A suspect wanted in connection with an assault on a 21-year-old woman at a Lyndhurst hotel nearly three months ago is now behind bars awaiting court action.
Andrea Rivers, 20, of Orange, was arrested Dec. 16 in Fairfield on charges of robbery, criminal restraint and terroristic threats and was taken to Bergen County Jail on $70,000 bail with no 10% cash option.
Police said that at 8:18 p.m. on Sept. 24, they responded to the Quality Inn Hotel on Polito Ave. on a report of a female who had been attacked. When they arrived, officers were told by the victim from Brooklyn that she’d been assaulted with pepper spray and robbed while in her hotel room.
The woman told cops that someone knocked on her door and, after opening it, she was confronted by a masked individual who pepper sprayed her in the face, tied her hands with zip-ties and told her not to scream or she would be killed.
The suspect then applied duct tape to her mouth and took $200, an Apple I-phone and a backpack with clothes and makeup before leaving her room, police said.
Although the victim didn’t see the intruder’s face, police said she recognized her voice. Police said the two had a “business relationship.”
Police said the victim eventually freed herself by using scissors to cut the zip-ties, then called the front desk which, in turn, notified police. She was treated at the hotel by Lyndhurst EMS for cuts to her face, right elbow, right knee and forearms. She declined further medical attention, police said.
An arrest warrant was then issued for the suspect who was located by Fairfield PD, charged and removed to Bergen County Jail.
Lyndhurst PD logged these other incidents during the past week:
Dec. 18
At 11:17 a.m., police responded to the 200 block of Stuyvesant Ave. where a 46-year-old resident reported the apparent theft of packages reportedly delivered to their residence in October. Police said the resident placed an online order for a $375 GPS and Xbox which the vendor was to ship via USPS but the resident never received the merchandise. Police said the resident didn’t report the incident until now because they’d been trying to resolve the matter with the vendor.
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At 3:14 p.m., police conducted a motor vehicle stop on Polito Ave. near the Wall St. industrial area after seeing no front license plate on the vehicle. The driver, Shamir Chowdhury, 21, of Rutherford, was given a summons for no front plate. He was also charged with possession of marijuana and possession of CDS in a motor vehicle. Police towed the vehicle.
Dec. 19
At 12:51 a.m., police pulled over a vehicle westbound on Rutherford Ave. after the driver allegedly crossed over the central yellow line several times while going 47 mph in a 25 mph zone. Esteban Chong, 46, of Bloomfield, was issued summonses charging him with speeding, careless driving, DWI and having an open container of beer in the vehicle. Police towed his vehicle and released Chong to a responsible party pending court action on the violations.
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At 4:21 a.m., police stopped a vehicle traveling north on Park Ave. near Court Ave. after it was seen reportedly swerving from lane to lane. The driver, Santiago Rivera, 41, of Newark, was charged with DWI and careless driving. His car was towed and he was released to a responsible party.
– Ron Leir
