BURGLARY SUSPECT CAUGHT ON THE RUN

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, December 13, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

Moments after borough police dispatched officers to The Leather Warehouse on Route 4, where a burglary was in progress, a Hackensack detective arrested one of the suspects as he ran from the scene, police said.

Luigi Stalaj, 36, of 2565 Coldan Ave., the Bronx, was released from Bergen County Jail on Wednesday on $75,000 bail.

Paramus police charged Stalaj with burglary and theft, possession of stolen property, and possession of burglary tools. A judge set bail at $50,000, Chief Joseph Delaney said.

Stalaj also was charged by Hackensack police with resisting arrest, possession of stolen property, and possession of burglary tools, and bail was set at $25,000, said Hackensack Police Capt. John Aletta.

Stalaj, working with an accomplice who scaled a fence and escaped, stole 25 coats valued at $11,000, along with $7,000 in cash from a register and a bank bag at the warehouse, Delaney said. The accomplice lost a sock and a shoe when he scaled the fence, he said.

The suspects triggered an alarm when they entered through the rear of the store about 1:20 a.m. Wednesday, Delaney said.

The chief said Hackensack Detective Sgt. Michael Mordaga, driving along Anderson Street, near the city’s border with Paramus on Route 4, responded when he heard Paramus dipatching officers.

Delaney said Mordaga saw a man carrying an armful of coats dart across Coles Street in Hackensack.

Mordaga chased the man and arrested him in the back yard of a nearby home. He was assisted by Hackensack Police Officer Vincent Pedone.

Police recovered a van, two piles of coats dumped behind houses in the area, and a bag containing burglary tools, Delaney said.

HOSPITAL DEPOSIT STOLEN BY GUNMAN

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, December 12, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

A gunman robbed a security officer for Holy Name Hospital of about $2,000 as the officer’s truck entered the driveway of National Community Bank on Cedar Lane on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

The officer was shaken up but unharmed in the robbery, which occurred about 1:30 p.m., Detective Sgt. Robert Adomilli said. Adomilli declined to identify the officer.

Theresa Setteducato, director of public relations at Holy Name Hospital, said the security officer was going to make a deposit at the bank, at 205 Cedar Lane, when he was robbed.

Setteducato declined to say how much the officer was depositing.

The security officer told police that a man approached his truck as he entered the bank’s driveway and said “Excuse me,” as if he were about to ask him for directions, Adomilli said.

The officer told police the man walked up against the truck, pointed a gun at him, and demanded that he hand over money.

Adomilli said no one saw the robbery, and the gunman escaped on foot.

A second armed robbery in Teaneck occurred at a dry-cleaning store about 3:15 p.m., but Adomilli said it appeared a different robber was responsible. The gunman stole an undetermined amount of money from a cash register at Plaza Cleaners and Artistic Tailors on Queen Anne Road, he said.

The robber locked an employee in a bathroom, Adomilli said.

Caption: PHOTO – DANIELLE P. RICHARDS/THE RECORD – Sheriff’s Officer John Murphy examining vehicle for fingerprints.

SEAL SIGHTED IN HACKENSACK RIVER; MAMMAL EXPERT SAYS TO JUST LET IT BE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Monday, December 10, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A05

“Elvis” resurfaced Sunday on the Hackensack River.

This Elvis was not the king of rock-and-roll, but a gray-colored seal first spotted Saturday afternoon by two Fairleigh Dickinson University students. The students promptly named the seal Elvis.

The seal, about 2 1/2 feet long, perched itself atop a log Sunday afternoon, preening and sunning itself for several hours as onlookers stared at it in amazement.

Charlie Mataski, who said he worked for an environmental company that did a water-quality test on the river not too long ago, said the seal appeared to be healthy.

“Look how peaceful he is,” Mataski said. “He’s more relaxed than we are. “

Teaneck Patrolman Walter Haase said the dispatcher did not believe him when he radioed in the report that there was a seal in the water.

Seth Weisleder, 18, a freshman FDU student, said he and a roommate saw the seal about 1 p.m. Saturday. They became worried about its safety when they returned from errands three hours later and found the seal still in the water near the campus.

“We contacted the New York aquarium,” Weisleder said. “We didn’t know who else to call.”

They were told to call the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine.

Robert Schoelkopf, director of the center, said it is not unusual for seals to turn up in New Jersey waters.

“Last year we handled 18 seals at our center and handled over 50 calls in the New Jersey area, and we expect more this year,” Schoelkopf said.

Humans pose the greatest danger to the seals, he said.

As long as the seal is free-swimming and does not appear to be in any obvious distress, it should be left in the water, Schoelkopf said. It is illegal even for the stranding center to try to capture the seal if it is not injured, he said.

Under a federal harassment law, it is illegal to throw objects at such an animal. On Sunday, a man was throwing a tennis ball at the seal.

“Direct contact is a no-no. Do not approach the animal. Keep a safe distance,” Schoelkopf said. “The animals are wild. They are not puppy dogs. “

TWO SOUGHT IN ROBBERY TRY; WOMAN PUNCHED IN FACE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, December 9, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NORTH CENTRAL BERGEN/YOUR TOWN RECORD | Page 3

Composite drawings of suspects in an attempted robbery of a borough woman at a Discmart record store three weeks ago are being circulated in Bergen County.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact the department.

The victim, who police declined to identify, gave police a description of her alleged assailant, and an eyewitness gave police a description of a man who drove the getaway car, said River Edge Police Lt. Ron Starace, chief of the detective bureau.

The incident occurred about 12:30 p.m. Nov. 23 in the parking lot of the record store, off Route 4 east in River Edge, Starace said. The suspect allegedly ran up behind the woman, grabbed her pocketbook, and, when she resisted, punched her in the face several times and knocked her to the ground.

Starace said the woman suffered deep bruises to her face that required received medical treatment.

Police describe the man as Hispanic, in his early 20s, about 5 feet 5, slim to medium build, with dark brown hair shaved short on both sides. He was wearing a light blue jacket and a baseball cap.

The man then got into what witnesses said was a new, light tan-colored Ford Taurus occupied by three other Hispanic males and escaped, Starace said. The driver of the getaway car was described as a man, 26 to 30 years old, average height, bushy dark brown hair, thin mustache, and goatee.

Starace said similar incidents were reported in East Rutherford and Fort Lee the same day as the River Edge attack, with the same description of suspects and vehicle.

Anyone with information should contact the River Edge Police Department at 262-1233.

Caption: PHOTO – Police issued sketches showing the alleged driver of a getaway car, left, and the suspect in the attempted robbery of a borough woman.

HOSPITAL ESCAPEE IS CAPTURED; FLED IN DUMP TRUCK, THEN IN STOLEN CAR

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, December 9, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A08

A 24-year-old man who escaped from a New York mental hospital by driving a dump truck through a fence and then stole a car in Hackensack was being held in lieu of $15,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail after Atlantic City police captured him Thursday.

Hackensack police charged James Coyle of New City, N.Y., with robbery for stealing the car, and with receiving stolen property the dump truck, which he discarded at a gas station. Atlantic City police charged him with resisting arrest, driving with a revoked driver’s license, and receiving stolen property.

A spokesman for Hackensack Police Chief William Iurato said charges are also pending against Coyle in New York in the theft of the dump truck.

Coyle had been involuntarily committed to the Rockland County Psychiatric Hospital in Orangeburg, N.Y., on Dec. 3, according to a police report by Hackensack Detective Sgt. Hugh J. Farley.

Shortly after dawn Thursday, while workers from P & H Construction Co. of Wanaque were repairing the sewer system on hospital grounds, Coyle allegedly stole the dump truck, which had a trailer attached, and drove it through a fence.

At about noon that day, the truck arrived in Hackensack and pulled into the Exxon gas station at the corner of Johnson Avenue and Orchard Street, Farley said in the report. John Packard, 57, of 630 Main St. was at the pump filling his 1979 Cadillac with gas when Coyle arrived, he said.

Coyle knocked Packard to the ground, finished pumping the gas, and took off in the Cadillac, driving south on Johnson Avenue, police said. After Packard made a report of the robbery, Hackensack police alerted other police departments with a description of the car and Coyle.

At about 6:30 p.m. on the same day, Atlantic City Police Officer Donald Barker responded to a report that a patron at a gas station had refused to pay.

BABY LEFT IN CAR IN WALDWICK

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, December 9, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A05

Two passers-by discovered a 4-month-old baby lying alone in a Jeep on a freezing night last week, and police charged the baby’s mother with neglect after they found her inside a bar.

Debra Cuneo, 23, of Greenwood Lake, N.Y., was arrested shortly after the baby was found at 2 a.m. Thursday outside the Celtic Pub. She was released Friday on $10,000 bail.

Police said the baby, a boy, had been in the Jeep for several hours. The temperature was below 30 degrees. The baby was treated at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and released to the custody of his grandparents after police notified the state Division of Youth and Family Services, police said.

HOMEOWNER TRIES TO TRAP SURPRISED BURGLAR IN HOUSE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, December 8, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A04

When a 50-year-old township woman came home from work Thursday to find a burglar ransacking her home, she was so angry that she wanted to fight with him and keep him there until help arrived, she said.

Bonita Burgess said she tried to lock the burglar inside the house as he attempted to get away through a glass storm door.

But “he kicked the door right in front of my face; I jumped back, and he was gone,” Burgess said. “It was the dumbest thing in the world to do, but I was angry. “

The burglar ransacked the home, stole a jewelry box containing assorted jewelry, $20 to $30 in loose change, and two briefcases containing business materials, Burgess said. She said she still has to draw up a list of missing items for police.

Patrolman Raymond Talarico, who came to her house, was responding to his second call on a home burglary in two hours. A burglar earlier had tripped an alarm in a Farragut Court home and fled without taking anything.

Burgess told police she thought her husband was home when she saw lights on as she approached her Belle Avenue home a little after 7 p.m. Thursday. She became suspicious when she didn’t see his car in front of the house.

She heard movement upstairs and called out to ask if anyone was home. The burglar answered and said his name was Michael Wilkenson and that he was a friend of her husband.

“I suppose I was just plain stupid, and I was somewhat shocked,” Burgess said. “I was well inside my own house and did not realize that the house had been broken into. . . . I proceeded to walk up the stairs. Then it dawned on me that he might have a gun.”

She said she screamed as she ran back downstairs but didn’t think anyone heard her.

The burglar also ran down the stairs and tried to escape through the front door. But after several unsuccessful attempts to open it, he ran toward the side door that Burgess was trying to lock from the outside.

The burglar struggled with Burgess over the door, then kicked it out and ran north on Belle Avenue, toward Laurelton Parkway.

MAN CRASHES CAR IN POLICE CHASE; CAUGHT IN KEARNY; JUVENILE ALSO HELD

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, December 7, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

A 19-year-old East Orange man and an unidentified juvenile were arrested Thursday after they crashed a stolen car, following a chase that began in the Lincoln Tunnel and ended in Kearny, police said.

Kasin Andre Williams, of 32 South Munn Ave., and the juvenile were charged with driving under the influence of an intoxicant, reckless endangerment, and eluding police, Port Authority Officer Rich Lofstrom said.

Williams also faces a charge of possession of stolen property, pending location of the owner of the car, which was stolen Wednesday in East Orange, police said.

The juvenile also was charged with possession and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle and was to be sent to the Hudson County Juvenile Detention Center in Secaucus, Lofstrom said. Williams was to be held in the Hudson County Jail in Jersey City on Thursday.

Lofstrom said he and Officer Raymond O’Brien began the chase when they spotted Wiliams weaving across lanes in the Lincoln Tunnel about 1 p.m. When Williams refused to pull over, they pursued him onto the New Jersey Turnpike.

A state police officer joined the chase, and alerted Kearny police when Williams got off the turnpike at Harrison Avenue. The chase ended when Williams crashed into a fence on Passaic Avenue, Lofstrom said.

Lofstrom said Williams told police he did not stop because he did not have a driver’s license and the car was stolen.

Caption: (Not in Three Star Passaic) PHOTO – WARREN GOLDBERG / SPECIAL TO THE RECORD – Kearny police examining the car driven by an East Orange man who told them he stole the vehicle.

FORT LEE HAS NIGHT OF WEAPON, DRUG ARRESTS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, December 7, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | One Star | NEWS | Page B03

Police on Wednesday night arrested eight people on drug charges in three separate incidents. Two others were arrested on weapons charges in a fourth incident, said Police Chief John Orso.

At 5:09 p.m., said Orso, Officer Roy Bortolus saw a car cut across three lanes as it traveled west on Route 4, near Bergen Boulevard.

When Bortolus stopped the vehicle, he found small amounts of cocaine and marijuana and $12,220 in cash, Orso said.

The driver, Danny Prince, 36, of Oklahoma City, and passengers Keith Prince, 32, and Steven Guest, 23, both of Jersey City, were charged with possession of drugs and of drug paraphernalia. Each was released on $1,000 bail.

Orso said Bortolus became suspicious when Danny Prince said the money was his life savings yet did not know the total amount, guessing it to be $10,000. “We confiscated that to find out where it came from,” the chief said.

The second arrest occurred at about 8:35 p.m. after Detective Gary Moleta, traveling west on Route 46 near the Plaza West shopping, saw a car weaving through traffic. Upon stopping the vehicle, Moleta found several bags containing a white powdery substance believed to heroin, Orso said.

Tywayne Williams and Arthur Hoffman, both 18 and of East Orange, were scheduled to be remanded in Bergen County Jail on Thursday. The two were charged with being under the influence of intoxicants. They were also charged with possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

At about 9:45 p.m., on Linwood Avenue, Officer Ken Porrino seized a 12-gauge shotgun from the back seat of a car driven by Thurston U. Allen, 25, of Rochester, N.Y.

Allen and his passenger, Martha Colas, 22, of Queens Village, N.Y., were arrested and charged with illegal possession of a weapon.

Orso said the pistol grip on the shotgun was illegal. The officer saw the weapon as he approached the car to check its registration, the police chief said.

At about 10:40 p.m., Officer Steve Choromanski stopped a car driven by Bruce Davis, 23, of Roanoke, Va., after watching the vehicle change lanes without signaling near the intersection of Routes 4 and 95, Orso said.

Choromanski seized drug paraphernalia, about $1,000 worth of crack, and $1,200 worth of marijuana from the car, Orso said. The officer then arrested Davis and his passengers, Bernice Crouse, 18, of Roanoke, and Robert Green, 20, of Martinsville, Va.

They were each charged with being in possession of cocaine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia, and possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

MAN DIES AS JEEP HITS DISABLED TRUCK ON ROUTE 17

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Wednesday, December 5, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

A 20-year-old Fair Lawn man died early Tuesday morning after he was pinned between two tow trucks on Route 17, officials said.

Raymond A. Schotanes was between the two vehicles preparing to have his disabled tow truck hauled away when it was struck by a Jeep Cherokee about 11:50 p.m. Monday, said Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy.

Schotanes was pronounced dead at Hackensack Medical Center at 2:05 a.m. Tuesday, Fahy said.
The driver of the Cherokee, Scott Taub, 31, of Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., was listed in good condition at the medical center, a spokeswoman said.

Two other people were injured in the accident, which involved a fourth vehicle. William Prince, 48, of Jersey City was in fair condition at the medical center. David Kramer, 28, of Hackensack was treated and released.

Police were unable to say how the fourth vehicle became involved in the accident, or which vehicle Prince and Kramer were in.

Fahy said the Bergen County Fatal Accident Unit and the Hasbrouck Heights Police Department’s Traffic Bureau were investigating the cause of the accident, which occurred in the northbound lane of Route 17 across from the Holiday Inn.