Crime Reports – August 30, 2018

Clarkstown PD

August 24 – A 44-year-old victim from West Nyack called the Clarkstown Police to report a fraudulent deposit of a check from his TD Bank account. The victim stated that one morning he dropped an envelope containing a check to pay Sears in the drop box in the West Nyack Village Square. The victim became aware that the check was not cashed by Sears and that it was fraudulently deposited at an ATM in Paterson, NJ.

It was determined that the West Nyack Post Office Postmaster had previously reported that an unknown suspect had broken into the drop box at both the West Nyack Village Square and the West Nyack Post Office at the same time the victim said he mailed his Sears bill. The victim stated that he is in contact with TD Bank who have opened up an investigation. The Postal Inspector Office currently has its own investigation regarding the stolen mail from the drop boxes in West Nyack. This kind of mailbox theft has been reported in many communities in the tri-state area.

Stony Point

On August 24 at approximately 11 a.m., defendant Michael Garabo was arrested following an investigation into a complaint that someone was observed spray-painting a railroad trestle that connects Tomkins Avenue to Beach Road, using red paint. When officers arrived the suspect was gone, but their investigation led them to the defendant’s residence a couple of blocks away. During an interview of the defendant, officers observed that he had some red paint on his arm and a can of red spray paint in his vehicle. After initially denying any knowledge of the incident, the defendant ultimately admitted to defacing the trestle. He was arrested on the listed charges, processed and released on an appearance ticket returnable to Stony Point Justice Court on September 20 at 1:30 p.m.

On August 14, the Stony Point Police Department received a complaint from an employee of Shop Rite in Stony Point of larceny at the store. The employee provided the license plate number and the defendant was arrested at his residence with the stolen property. In addition to the stolen property, the defendant was found to be in possession of four decks of heroin. The Defendant was arrested and processed on the charges of Petit Larceny, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the fifth degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the seventh degree and is scheduled to appear in Stony Point Justice Court on October 2 at 9 a.m.

Suffern PD

Weekend activity [August 17-19] summary from the Suffern Police Department relayed by Chief Clarke Osborn: Suffern PD responded to a domestic dispute on W. Park Place, determined that the actual dispute took place in Mahwah, and contacted Mahwah PD about the incident. SPD handled several medical related calls and responded to Berkeley Square, Lonergan Dr., Jersey Ave., Bon Aire Circle, E. Maple Ave. and Orange ave. for those incidents and assisted EMS as needed. Officers handled two Lifeline alerts, one on Danbury Ct. and one on Lafayette Ave. and fortunately both were set in error. They checked on the well being of a resident of Interstate St. after being contacted by a family member and fortunately, it turned out alright.

Along with the Suffern Fire Department, SPD responded to two reports of gas leaks, one on Lonergan Dr. and one on Milford Lane which ended up being a faulty furnace that had a leak in it. Officers impounded a vehicle from a driver who was found to be driving without a license, and an officer on patrol on Jersey Ave. located a vehicle with its door wide open in the evening and contacted the owner who had mistakenly forgot to close it. Officers also handled two disputes, one on Wayne Ave. and one on Lafayette Ave., assisted a motorist who ran out of gas on Rt. 202, handled two suspicious incidents where residents found items in front of their homes, one a cooler and one a gym bag which both ended up being left there accidentally. 

SUFFERN NARCAN SAVE

On August 24, Suffern PD officers responded to a residence in the Knolls of Ramapough for a report of an unresponsive female who was not breathing. Lt. Andy Loughlin and Sergeants Jim Giannettino and Jose Martinez arrived at the address within one minute of the call, and after assessing the situation found the woman to be unconscious and not breathing. These officers administered NARCAN to the woman and shortly after she started to breathe and her condition greatly improved. Due to the quick response time and knowledge of officers Loughlin, Giannettino and Martinez, this woman literally had her life saved. The Rockland Paramedics and Ramapo Valley Ambulance Corps. arrived shortly after and assisted the officers’ efforts.

Orangetown PD

On August 23, the Orangetown Police reported an increase of calls involving the “grandparent scam.” The grandparent scam involves a suspect calling grandparents and telling them that their grandchild has been in an accident or has been arrested and needs money to settle the case “out of court.” The suspects will then put a child on the phone that is usually crying who quickly ask the grandparent for help before the phone is taken away.

The grandparents are then told not to call anyone, or the deal is off. The grandparents are then instructed to get cash or gift cards to turn over to suspects. OPD encourages all citizens who are in this situation to call their local police department. Do not send cash or gift cards in response to these calls or any similar call that is trying to get cash or personal information over the phone.

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