The case of the purloined campaign banner
On Tuesday, state Assemblyman and Hoboken mayoral candidate Ruben Ramos filed a report with police that sometime the night before, after he and his staff had left his Washington Street campaign headquarters, a banner was stolen from the gate around the property.
The banner, which said “Register to vote here, Vision for Hoboken, Ruben Ramos for Mayor,” measured three feet high and 15 feet wide, and was attached to the fence with at least eight zip ties, according to a police report.
The banner was worth approximately $330, said the report.
Ramos also told police that two weeks ago, two sections of bunting, worth around $60 each, were stolen from his campaign headquarters’ windows. According to the report, Ramos did not report those thefts at the time, but included them in his statement when the banner went missing.
Police reportedly searched the area for any surveillance cameras, but were unsure if they would be able to find any.
HPD stakeout results in five drug arrests
A fixed surveillance stakeout at a central location within the Hoboken Housing Authority resulted in five drug-related arrests in a short span of time recently, with charges being levelled against Hoboken and Jersey City residents for possession and distribution of marijuana and prescription medications, according to a police report.
On the evening of Aug. 13, officers conducting surveillance noticed Quadere Huggins, 21, of Hoboken, sitting in a chair outside the doorway of 510 Jackson St., when he was approached by a man later identified as Albert Stone Jr., 27, of Jersey City. According to a police report, Huggins ushered Stone inside the building’s lobby before checking to see if anyone was outside. Officers observed Stone allegedly hand Huggins money and Huggins allegedly hand Stone an unidentified object in return.
As Stone left the scene, the officers notified a “roving team” that placed Stone under arrest at the intersection of Third Street and Jackson Street. In his pants pocket, officers found 10 pills of the prescription narcotic Endocet, a painkiller, the report said.
Before a separate team could move in and arrest Huggins, police observed another man, later identified as Darius Ingram, 24, of Jersey City, approach Huggins. This time the pair remained outside the building, and another suspicious interaction allegedly occurred, said a report. Ingram left the scene, not realizing he was under police observation, and was arrested at 320 Marshall Drive moments later. A ziplock bag of what police suspected was marijuana was found allegedly on his person, the report said.
Huggins was subsequently arrested and allegedly found to be in possession of 16 bags of what police believed was marijuana, said the report.
Huggins was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) for endocet and marijuana, sale of CDS within 500 feet of public housing, sale of CDS within a school zone, and possession of paraphernalia.
Stone was charged with possession of CDS (endocet). Ingram was charged with possession of CDS (marijuana), possession of paraphernalia, and defiant trespassing.
Meanwhile, police observed an alleged interaction between Anthony Effinger, 40, and William Vallejo, 47, both of Hoboken, in which Vallejo approached Effinger outside 400 Marshall Drive. According to the report, police observed an alleged hand-to-hand transaction, and momentarily arrested Vallejo, who was discovered to have a bag of marijuana allegedly in his sock. Effinger was discovered by officers behind 319 Marshall Drive, and was also arrested.
Effinger was charged with distribution of CDS (marijuana), sale of CDS within 500 feet of public housing and sale of CDS within a school zone. Vallejo was charged with possession of CDS (marijuana) and possession of paraphernalia.
The bicycle bandit strikes from behind
Last Saturday, a young woman visiting Hoboken was walking north on Garden Street just before 3 a.m. when a man on a bicycle stole her cell phone, according to a police report.
The victim, who was visiting a friend but is from Lawrence, N.J., was leaving a business on the corner of Fourth and Garden Streets and was texting on her black iPhone 5, when a man allegedly swooped from behind on a bike, grabbed the phone, and rode away.
The victim continued to her friend’s house, where she called police and alerted them to the stolen phone. All nearby units were notified, but the bandit was not discovered. The victim then went to police headquarters to file a report in person.