If you’re pulling a scam, try to avoid off-duty cops
The Hoboken Police Department has been warning residents about an alleged roof scammer who tells residents that they need to let him in their homes to do work, and then distracts and robs them when they’re asked to do a menial task, like go upstairs and turn on a faucet.
An off-duty police officer in the vicinity of 10th and Garden streets was visiting a family member recently when an individual came to the door claiming to be from a roof repair company, saying he needed to come into the home.
The supposed roofer, probably in his late 20s or early 30s, was light-skinned, with a thin build, approximately five feet seven inches, with short dark hair, and wearing a white shirt, blue sweatpants, and a white baseball cap, police said.
When the off-duty officer asked the man to provide the name of who called in the repair, he was unable to name the building’s owner.
Police say the man became “uneasy” during questioning, and the officer said in a report that the man looked like he was about to flee down the stairs.
The officer then identified himself and drew his weapon because the man wouldn’t show his hands, police said. After a struggle in the hallway, the man ran down the stairs away from the off-duty officer, according to police.
The officer chased the man down four flights of stairs, but the man was able to drive away in a Toyota Sequoia registered with Pennsylvania license plates. Police say the first three letters of the license plate were GML.
The officer called for backup but the man had sped away. The owner of the building said no repair companies had been called for that day.
The case is under investigation.
Also, don’t try to rob a store where you’re a regular
A 30-year-old Hoboken man was arrested and charged with robbery after he allegedly punched a store manager in the ear and kicked him on June 10 while allegedly taking a pack of cigarettes at approximately 12:30 a.m.
Police responded to a grocery store/deli in the 100 block of Willow Avenue because of a report of a “robbery in progress.” The night manager said a tall, white male with a bald head asked for an $8 pack of cigarettes, and when he turned around to give him matches, the man allegedly punched him and kicked him several times in the legs. The alleged attacker then ran away, police said.
The night manager said the man is a regular customer, and the store actually had a phone number for him. After tracing the number, police identified the man as Eddie Agosto, of Hoboken.
The night manager suffered a bruise and swelling to his left ear and head, along with bruises to both of his shins, police said.
Agosto was later identified by the victim in a police lineup, and was arrested. He was transported to Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny, and is being held in lieu of a $50,000 cash bail.
Alleged molester on a mountain bike
Two women reported to police in separate incidents that they were grabbed by a man on a mountain bike downtown. The first incident was on June 10 at approximately 10:45 p.m., and the next was on June 12 at approximately 10:30 p.m.
One woman said the man rode by on Observer Highway and allegedly made “a scooping motion to grab her buttocks” and made skin contact.
She described the bicyclist as a tan male, possibly Hispanic or white, approximately 5-foot-8, weighing approximately 165 pounds, wearing a t-shirt and a dark colored cap. The man was riding a dark colored bike, the woman told police.
A similar but less thorough description was given for the biker in the June 12 incident, which took place on Fourth Street. A woman said a man rode by her on a bike and allegedly grabbed her and then fled north.
The incidents are currently under investigation.
Waiting for the evidence to come out
Two men were arrested on June 7 after a traffic stop apparently turned into snack time for one alleged criminal.
Police say they observed a driver allegedly speeding on Ninth Street in his Jeep and immediately followed the car in their unmarked police vehicle. Police identified the driver and said he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest on drug charges from a separate incident.
Police pulled the vehicle over. The passenger, identified by police as Juan Rodriguez, 32, of North Bergen, allegedly ingested an unknown amount of what police believe to be drugs as the officers approached the car.
Officers attempted to open the locked car door, and Rodriguez then drank water to allegedly “aid in the swallowing” of the alleged substance, according to police.
Police unlocked the door from the driver’s side door and grabbed the man by his mouth and throat to prevent him from swallowing the evidence.
The struggle moved outside of the car, but police say Rodriguez swallowed what they suspected to be drugs.
Police then called the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, who dispatched a Port Authority Police Department K-9 unit to the scene. The dog indicated to officers that there was a narcotic odor in the vehicle.
However, no drugs were found in the vehicle during a search.
Officers were told by a confidential informant that the car is often used for drug distribution throughout Hudson County, specifically in Hoboken.
Police found seven cell phones on the two men and in the vehicle, as well as over $5,000 which was later seized “as proceeds from illegal distribution” of narcotics, according to police.
The car’s driver, Robert Martinez, 30, Hoboken, was arrested on a warrant for distribution of cocaine, distribution of cocaine within 500 feet of a park, and distribution of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school.
Rodriguez was arrested and charged with tampering with physical evidence, obstruction of the administration of law, resisting arrest, and hindering apprehension, police said.