Weehawken police have announced the capture of a Union City man suspected of committing as many as seven home break-in burglaries in the township.
“After the first two or three we had a high police presence of both uniformed and undercover [officers investigating],” said Director of Public Safety Jeff Welz. The investigation, police said, took months.
Police say they encourage the public to report any suspicious activity they see.
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Police said Montanez allegedly evaded police by staying close to his own neighborhood so if he was stopped his presence wouldn’t appear suspicious.
“Finally the break we were hoping for was an alert resident,” said Welz.
Police caught a lucky break
The resident wasn’t aware police were on the lookout for a burglar but noticed that Montanez, whom they didn’t recognize, was walking into someone’s backyard, so they called headquarters.
Upon hearing the details of the call, police thought it was the burglar they were looking for and hurried to the scene. “Our cops literally surrounded the area, all four sides and caught him in the act of [allegedly] committing the burglary,” said Welz.
Montanez had allegedly entered the home on High Point Avenue but an occupant inside screamed. Montanez ran out through the front door and into the arms of Weehawken police officers who were about to enter the home, but they say Montanez allegedly resisted arrest.
The items taken from his alleged burglaries were not recovered.
Later police said his previous arrest record included these allegations: aggravated assault on police officers, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, simple assault burglaries in different towns, and possession of drugs.
Spike in shoplifting
On Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m., Ludys Castro, of West New York was arrested for shoplifting after being spotted by store employees allegedly stealing cosmetic items. “Shoplifting has become a little bit of a problem,” said Deputy Chief Jeff Fulcher. Welz attributed the trend to the sour economy.
Fulcher emphasized that police are tackling the problem and prosecuting every alleged shoplifter caught. “If they steal, they’re going to get caught,” said Fulcher. “We arrest and we prosecute. We want the word to get out.”
Police say that at first, Castro allegedly said she was 17 years old, but later it turned out she was 18. “Sometimes, people lie about their age hoping that they will be treated as a juvenile,” said Fulcher.
Lock your vehicle doors
On Oct. 10 at around 5 a.m., members of the Weehawken First Aid Squad were returning to their headquarters on Highwood Ave. after attending to a call when they noticed two people walking around the area. They called police, who later linked the duo to a parked white Honda.
According to police, the pair would travel on foot allegedly attempting to burglarize vehicles by trying door handles, hoping to discover vehicles in which their owner left the doors unlocked.
“When the stories of the people didn’t match up, it made it even more suspicious,” said Fulcher. “Especially when one of them was [allegedly] in possession of a backpack that had items that didn’t belong to any of these individuals.”
Fulcher described how police were able to determine that the some of items in the backpack belonged to a resident that lived in the same street where the Honda was found. The local resident confirmed the item was his.
“It’s very important to remind people to lock their cars,” said Fulcher. “We’re finding this to be more and more a common problem.”
Police arrested Sanders Michelle, 20 from North Bergen. The other individual arrested, unnamed because he is a juvenile, was 17 years old, though he will soon turn 18 on Oct. 29.
Beware of the census con
Police are asking the public to be aware of people saying they are part of a Census Bureau and asking for personal information of residents such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and banking information. Weehawken Director of Public Safety Jeff Welz said that while the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information such as salary range, they will not ask for detailed personal information nor solicit donations. When in doubt, “Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions,” said Welz, “but keep in mind that look-a-like badges can be easily be made by anyone these days, especially [crooks] attempting to con others.”
Also, while census workers might contact residents via telephone, mail, or in person, they won’t contact residents via email so Welz asks the public to be careful of census email scams as well. “Never click on a link or open any attachments in an email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau,” said Welz.
Melissa Rappaport may be reached at mrappaport@hudsonreporter.com