An infant was burned in what Nutley PD described as a freak accident.
Police responded to a River Road residence, at 11:30 p.m., on Dec. 21 on a report of a baby being hurt.
Police said the mother of the 1-year-old boy was heating milk in a bottle on the stove. But the bottle was sitting in a glass pitcher filled with water and, as the heat increased, the pitcher shattered, causing the boiling water to spill out, burning the baby.
The mother phoned 911 and Nutley EMS and Advanced Life Support teams were called to the scene and they transported the baby to St. Barnabas Medical Center Burn Unit, police said.
There was no immediate word on the baby’s condition.
Among other incidents logged by Nutley PD between Dec. 20 and 26 were these:
Dec. 20
While assigned to a DWI detail, police said they observed a van parked illegally outside a Chestnut St. business and two men, later identified as Michael A. Smith, 39, and Alfredo Llivicota-Penafiel, 46, both of Newark, place a yellow drum filled with used cooking oil inside. Police later learned that the business contracts with a different company to retrieve the drums. Smith and Llivicota-Penafiel were both charged with theft. Smith also had an outstanding warrant from Jersey City. Both were released on bail pending court appearances.
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Joseph Kaplan, 34, of Nutley, was arrested on Franklin Ave. on outstanding warrants from Roselle, Linden and Jersey City. He was turned over to Roselle PD for processing.
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A Passaic Ave. resident reported that two packages delivered to their front porch between 10 and 11 a.m. were stolen. The items were valued at about $200.
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Frank Carfagno, 30, of West Paterson, was arrested on Hancox Ave. after police said they found Carfagno had 20 folds of heroin and several hypodermic needles.
Police said each fold had a street value of between $4 and $10. Carfagno was charged with possession of heroin and possession of hypodermic needles.
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Police responded to a Brookline Ave. residence on a report of explosion with fire. At the scene, the fire was out and police were told by the homeowner that a few minutes after they’d just returned home, they heard a loud explosion in front of the house and then saw a fire at the base of the front steps which they put out. Police, who found debris and paper wrapping in the front area, surmised that an M80 firework had been set off.
Dec. 22
A Franklin Ave. business owner reported that someone had broken their front window.
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An identity theft victim reported receiving a call about a transaction for close to $3,000 made on their credit card which, the victim said, was unauthorized. After the account was closed, the victim learned from Capital One that 13 attempts had been made to open up accounts using much of their personal information.
Dec. 23
Police stopped a motor vehicle reported being driven erratically and nearly hitting a parked car along Franklin Ave. and issued the driver, Joseph Bravoco, 25, of Nutley, summonses charging him with DWI, reckless driving, disregard of traffic control device, speeding and failure to maintain lane. He was released pending a court date.
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A Franklin Ave. business owner reported the theft of several tools: three nail guns, a compressor, an impact driver, jig saw, sawzall, two lithium batteries and charger, all of the DeWalt brand, and valued at about $800. Police said they found no sign of forced entry.
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Police responded to a River Road location on a report of a vehicle driving on three tires. Police said the vehicle was initially believed to be involved in an accident but the driver, Mario Aymara Galvez, 24, of Carteret, told officers that he’d just been robbed during an attempted carjacking. However, police said an investigation revealed that Galvez fabricated this account to cover up his role in the accident in which he allegedly hit a concrete barrier after leaving a Clifton establishment. He was charged with filing a false police report, hindering apprehension and DUI.
– Ron Leir
