A Washington Ave. resident told police he found two, 7-foot metal poles with American flags attached to them on his lawn on Aug. 22.
The police said the poles were likely ripped from the ground at a gas station. While checking to see where the poles might have come from, police said they came across yet another out-of-place flag pole resting against a tree.
Police said they notified surrounding towns of the stolen flag poles, but there weren’t any reports of any missing as of presstime.
Meanwhile, the Nutley Police Department logged the following incidents that took place between Aug. 22 and Aug. 28:
Aug. 23
• A resident called police to tell them two women were kicking sprinkler heads on a High St. neighbor’s property. Police said they verified the sprinklers had been broken, but weren’t able to find the two girls supposedly responsible for breaking them.
• A Franklin Ave. motor vehicle stop led to the arrest of a Belleville man on an outstanding Roxbury warrant, the NPD said. Jon Nardachone, 45, was taken into custody and transported to NPD headquarters, where he posted bail on the warrant. Police said he was released thereafter.
Aug. 24
• A Harrison St. business reported a shoplifting incident. The shoplifter, described as a white man in his 40s, wearing a Corona T-shirt, a black jacket, jeans and sunglasses, allegedly left the store with a cart containing two large Tide laundry detergents and an Oster blender — and then jumped into a white Mazda a blondehaired woman was waiting in, the NPD said. Though a description of the vehicle and suspect was radioed out, police weren’t able to find the suspect, the NPD said.
• A Clifton woman was arrested after she was alleged to have stolen several items from a Franklin Ave. business. Caterina Derrico, 42, was taken into custody after police screened a video of a woman taking items from the store by putting them into her handbag, police said. She was issued a summons charging her with shoplifting and later released with paperwork, pending court.
• A victim of potential fraud told police he got a phone call from someone pretending to be from the IRS. He was told he needed to send a Moneygram payment of $1,943 to avoid going to court, so he went to a Moneygram location and told a clerk what the money was for, police said. When the merchant heard the story, the victim was advised not to send the payment and to call police to report the near fraud, according to police. Meanwhile, police advised the victim to call them immediately if he got another similar call.
• A victim of identity theft reported that a man with a Midwestern accent posing as the account holder — he knew the victim’s Social Security Number, date of birth and the last four digits of the credit card number — made a $4,853 purchase someplace overseas, which also resulted in an international-purchase fee of $48.53. Police said the victim told the bank the purchase was unauthorized — and the bank has already returned the purchase and international-fee amounts. The bank advised the victim to continue to monitor credit reports for any further potential fraud.
• A Franklin Ave. resident told police she was the victim of a theft after her wallet was allegedly taken from her purse at a store. When the victim, who was shopping, went to check out, she searched for her wallet in her purse, but it was gone, police said. The woman couldn’t give an accurate description of the person who she believed may have taken the wallet, the NPD said. During their investigation, police said they recovered a few of the victim’s credit cards in the store, but they weren’t able to find lost cash, a driver’s license and medical insurance ID cards. Police, meanwhile, said they’d be checking surveillance video to try to identify the suspect.
Aug. 25
A resident reported to police receiving a phone call with a ransom demand for $2,000 for a family member who hadn’t gone missing, the NPD said. Apparently, a few other family members also got the same phone call, police said. Police said they were unable to trace the call’s origin because it came from a blocked telephone number.
Aug. 26
An E. Centre St. resident reported a theft. According to reports, the resident returned home and found a Yamaha Dirt Bike was missing. Police said they viewed surveillance footage of two people approaching the home and taking the bike, valued at $700. The NPD’s Detective Bureau is following up on the theft.
– 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.