Police Blotter: Rash of Burglaries to Cars, Homes
The following Information has been provided by the West Orange Police Department.
Several burglaries to cars and homes occurred between last Monday and early Monday morning with one home losing $2,000 in stolen items.
Roughly $600 worth of electronic equipment was allegedly taken from a parked car on Columbia Street last week, police said. They said a hard object was used to break the rear passenger side window of a 2005 Chevy. An XBox, valued at $300, and a laptop valued at $300 were stolen.
Tools and a car stereo were allegedly stripped from a car parked on Columbia Street last week, police said. The passenger side rear window was smashed with an unknown object. The stereo, valued at $60, was removed from the dashboard and two ratchet sets were taken from the trunk.
A home on Park Terrace was allegedly burglarized last week while the owner was out, police said. Almost $2,000 worth of items were stripped from the house. Police said the home showed no signs of forced entry. The homeowner said she left her house locked before she left but returned in the afternoon to find a PlayStation, laptop, a gold rope chain and a change jar missing from her home.
A car was allegedly ransacked on Reid Street in West Orange last week, officials said. The suspect(s) gained entry to the 2005 Lexus with an unknown tool, taking CDs, a portable radio and a charging cable.
A flat screen TV was allegedly stolen from a home on Franklin Avenue last Wednesday, police said. The homeowner said she found the glass panes on the rear door of her house broken when she came home around 3 p.m. According to the report, the TV was taken from the living room and both the master bedroom and basement were ransacked. The TV is valued at $1,200.
A residence on Chestnut Street was allegedly burglarized last Wednesday, police said. More than $1,000 of jewelry was taken from the home between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., according to the report. Police said the front door had been pried open and damaged with an unknown object. The owners of the home said they did not know if they had locked the door when they left.
Police said a car parked on Lowell Place was burglarized this weekend. They said the driver's side door lock of the 2001 Lexus was broken into but no items were taken. The owner of the vehicle told police he left his garage door open.
An unlocked car was allegedly burglarized Saturday afternoon on Joyce Street, police said. The owner of the 2003 Honda said the vehicle registration, insurance card and a $200 GPS were taken from the car.
Police said a 2005 Lexus was ransacked Saturday night on McClellan Terrace. According to the report, the passenger side window was broken and a $200 GPS was taken.
Police said suspect(s) attempted to burglarize a Porsche on Burnett Terrace over the weekend. The owner of the Porsche told police she noticed damaged to her car and found pieces of her door lock on her driveway.
A car on Hutton Avenue was allegedly burglarized on Sunday, according to police. An unknown object was used to gain entry to the Nissan Altima, police said. A GPS, a radar detector and a power adaptor all valued at more than $200 were taken.
A 2007 Acura was apparently stolen from a driveway on Silver Spring Road in West Orange Monday morning, police said. The car was parked and running with the keys in the ignition, according to the incident report. The owner of the car said she she had a pair of shoes valued at $50 inside the vehicle.
Pam
7:31 am on Thursday, December 15, 2011
How come Patch didin't ask the police about the goings on near Wellington & Hazel early Tuesday morning. There were what sounded like gunshots around 2am and Wellington was closed with crime scene tape for several hours on Tuesday as the CSU unit investigated.
Ryan
8:22 am on Thursday, December 15, 2011
Pam, the story seems to cover the period from Monday to Monday. Maybe next week's blotter report will cover the Tuesday happenings.
Car14
7:09 pm on Thursday, December 15, 2011
Hey come on...the mayor doesn't want these things reported in the press...it looks bad for the town..lol... let's face it crime is running rampant in WO and they laid off cops?
Gary Englert
10:41 pm on Friday, December 16, 2011
@ Car 14: The Mayor does not restrict media access to police reports (he can't, ever heard of OPRA?) and they can and are easily obtained, though redacted as necesary in some cases.
That's said, police were laid off and demoted due to budgetary constraints and the police unions' unwillingess to share sacrifice across the board; there was an alternative to layoffs.
All that said, petty crime is up all over; a function no doubt of the economy. West Orange is still a great and safe place to live as the UCRs will indicate when released next year.
madeline santamaria
8:08 pm on Friday, December 16, 2011
what is going on in west orange? i want my town back like it was fifty years ago.it use to be nice.
Gary Englert
10:46 pm on Friday, December 16, 2011
@ madeline santamaria: To revert to the West Orange of fifty years ago, they'd have to begin by filling in Route 280 and building houses on it. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.
West Orange is still a great and safe place to live. What we have now (that we didn't have then) is on-line news sources that tell more people about the (generally) run of the mill nonsense that has been happening here forever.
Fifty years ago, as today, the most numerous crimes occurring in town were burglaries and car theft,,,nothing new there.
Tom G.
10:53 pm on Friday, December 16, 2011
Go to www.city-data.com and look up the crime rate in WO. Crime has steadily declined in WO every year over the past 10 years. As Gary mentioned we have easy access to information now more than ever before. Crimes were happening before, you just never had sources like Patch to report on them.
Tom G.
10:56 pm on Friday, December 16, 2011
And when headlines read "RASH of burglaries", it makes things sound a lot worse than they really are...makes for a good story...
Green Car Limo
2:54 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Our stories have not presented either, I have emailed patch on our last two GUN POINT assaults to our drivers but so far nothing has been reported or resolved.