Monday, May 6, 2013
Truck that sparked a 1,000-square foot brush fire had been abandoned in the woods for about two months, police say
The Mahwah Police Department is continuing to investigate how and why a Ford truck that sparked a 1,000-square foot brush fire this weekend was left deep in a wooded area off of Route 202, police said Monday afternoon. The truck “had been abandoned there for approximately two months, but never reported to our agency,” Police Chief Jim Batelli said Monday. Police learned the truck’s timeline after interviewing witnesses who walk through the wooded area, Batelli said. Police are currently trying to locate the owner using the truck’s Vehicle Identification Number, Batelli said. According to authorities, the truck caught on fire Friday night for unknown reasons. The blaze spread to the nearby wooded area, and took crews from the New Jersey …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Event Saturday is part of the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day
A federal drug take-back program that has yielded significant collections of unwanted medications in the township before is happening again this Saturday. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., locals can drop off “potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs” at the Mahwah Police Station as part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. Saturday marks the fourth time Mahwah has participated in the take-back. According to Police Chief Jim Batelli, each time the PD participates, “the amount of prescription drugs turned in increases.” According to the DEA, the Take-Back Day last September collected 244 tons of prescription drugs at over 5,200 participating stations across the country. The agency’s …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The fire broke out Monday afternoon in a parking lot on the campus of Lincoln Tech.
A dumpster fire that broke out Wednesday afternoon in a steel, 30-yard dumpster located in a parking lot outside Lincoln Tech was likely started by bottlerockets thrown in the oversized trash bin, authorities said. The dumpster was full of refuse and its contents were engulfed in flames when firefighters from Company 2 arrived on scene shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, according to Mahwah Fire Chief Ed Garza. The large dumpster was stationed in the back corner of the parking lot across the street from the school building, he said. Bottle rockets were responsible for starting the fire, according to Police Chief Jim Batelli. “Officer Michael Blondin, who is our arson investigator, determined that the fire was started by shooting …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
A Spring Valley man was arrested Wednesday afternoon in the same Mahwah neighborhood where two people were arrested on drug charges Tuesday.
A man walking on South Railroad Avenue in Mahwah Wednesday afternoon was arrested on drug possession charges less than 24 hours after an alleged cocaine dealer was arrested about a block away, police said. An anonymous caller reported to police Wednesday morning that a man carrying drugs was walking on the street, according to Mahwah Police Chief Jim Batelli. The call came less than a day after an alleged drug dealer was arrested nearby, on East Ramapo Avenue. Police responded to the scene at around noon on Wednesday and found Emmanuel Laforest, 32, of Spring Valley, N.Y., walking on the street carrying what they believe to be cocaine, Batelli said. The man initially falsely identified himself to police, pretending to be his brother, who …
Monday, March 25, 2013
Police say the New York man may have injected his victim with a date rape drug or insulin during an alleged attack at her township home.
A 71-year-old man was arrested in Mahwah this weekend after a township woman claimed he attacked her and injected her with what might have been a date rape drug, police said Monday. Cops responded to a Mahwah home Friday afternoon where a 67-year-old female claimed that a former boyfriend, John Zechowski, of Brooklyn, N.Y., knocked on her door earlier that day wearing a hoodie and holding a package in his hand, according to Police Chief Jim Batelli. The victim was expecting a package and opened the door, cops said. Zechowski allegedly shoved her into her home "where a struggle ensued and she was knocked to the ground" causing a laceration to her head, Batelli said. “Zechowski, who was in possession of a syringe, then allegedly attempted to…
Saturday, March 23, 2013
This Saturday, collect your gently used clothes. Residents have two clothing drives to choose from.
This Saturday, township residents looking to give back have a few different options to choose from. Two different groups are hosting clothing drives in Mahwah Saturday. Lenape Meadows is hosting a clothing drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The school’s HSO will receive a donation for every pound of clothing collected at the drive. Check out information about the event here. Suggested donation items include: The Mahwah Police Department is also hosting a clothing drive, as part of some of its officers’ Unity Tour ride. The MPD released the following information about Saturday’s drive: Mahwah Police will be holding a clothes drive to benefit those in need across the United Stated and worldwide. We are accepting used clothing in any condition. We …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
The man was arrested after driving the stolen car through Mahwah Wednesday afternoon, police say
A man who cops say sold a stolen car on Craigslist, and then re-listed it on the website after it was stolen from the original buyer, was arrested in Mahwah Wednesday afternoon after police noticed an irregularity in the car’s license plate. According to Mahwah Police Chief Jim Batelli, Reynold Joseph, 40, of Orange was driving the 2006 Pontiac G6 through Mahwah at about 10:40 a.m. Wednesday when Police Officer David Vega pulled him over to question him about his license plate. A scan of the plate revealed it was “not on file,” Batelli said. After further questioning and investigation, police determined the car had been reported stolen out of Nassau County, NY. Joseph claimed he had just purchased the car on Craigslist and produced a title…
Thursday, February 14, 2013
48 of the 69 police departments in Bergen County answered at least one question about filing complaints against officers wrong during a recent ACLU study, report says
The Mahwah Police Department is one of a minority of New Jersey Police agencies that correctly accepts complaints about police conduct, according to a study recently conducted by New Jersey Public Radio and the ACLU. In the study, the ACLU called 497 police departments in New Jersey and asked officers five questions about filing complaints - if a complaint could be filed anonymously, by telephone, by a third-party, by a juvenile without his or her parents and if an undocumented immigrant could file a complaint without fear that immigration authorities will be contacted. According to a release from the agency, a majority of agencies in the state answered at least one of the "basic" questions incorrectly. In Bergen County, 21 of the 69 …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Police are warning residents of five recent reports of a man persistently begging for money from women sitting in their cars at local shopping centers
Mahwah Police are warning local residents to look out for a man who has reportedly approached five different women in area shopping centers over the past two-and-a-half weeks begging for money. Though police say the man has not committed any crimes, his behavior is “alarming…not normal [and] concerning to law enforcement authorities,” Police Chief Jim Batelli said Tuesday. Police issued a warning Tuesday alerting residents to the man, who was described as “an African American, mid 30s, tall, wearing a business suit with a striped tie, a long goatee and short hair,” Batelli said. The man will typically approach women sitting in their cars in local shopping centers, knock on the window, and persistently ask for money to help him get home to …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The Indiana man drove 10 hours to Mahwah to meet up with the 15-year-old girl he met on the random chat site 'Omegle,' police say
An Indiana man drove more than 10 hours to Mahwah to have sexual relations with a 15-year-old township girl he met on a "Roulette-style" chat site, Police Chief Jim Batelli said Wednesday afternoon. Joshua Elkins, 28, of Fort Wayne, is currently in an Indiana state prison after being charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, Batelli said. Elkins was arrested on Tuesday. According to police, Elkins started talking to the minor last year on “Omegle,” an online chat site where users anonymously talk to strangers in one-on-one text or video chats. From there, the two exchanged phone numbers and started communicating via phone, police said. In December, Elkins allegedly arranged a meeting …
Kim Jones
5:44 am on Friday, April 26, 2013
that's awesome ... i just wouldn't recommend turning them in in their pharmacy containers, which have HIPAA privacy-protected information all over them. otherwise, not all that anonymous. more ›