Acting on an anonymous complaint, North Bergen Police ran a prostitution sting at a Tonnelle Avenue motel on Aug. 6 that resulted in the arrest of Edwin Lopez, 35, of West New York.
Police said they received a tip that Lopez was allegedly orchestrating prostitution out of the hotel. An undercover detective made an appointment to see Lopez, who apparently was passing himself off as a woman named “Alicia.”
After Lopez allegedly offered “sex for money,” the detective presented himself as an officer and arrested him.
Police said that Lopez had numerous aliases, but that none of them had any arrest records, which was “…unusual for a 35-year-old prostitute.”
They also found several money order receipts to Honduras, and said Lopez allegedly admitted to being in the United States illegally. Police said that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were notified.
Judge Nino Falcone set Lopez’s bail at $25,000, with no 10 percent bail bond option.
Allegedly took off in stolen car, ran from police
Police said that Eliot Martinez, 39, of South Amboy, was arrested on Aug. 4 at 4:30 p.m. for allegedly receiving stolen property.
According to police, they received a LoJack Car Security System alert near three garages on 14th Street. The owner of the three garages had rented them out to three different people. Police said that that two of the three renters allowed them to check their properties, but that the third renter or renters were not in the area.
Police removed all of the marked cars and placed unmarked police cars in the area, waiting for the garage to open.
At some point, Martinez allegedly drove out of the garage in a stolen vehicle.
Detectives David Dowd and Lou Velez were waiting in unmarked police cars and followed Martinez in “hot pursuit” into Union City to Sixth Street, police said. There, Martinez allegedly tried to flee on foot and run into a mechanic’s garage, but police apprehended him.
Martinez was charged with receiving stolen property and eluding arrest. He also had two outstanding warrants from Passaic.
His bail was set at $50,000 with no 10 percent bail bond option by Judge Nino Falcone.
Alleged home burglars nabbed
Police said a North Bergen couple was fast asleep sometime after 10 p.m. on July 12 when someone crawled through their window.
The burglars allegedly removed $450 in cash, jewelry, two wallets, which included credit cards, and a GPS device.
Then the three alleged thieves travelled to a nearby Quick Chek, where they allegedly purchased $600 worth of gift cards with the victim’s credit cards.
Police viewed Quick Chek’s surveillance video and were able to indentify two of the perpetrators, who were known to the department. With the help of the Guttenberg Police Department, North Bergen police were able to identify the other person.
Roy Shah, 23, and his brother Lucky Rosa, 19, of Guttenberg were arrested about a week later.
The third individual was a 17-year old juvenile.
Police were able to get the victim’s credit card statements and match them up with the convenience store’s video.
All three were charged with conspiracy, burglary, theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, and theft by deception. Shah and Rosa were also charged with employing a juvenile in the commission of a crime.
Shah and Rosa had bail set at $10,000 with no 10 percent option, while the juvenile was sent to the Juvenile Detention Center.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.