Wonder twins attempt to pursue man who stole mom’s purse
A pair of 13-year-old twins chased a man down Bloomfield Street on Monday after he allegedly stole their mother’s purse from out of the family car while she was inside a local bagel shop buying them breakfast, according to a police report.
Around 7:45 a.m. on Monday, a Woodbridge woman parked her car outside the shop on the 100 block of Bloomfield Street and left her sons inside. Within a few minutes, one of the sons told police, a dark-skinned Hispanic male approached the car and asked him and his brother where their mother was.
According to the report, the man then opened the car’s front door, repeated his question and then took the mother’s wallet from her purse before taking off down Bloomfield Street. The sons then exited the vehicle and took off after the man when their mother, who had just exited the bagel shop, yelled at them to stop. Thus, they ended their pursuit.
The woman’s wallet contained her driver’s license, four credit cards, a Social Security card, family photos, and $140.
Go find your own corner!
A woman panhandling outside the CVS drug store at the corner of Newark and Washington streets was charged with making terroristic threats and unlawful possession of a weapon after she and her boyfriend allegedly threatened a Salvation Army worker because he was taking donations that normally might have gone to her, according to a police report.
Stacy Butler, 36, of Jersey City, was also charged with possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes.
Just after 6 p.m. on Friday, according to the report, two seasonal Salvation Army workers began their annual donation campaign outside the CVS. Then, Butler, whom the workers said they knew personally because she also used to work for the Salvation Army, allegedly began yelling at them for taking her donations.
The Salvation Army workers went about their business, and soon Butler returned with her boyfriend, the report said. One of the workers told police that the boyfriend allegedly told him to stop harassing Butler and that he had just been in prison for murder and would slit the worker’s throat, the report said.
Following this, the man allegedly pulled a 12-inch butcher knife out Butler’s backpack while Butler allegedly revealed a shorter knife she was carrying in her coat. According to the report, the couple began brandishing the knives in a worker’s face before fleeing down Newark Street. Police located and arrested Butler, but could not find her boyfriend.
$40K bail for two alleged burglars
Two North Hudson men were charged with burglary after a Hoboken police detective followed them into a Monroe Street apartment building last Friday and caught them allegedly stealing a watch, iPhone, and other valuables from a third floor apartment, according to a police report.
Mark Polo, 33, of North Bergen and Manuel Rodriguez, 34, of Union City, were charged with possession of burglary tools, criminal mischief, and theft of moveable property, said the report.
A detective became aware of the matter around 11 p.m. when he was conducting an unrelated investigation in a Madison Street building. A noise outside alerted him to a group of suspicious males, said the police report. The detective followed the males to the 100 block of Monroe Street, where he called for backup before attempting to make contact with them.
But before he could talk to the men, he saw them allegedly disappear into the basement of the Monroe Street building. When backup arrived, he and another officer followed the men through a basement.
As they climbed a staircase, the report said, the officers heard someone yelling from the third floor, and witnessed Rodriguez allegedly putting a laptop in a backpack. The officers entered the apartment with their weapons drawn and forced Rodriguez and Polo, who was in another room, to surrender, the report said.
Both men were allegedly wearing gloves to prevent leaving any fingerprints, and Rodriguez was found with a screwdriver in his sleeve, which he had allegedly used to break into the apartment.
Police contacted the tenant who lives in the apartment, who identified many of the items in the backpacks taken from Rodriguez and Polo as belonging to him, including checkbooks, adult movies, a Rutgers University t-shirt, and $12.
A Hoboken municipal judge set bail for Rodriguez and Polo at $40,000.