Authorities are investigating an armed robbery at the newly opened Heritage Restaurant on Valley Road in West Orange.
Police said three men came into the restaurant around 11:45 p.m. Sunday and told everyone inside to "get on the floor." At least two of the men were brandishing handguns, they said.
Four cell phones were taken from people inside the restaurant and $170 in cash was stolen from the cash register, officials said.
According to the police report, the two men with guns were wearing dark-colored clothing and dark-colored bandanas around their faces.
The incident remains under investigation.
Heritage Restaurant opened its doors to the community last month and serves African and Caribbean food.
wohopeful
4:50 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Welcome to West Orange. We should be thankful that no harm came to anyone. Unfortunately crime has been steadily on the rise in West Orange and everyone should be extra vigilant as our Mayor has yet to take any visible action other than to fire police personnel.
Be safe out there people.
Paul Corrigan from West Orange
8:52 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
West Orange crime will drive higher income people out and destroy the tax base so keep up the good work Mr. Mayor and fire some more cops. Turn West Orange into a war zone like Irvington.
Tom G.
9:22 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Let's get a grip on reality for a second. What high-income people hang out on Valley Rd. at 11:45pm on a Sunday night (or any night)? The answer is probably 0. Nobody is fleeing town. Somebody was shot and killed in Montclair last week right off Bloomfield Ave. Are the higher-income people of Montclair fleeing town too? I didn't think so.
TF
9:50 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
What does that even mean? That if you're not high income, it's okay for you to be robbed at gunpoint?
Tom
2:50 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Get rid of senior cops.
More cops at less pay.
Walking the beat.
Or volunteers.
Cameras monitored over the Internet with non union volunteers monitoring and recording.
Pastor Greg Boyle
3:08 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Police in West Orange do a great job! You can hardly ever drive through town and not see a police officer. Chances are the detectives will clear this case. I say more police officers and 2 man cars= safer streets.
badbul
3:57 pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
2 man cars would be great if they would hire more officers. But a 1 man patrol car covers more area if you don't have the manpower. I see we have an auxiliary force, I say beef that up and post more cadets/auxiliary officers in the downtown area from the Valley, across Main Street, down Mississippi, Harrison, Washington to Watchung Avenue. If WO were to get 40 more on the auxiliary force, they could drop crime dramatically by placing 4 squads in 2 man patrol with each squad covering a section of town in the downtown corridor.
Paul Reiz
9:43 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Why would some be a WO auxiliary if there not allowed to be armed!
Pastor Greg Boyle
9:50 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
I don't think it's wise to count on volunteers in uniform, although the presence helps, the real work is done by the actual PD. They do the analysis and share information that leads to arrests. Even though one man cars give the look that there is more coverage the reality is that is not true. Officers driving one man cars must first drive, having that second set of eyes and not to mention the safety factor having a brother or a sister with you is a huge component in police effectiveness. Trust me on this one, I know a little bit about this stuff.
Tom G.
11:10 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
@TF - my point is that people, in general, are not going to be influenced by an incident that does not directly affect them. Since you are not likely to find many high income people hanging around Valley Rd., my point is that an incident like this is not going to influence them to make a decision to leave town. Someone living in Lewellyn Park is probably not going to hear about this incident on Valley Rd. and be ready to sell their 5M house, which is what P. Corrigan's post suggests.