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CRANFORD
The Cranford Police Department has charged a juvenile from Essex County with burglary, theft and criminal mischief after a month-long investigation into a residential burglary that took place in January 2024.
On Sunday, January 21, at around 3 a.m., police received a report of a residential burglary on Crane Parkway. Upon their arrival, the homeowner informed police that two unknown individuals had broken into their home by prying open a rear first-floor window. The responding officers observed that the victim had several high-end motor vehicles parked in their driveway and that the burglars were likely searching for the car keys. The homeowner and their family were present during the incident.
During the investigation, police identified one of the suspects as a 16-yearold male from Newark. The Union County Prosecutor’s Office approved charges of burglary, theft and criminal mischief, and the juvenile was sent to the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center pending a court appearance.
Cranford Police Chief Ryan Greco stated that this was the second set of charges lodged against a juvenile in recent days for a crime associated with high-end vehicles. “Cranford is not immune to these types of events; however, advances in our crime-fighting technology, proactive policing by our Patrol Division, and a thorough investigative follow-up by our Detective Bureau resulted in a successful resolution to this crime,” he said.
Friday, February 16, police observed a 2023 Jeep at the intersection of North Avenue East at Elizabeth Avenue. This Jeep matched the description of a stolen Jeep that had been broadcasted earlier in the shift. Police confirmed that the motor vehicle was reported stolen in Palm Beach County, Fla., and conducted a motor vehicle stop in a parking lot on North Avenue East. Police placed the driver of the vehicle, Elijah Champagne, 23, of Hallandale, Fla., under arrest. In addition, the seven occupants of the vehicle, Ariana Levy, 20, of Lauderhill, Fla., Gabriela Granados, 18, of Margate, Fla., Lamathe K-Ci, 23, of Miramar, Fla., Trened Desrosier, 23, of Miami Gardens, Fla., Alex Chisholm, 22, of Winston-Salem, N.C., Menelek Denis, 22, of Lauderhill, Fla., and Brianna Blair, 20, of Lauderhill, Fla., were all placed under arrest without incident. All suspects were charged with Receiving Stolen Property and released pending a Superior Court date.
Thursday, February 22, police responded to the 700 block of Walnut Avenue on the report of a residential package theft. After an investigation, on February 28, police arrested Andrea Ivey, 30, of Newark for theft. Ivey was charged and provided a Superior Court appearance date.
SCOTCH PLAINS
Monday, February 19, a delivery man reported that he believed he had dropped his phone at the Quick Stop on Park Avenue, and when he returned to the store to retrieve it, the phone was not there. He called the phone, and an unknown male answered and then turned the phone off.
Monday, February 19, a resident of Rahway Road reported that someone had attempted to gain entry to his motor vehicle overnight. The unknown individual did not make entry.
Tuesday, February 20, two unknown males stole over $10,000 in scrap copper from the Lidl construction site. This matter is under investigation.
Thursday, February 22, a resident of Westfield Avenue reported the theft of a diamond ring from her residence. This matter is under investigation.
Thursday, February 22, Brittany M. Coleman, 35, of Irvington was arrested for an outstanding warrant as the result of a motor vehicle stop. Police discovered a $1,000 traffic warrant out of Linden; 10 percent bail was paid and Coleman was released with a new court date.
Friday, February 23, residents of Jersey Avenue, Elizabeth Avenue, Gales Court and Lyde Place reported that sometime overnight, unknown males in a dark-color sedan stole the catalytic converter from their motor vehicles. This matter is being investigated.
Saturday, February 24, Wilbur May, 19, of Scotch Plains was arrested related to numerous crimes regarding an aggravated assault with an automobile. He was held until his court hearing.
WESTFIELD
Tuesday, February 20, Westfield Police officers conducted a motor vehicle stop on the 700 block of Oak Avenue and found the driver to have an outstanding traffic warrant out of Springfield Municipal Court, in the amount of $3,000. The driver, Kristopher Legones, 37, of Westfield, was released on his own recognizance after being processed at police headquarters.
Wednesday, February 21, police responded to the 600 block of Hanford Place on a report of a motor vehicle crash involving one vehicle into an unoccupied, parked vehicle. During the course of their investigation, the officers placed Roger Stone, 73, of Mountainside under arrest for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). Stone was transported to Westfield Police Headquarters, where he was processed and released to a sober adult.
Thursday, February 22, a resident of Terrace Place reported that an unknown person(s) attempted to burglarize their motor vehicle while it was parked during the overnight hours. The person(s) attempted to gain access to their vehicle, and during this attempted entry damage occurred to the door handle as the person(s) were using some type of prying tool. The cost to repair the criminal mischief is unknown. There were no items taken from the vehicle, nor was there any entry to other vehicles on the property.
Sunday, February 25, a resident of the 400 block of Kimball Avenue reported an incident of fraud that occurred that day. On that date, she received a text message from someone claiming to be from the United States Postal Service. The message stated: “The USPS package has arrived at the warehouse and cannot be delivered due to incomplete address information. Please confirm your address in the link within 12 hours.” The victim followed the instructions on this site and provided her personal information before learning that the site was fraudulent.
Monday, February 26, a resident of the 900 block of Prospect Street reported an incident of bank fraud that occurred that day. Specifically, an unknown suspect made a fraudulent cash withdrawal from the victim’s personal Chase Bank account in the amount of $2,500. This incident occurred at a Chase Bank location in Queens, N.Y.
Monday, February 26, a resident of the 500 block of Fairmont Avenue reported being the victim of criminal mischief. The victim stated that at an unknown time, an unknown suspect(s) attempted to steal the front headlights from her motor vehicle while it was parked on Fairmont Avenue, or at her place of business in Clark. This attempt caused damage to the front of the vehicle. The cost for the repair is unknown at this time.
Tuesday, February 27, a resident of Iselin reported that her motor vehicle had been the target of criminal mischief and burglary that resulted in a theft of property. According to the victim, she parked the vehicle at Tamaques Park at 9:30 a.m., and when she returned to her vehicle an hour later, she noticed that the rear passenger window was broken. Upon further inspection of her vehicle, she determined that her purse, containing various personal items, had been stolen from the interior passenger compartment of the vehicle. The total owner-estimated value of the stolen property is $450.
Tuesday, February 27, an anonymous resident of Westfield located a blackcolored purse and a pink-colored Disney lunch box in Tamaques Park and surrendered them at the Westfield Police Department for safekeeping.
Wednesday, February 28, a resident of the 500 block of Downer Street reported being the victim of fraud. The victim contacted whom she thought was a representative for Apple to resolve an iPhone issue. The suspect advised the victim to download a screen-sharing application on her iPhone which allowed the suspect to have remote access to her phone. At this time, she was instructed to purchase an Apple gift card while the suspect simultaneously attempted to purchase several more gift cards using the victim’s stored credit card. A monetary loss of $500 has been reported.
Wednesday, February 28, a resident of the 900 block of Prospect Street reported an incident of fraud. According to the resident, an unknown person(s) made fraudulent withdrawals from his bank account without his approval or authorization. Two separate withdrawals were made, for a total amount of $2,000. The resident immediately closed his bank account and is in the process of disputing the withdrawal transactions with his financial institution.
Friday, March 1, a resident of the 900 block of Everts Avenue reported the theft that day of a package and its contents from the front steps of his residence. An unknown suspect left with the box, containing four iPhones valued at approximately $4,300.
Saturday, March 2, a resident of the 100 block of Livingston Street reported an incident of credit-card fraud that occurred that day. Specifically, an unknown suspect(s) made a fraudulent transaction using the victim’s Kohl’s credit card at a Kohl’s department store in McDonough, Ga. This transaction was flagged by Kohl’s corporate office, at which time the victim was notified and the account was placed on hold. The victim did not suffer a monetary loss as a result of this incident.
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Charges are merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
