Two residents arrested in connection with car burglaries
Police arrested a 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy on Monday, June 28, in connection with two car burglaries in a private parking lot uptown.
Around 2:40 a.m. on Monday, police were contacted by a witness who said she saw two people looking into vehicles in the private gated parking lot at Tenth and Clinton streets, according to a police report.
Two police officers responded in a car and observed the men allegedly trying to gain entry to a vehicle, according to the report.
Sgt. Roy Haack identified himself as a police officer and the two alleged perpetrators began to run, according to the report. Police later identified the males as Alexander Cruz Jr., 20, of 320 Jackson St., and a 16-year-old juvenile from Marshall Drive.
By then, more police were on the scene. Officer Jonathan Mecka scaled a fence to head off the pair and with another officer was able to apprehend them.
According to the police report, Cruz allegedly tossed a black book bag between two cars. Cruz later told police, according to the report, that the bag had items in it from the vehicles in the parking lot.
Police on the scene checked various vehicles and determined that two vehicles had been burglarized. The two owners of the vehicles were contacted and said items were missing including a GPS ($320), J-Lo perfume ($45), Juicy brand sunglasses ($250), and two phone chargers. Inside the book bag, police found some of these items as well as coins, three dollars, and an XM radio.
Cruz and the boy were both charged with burglary and with theft of movable property.
The boy was released into the custody of his mother. He and his mother were told to respond to juvenile court in five hours, at 9 a.m.
Can’t pull same stunt twice
A woman who owns an Italian ices store on Washington Street told police that on Thursday, June 24, a man came into the establishment and tried to pay for a bottle of water with a twenty dollar bill. She said she recognized him as a man whom she believed had given the store a counterfeit twenty in May.
When the cashier made a move to check the new bill’s authenticity with a marker, the man suddenly said he had the exact amount. He paid and left. The owner followed him to First Street but lost him.
The Hoboken police examined the video tape of the incident. The man is described as African-American with a stocky build and facial hair. He was wearing a white tank top, tan cargo shorts, white socks, and black sneakers.
With friends like these…
Police responded on Saturday, June 26, at 2:55 a.m. to the area of 900 Washington St., where a 22-year-old Hoboken man told police that he had been punched several times by his longtime friend. The man, who hails from North Bergen, was shirtless and bleeding from the nose, and had dried blood on his jeans.
The man said he had been standing on the 200 block of Washington Street about 25 minutes earlier when his friend from Jersey City allegedly began punching him in the face. He said he refused to strike his friend back. Then, his friend left.
Police brought the victim to Hoboken University Hospital, where he was treated for a broken nose.
Pump and run
A worker at a Hoboken gas station told police around 1:52 a.m. on Saturday, June 26 that a woman had just come in, bought $20 worth of gas and a pack of cigarettes, and then allegedly left without paying.
The worker also said that he had seen the woman before and that she had circled the gas station seven or eight times in the previous four hours before finally stopping.
The worker said that if he had not backed away, the woman might have run him over when she fled the gas station.
The worker described the woman as Caucasian, with straight, dark, shoulder-length hair, in her late 20s. He said that she has used the gas station before.
He also said the car was a white SUV and that he got the license plate number.
Police looked up the vehicle, which turned out to be a Chevy Cobalt. It was broadcast to area units to see if it could be located.