March 10
Police received a report of theft of services from a Centre St. gas station at 4:06 p.m. Police said the attendant told them a customer received $82 worth of fuel for their vehicle and their credit card was declined. The customer then left their license with the attendant and promised to return with the money but never did so. Police said they went to the address listed on the license and were told by the customer they would satisfy the debt before the end of the day.
After being asked for help, at 11:39 p.m., in finding a stolen i-Pad, police obliged. Police said the victim, who had flown into Newark Airport, was missing their i-Pad from their luggage but was able to pinpoint its location in the area of River Road and Grant Ave. Police said they could detect a beeping sound on the west side of River Road, about 150 feet south of Grant Ave., coming from inside a sewer, from which they managed to retrieve the i-Pad, which was found in two blue bags.
March 12
At 9:07 p.m., police responded to an E. Centre St. location on a noise complaint which resulted in the arrest of Arthur Karapetyan, 35, of Nutley, on a charge of possession of drugs, which, police said, tested positive for methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia. Police said Karapetyan was released, pending a court date, after posting bail, which was set at $5,000 with a 10% cash option.
March 14
Police received a report of fraud from a victim who told them they’d been contacted by someone claiming to be from the IRS who told them they’d be contacted by an IRS investigator to avoid a criminal procedure for violating tax law. A man identifying himself as “Mr. Crouz” told the victim that the IRS would be freezing their bank accounts, credit cards and passports if the victim didn’t resolve the issue in the next half hour. The victim was told to go to a Clifton CVS and buy eight Green Point money pack cards, with seven in the denomination of $500 and the eighth for $186. After complying with this request, the victim was then advised to scratch off the cards and read the account numbers over the phone. After doing so, the victim was called back and told that a supervisor identified as “John Brooks” had refused to accept the money and wanted an additional $6,292.73. At this point, police said, the victim became suspicious and refused to send more money.
– Ron Leir
