Montclair Police Department
Police Blotter: February 8, 2022 – February 15, 2022
Vandalism
February 9, 2022 (Bay Street): A Township employee reported observing fresh graffiti within the Bay Street Parking Deck. The graffiti was located on the third and fourth level and consisted of illegible writings.
February 11, 2022 (Valley Road): The caller reported damage to the outdoor playground at Saint James Episcopal Church. They reported that an unknown person(s) entered the playground and destroyed two storage containers and two swing sets. There was no suspect description provided.
Motor Vehicle Related Offenses
February 9, 2022 (Union Street): The caller reported that she observed an unknown male walk across her front yard and enter her parked 2017 Mercedes SUV. The suspect opened the door and sat in the driver’s seat. The caller yelled out to the suspect who replied, “Don’t leave your car unlocked”. The suspect then returned to an awaiting silver sedan with tinted windows and fled east on Union Street.
February 9, 2022 (Bloomfield Avenue): The victim reported that she parked her 2021 BMW X5 on Bloomfield Avenue and entered a nearby business. While inside the business the victim observed her vehicle driving away, west on Bloomfield Avenue. The vehicle was recovered the next day in West Long Branch, NJ.
February 11, 2022 (Upper Mountain Avenue): The resident reported observing four unknown males entering one of his vehicles in the driveway. He added that he was working in his first- floor office and observed the juveniles enter his wife’s unlocked vehicle and then attempt to enter his locked car. The resident yelled at the suspects, who ran to a dark colored sedan which fled northbound. The suspects were described as four black males, 15-18 years old.
February 11, 2022 (Bellevue Avenue): The victim reported that his 2020 BMW X5 was stolen from the Bellevue Avenue Train Station Lot. A witness reported that he observed a black four door vehicle, occupied by four males, slowly circle the parking lot, before stopping in the west side of the lot. Two individuals exited the circling vehicle, then gained entry into the victim’s BMW. After starting the vehicle, they fled the area, heading west on Bellevue Avenue. All four individuals were described as black males in their late teens or early twenties.
February 12, 2022 (Valley Road): The victim reported that she parked her 2019 BMW X4 in the parking lot of 146 Valley Road. Her eleven-year-old child remained in the car. Shortly thereafter, an unknown male entered the BMW but upon seeing the child inside, he immediately exited. The child also exited the vehicle and entered a nearby store to advise his mother of what had transpired. It was at this time that the suspect re-entered the now empty vehicle and fled west on Van Vleck Street. The suspect was described as a black male approximately 5’8” to 5’10” tall, wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head. He was also wearing a light blue medical-type face mask covering the lower portion of his face. The vehicle was recovered unoccupied in Newark.
February 12, 2022 (Glenridge Avenue): The victim reported that he parked his 2021 BMW X5 on Baldwin Street. A witness reported that while the owner was inside a store, she observed a white BMW pull up along side the victim’s vehicle. A black male exited the white BMW and entered the victim’s car and began rummaging through it. The suspect then returned to the white BMW and fled west on Glenridge Avenue. The suspect vehicle was a reported stolen vehicle out of North Arlington.
February 14, 2022 (Mount Vernon Road): The resident reported that his home surveillance system captured an unknown person approach his 2021 Jeep Cherokee at 4:30 AM. The doors to the vehicle were locked. The suspect returned to an awaiting vehicle and fled west on Mount Vernon Road.
Burglary/Theft
February 11, 2022 (Bloomfield Avenue): The victim reported that his third-floor business, Alliant Global, was entered while he was out of the office. A ThinkPad Laptop was the only item reported missing.
February 13, 2022 (Bloomfield Avenue): The attendant at the Shell Gas Station reported that a 2018 Range Rover arrived and purchased $71.00 worth of gas. The vehicle then fled east on Bloomfield Avenue without paying. The vehicle was reported stolen out of Wayne, NJ
Assault
February 11, 2022 (Pine Street): The victim reported that he was walking on the east side of Pine Street, travelling southbound, when he was approached from behind by an unknown person who struck him in the head. The victim reported that he fell to the ground, ultimately causing a laceration and contusion to his head. There was no suspect description provided.
Arrest
February 13, 2022 (Bloomfield Avenue): Evelyn Puente de la Vega (28 years old, Elizabeth, NJ) was charged with Driving While Intoxicated following a motor vehicle stop.