Michael Williams
A Belleville man who allegedly stole jewelry from stores in Nutley and in Bloomfield was arrested July 15 and charged with theft after a Nutley officer recognized the suspect in a Bloomfield police surveillance photo, the NPD said.
Michael Williams, of Belleville, was charged with theft by both the Nutley and Bloomfield police departments, reports said.
Nutley police said they had been investigating a theft at a Franklin Ave. jewelry store and caught a break when Bloomfield police released surveillance photos of a suspect committing a similar theft there.
Police said on July 9, Williams allegedly walked into a Nutley jewelry store and asked to see a 14-karat yellow-gold bracelet. After being given the bracelet to inspect, an employee momentarily walked away to answer a ringing phone — and Williams ran out of the store with the bracelet, valued at nearly $1,600, police said.
The following day, Bloomfield police reported a similar incident where $2,500 in jewelry was taken from a store.
Williams was first apprehended and arrested by the Bloomfield PD and admitted to the Nutley theft, police said. He was taken to the Essex County Jail where he’s being held on $5,000 bail for the Nutley incident and $20,000 on the Bloomfield incident, according to reports.
Meanwhile. the Nutley Police Department also logged the following incidents that took place between July 11 and July 17.
July 11
The victims of a theft from a business on Franklin Ave. reported the incident to police, according to reports.
Police said an unknown suspect entered the Franklin Ave. establishment, broke a cash register and stole $350. Police said they responded to the scene and observed the broken cash register. Surveillance footage was preserved of the incident and the NPD’s detective bureau continues to investigate, police said.
July 12
The manager of a Harrison St. business told police of a shoplifting incident.
After being called, police said they quickly located a man matching the description the store owner gave them, advised him of the complaint and placed Seth Murray, 42, of Newark, under arrest, charging him with shoplifting.
A search of Murray yielded five cases of Red Bull four packs, four cases of Five Hour Energy Drink and one Optifree [a contact-lense solution], with a total retail value of $126.88, police said. Murray was transported to police headquarters where he was processed and released on a summons, pending court, police said.
July 13
A motor vehicle stop on Kingsland Ave. resulted in the arrest of Carlos Brazell, 48, of Irvington, on an outstanding warrant out of Bloomfield, reports said. Brazell was transported to headquarters without incident and released on his own recognizance by Bloomfield PD with a new court date, police said.
• A Centre St. gas station attendant told police he pumped $57 in gas into a vehicle and once the tank was filled, the driver got out of the vehicle and asked where his gas cap went. Police said as the attendant was looking around for the cap, and helping other customers, the driver got back into his car and slowly took off. The suspect was a 40- to 50-year-old bald white man, police said.
• A report of a Faber Place disturbance was called into HQ by a passerby and in checking the residence, police said they found someone there who had two active warrants, one from Clifton and another out of Bloomfield.
Rosalie Guido, 49, of Nutley, was placed under arrest and transported to headquarters without incident, police said.
Clifton PD took custody of Guido shortly thereafter, according to reports.
July 14
Police said they arrested 19-year-old Justin Simmons, of Belleville, and charged him with burglary and criminal mischief after he allegedly stole more than $10,000 worth of jewelry from a relative who lives on Vreeland Ave.
As Simmons was being processed, officers said they noticed him tampering with handcuffs that were on him. After repeatedly asking Simmons to stop, officers said they removed the handcuffs and found them to be broken and inoperable.
Officers said they then informed Simmons that he would additionally be charged with criminal mischief — and while telling him this, he responded by threatening them.
Subsequently, he was charged with making terroristic threats, police said. Simmons was later remanded to the Essex County Jail when he could not come up with bail, police said.
July 15
A motor vehicle stop on Rt. 21 led to the arrest of Bruno Perez, 28, of Garfield, on possession of marijuana charges, police said.
Perez was transported to headquarters without incident, processed and was also issued two motor-vehicle summonses, one for speeding and one for possession of CDS in a motor vehicle, according to reports.
Perez was released on his own recognizance, pending court, police said.
July 16
The victim of harassing text messages reported the incident to HQ.
The identity of the texter is unknown and the phone number was not that of anyone the victim recognized, according to police.
Officers said they called the number and left a message for the texter to call Nutley police as soon as possible. The victim was advised to contact the police if they acquire any further information or get any more messages.
July 17
Officers were sent to River Road on a report of a burglary to a home, police said. The victim told police they left for work at their usual time and when they returned home, the front door was not properly secured.
After arriving home, the victim told police they noticed a light on that was off when they left, and personal items that were out of place around the home.
It was unclear what was missing, police said.
– Kevin Canessa Jr.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.