cash and debit/credit cards. Someone tried to charge $375 to the card at a Walgreens in Irvington. The transaction was flagged and declined by the bank, police said.
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