2 DEAD IN N.Y.C. HIT-AND-RUN; TRUCKER ARRESTED ON ROUTE 80

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Monday, July 15, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03

A 34-year-old Indiana tractor-trailer driver was arrested in Teaneck on Sunday after he fled the scene of an accident in upper Manhattan in which two elderly sisters were struck and killed by a truck, police said.
The accident occurred about 4:16 p.m. at the intersection of 179th Street and Broadway, said Sgt. Tina Mohrmann, a New York City police spokeswoman.
“We had a tractor-trailer going westbound,” Morhmann said. “He struck two elderly women, both of whom died at the scene.”
Eyewitnesses told police that the women, who had come out of an A & P supermarket near the intersection, were dragged along the pavement several feet by a truck.
Police identified the women as sisters: Betty Rosen, 83, and Claire Muller, 86, both of Manhattan.
A police lieutenant at a bus station at the intersection notified Port Authority Police at the George Washington Bridge about the truck, and two officers on the bridge spotted it, said Port Authority spokeswoman Terry Benczik.
Port Authority Police Officers Dennis Higgins and Michael Bucholz stopped the truck about 4:35 p.m. at the junction of Routes 95 and 80 in Teaneck, Benczik said.
The suspect, identified as Harold J. Weitzman of Peru, Ind.,was charged with eluding police and driving under the influence of a controlled substance, Benczik said.
Additional charges are pending in New York.
Benczik said the suspect was being held at the Port Authority police lockup at the George Washington Bridge and would be transferred to the Bergen County Jail to await arraignment.
Forensic technicians were examining the truck to confirm it was the vehicle involved in the accident, police said.

Keywords: MOTOR VEHICLE; ACCIDENT; NEW YORK CITY; TEANECK; WOMAN; AGED; VIOLATION; DEATH; VICTIM

WOMAN, MOM ARE `CRITICAL AFTER COLLISION

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, June 23, 1991

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

An 18-year-old Teaneck woman, eight months pregnant, lost her baby and was in critical condition Saturday after her mother’s car collided with a gasoline tanker while backing out of their driveway, officials said.
Sharon Baboulis of 632 Teaneck Road was in the Hackensack Medical Center intensive care unit Saturday, suffering from a chest contusion, ruptured uterus, and cardiac problems, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Her mother, Thelma Baboulis, 50, suffered head trauma and a fractured arm and was in critical condition, the spokeswoman said.
Neither woman was wearing her seat belt when the collision occurred about 11 p.m. Friday, Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said.
The tanker, owned by Island Transport of West Babylon, N.Y., was empty and was heading south on Teaneck Road when it came upon the car, Fahy said. The 1987 Honda rolled over once after being struck on the driver’s side, he said.

Keywords: TEANECK; ACCIDENT; MOTOR VEHICLE; BABY

Notes: Bergen page

VANDALISM INCIDENTS PROBED IN TEANECK

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Saturday, April 13, 1991

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

Township police are investigating five incidents of vandalism along Teaneck Road in which windows at two businesses, a private residence, and the Bryant School were broken Thursday night.
In the first incident, about 5:30 p.m., a woman reported that someone threw a rock through the passenger side window of her car parked on Sherman Avenue, near Teaneck Road.
The vandalism occurred in the wake of an impromptu march Wednesday by students marking the first anniversary of the death of Phillip C. Pannell, a black 16-year-old who was shot by a white township police officer. The window of a police cruiser was shattered.

Keywords: TEANECK; DEMONSTRATION; ANNIVERSARY; VANDALISM; POLICE; SHOOTING; YOUTH; DEATH

PANNELLS MAKING A `MEMORIAL JOURNEY’

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 10, 1991

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

The family of Phillip C. Pannell will make a “memorial journey” to the youth’s grave in Fair Lawn this morning.
The event, announced Tuesday by the Rev. Herbert Daughtry on the steps of the Municipal Building, is one of several planned today to mark the anniversary of Pannell’s death.
Daughtry was joined by Pannell’s parents, Phillip D. and Thelma Pannell; their 14-year-old daughter, Natasha, and black leaders as he announced the graveside visit. The Pannells will travel to the grave by car with members of community groups, all assembling at 10 a.m. at the Shiloh AME Zion Church in Englewood.
Another observance is planned today at the township high school, which Pannell attended. Principal James DeLaney said students will reflect on the events of the past year between 1:15 and 2 p.m.
Pannell, 16, was shot by Officer Gary S. Spath, who is awaiting trial on a charge of reckless manslaughter. Police say the black youth was reaching for a loaded gun when he was shot by the white officer. Witnesses have said Pannell’s arms were raised. The shooting inflamed racial tensions in Teaneck.
Wednesday night, Daughtry, a Teaneck resident who is national minister of the House of the Lord Pentecostal Church in Brooklyn, is scheduled to preside at a memorial service for Pannell at the Community Baptist Church in Englewood. It will begin at 7.
On Saturday, marchers will meet at noon at the Bryant School, near where the shooting took place, and walk to the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack, Daughtry said.
Also present at Tuesday’s news conference were the Rev. Al Sharpton; Dr. William B. Jones of the African Council; Robert H. Robinson of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and the Rev. Stanley Dennison, president of the Black Clergy Council of Englewood-Teaneck and vicinity.
Record Staff Writer David Voreacos contributed to this article.

Keywords: TEANECK; BLACK; YOUTH; SHOOTING; DEATH; POLICE; ANNIVERSARY

COUNCILMAN TIPS OFF POLICE TO BURGLARY

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, April 6, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03

When he left home to go on a walk with his 9-year-old daughter Thursday night, little did Councilman Paul Ostrow know that he would witness a burglary, then start a manhunt.
As a result, township police charged Robert “Speedo” Merritt, 34, of 1088 Arlington Ave., Teaneck, with two counts of burglary and theft Friday. He was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail.
Ostrow, walking out of his home on Grayson Place at 7:17 p.m., heard a sound near a window of a nearby house, followed by the sound of a man falling inside the home.
“Are you OK? ” Ostrow, a member of the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps, said he asked the person, thinking it was his neighbor. “My first instinct was to see if anyone needed help or was hurt. “
The suspect asked Ostrow who he was before ordering him to get away from the house.
Ostrow and his daughter saw the man emerge from a window, come toward them, then cross the street and run in the opposite direction, toward Prince Street. He called Teaneck police from his home and gave them a description of the suspect and told them the direction he was headed in.
“When you actually see a human being in the act of this form of terror, you can’t understand how people can treat other people’s lives and property in a way that they would not like to be treated themselves,” Ostrow said.
Nothing was taken from the Grayson Place home. But when police saw Merritt walking east on the westbound side of Route 4, he had a pillowcase slung over his shoulder. The pillowcase contained several stereo and VCR items stolen from a Palisade Avenue home about 8 p.m. They chased him to Cranford Street, where a county police dog found him hiding behind shrubbery.
Merritt is also charged with possession of burglary tools, receiving stolen property, and driving with a suspended license, stemming from his arrest by Fort Lee police Feb. 19.

Keywords: TEANECK; GOVERNMENT; OFFICIAL; BURGLARY

MARINE FROM TEANECK DIES DURING TRAINING EXERCISES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, March 10, 1991

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

A 20-year-old Teaneck man died, apparently of a heart attack, while undergoing combat water survival training Friday at the Marine Corps training base at Parris Island, S.C., a Marine spokesman said.
Danilo A. Marty Jr., was training at an indoor swimming pool to upgrade his water survival safety qualifications from third class to second class when he collapsed about 2:30 p.m., Capt. J.R. Mill said Saturday.
“It looked like . . . during the evolution of that exercise, he obviously must have experienced difficulties,” Mill said. “While they were trying to get him out of the pool, he apparently collapsed.”
Marty, who was in the pool with approximately 55 other men when the attack occurred, was pronounced dead at 3:47 p.m. Friday at the Beaufort Naval Hospital, Mill said. The cause of death was listed as “cardiopulmonary arrest, secondary to aspiration” a heart attack, he added.
Marty arrived Feb. 14 at Parris Island and began the 12-week cycle popularly known as “Boot Camp,” Mill said.
“You think it is hard to lose a Marine in combat. You can compound that a hundredfold when we lose a recruit in training,” he said.
Marty’s family has already been notified of his death, Mill said. The Martys, whose telephone number was unlisted, could not be reached for comment Saturday. Before Marty could be deemed medically fit for recruit training, Mill said, he would have undergone two complete medical examinations.
A typical day for recruits begins about 4:30 a.m., and training, which lasts until about 8 p.m., is fitted in between personal care and meals, Mill said. The safety qualification training began about 1:30 p.m. Friday and was to go on until 3 p.m. Marty, in attaining his third class safety qualification, demonstrated he could take care of himself, Mill said. Friday’s training was to teach him how to do that and take care of a wounded Marine at the same time, he said.
Although what Marty was doing when he began experiencing difficulty is now the subject of investigation, Mill said, the recruit was in the pool wearing full Marine gear, including boots, utilities, helmet, flak jacket, H-harness, cartridge belt, two magazine pouches, two full canteen with covers, a rubber rifle, duplicate of a M-16 A2 service rifle, and a standard 40-pound pack.

Keywords: TEANECK; DEATH; VICTIM; DEFENSE; NEW JERSEY

3 RUN AFOUL OF MURPHY’S LAW; BURGLARY SUSPECTS CAR WOULDN’T START

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, March 6, 1991

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

Three burglary suspects ran into the long arm of Murphy’s Law early Monday morning: Just about everything that could go wrong did.
First, police said, the homeowner and his wife screamed when James Bradley burst into their bedroom. Then, beating a hasty retreat, Bradley jumped out of a kitchen window and ran to the getaway car, but the battery was dead, police added.
Bradley fled on foot, but his two accomplices were identified by the homeowner and arrested after they asked two township police officers for help in starting the car. Bradley was captured about an hour later, police said.
Bradley, 39, of 22 E. Clinton Ave., Bergenfield; Karla C. Bradley, 40, of 12 N. Front St., Bergenfield; and Kenneth Kees, 30, whose last known address was in Cliffside Park, were being held in the Bergen County Jail on Tuesday on $20,000 bail each.
James Bradley was charged with burglary. Karla Bradley and Kees were charged with conspiracy to commit burglary.
In his report, Teaneck Police Officer Thomas Melvin said James Bradley broke into the bedroom of the East Lawn Drive home shortly before the officers pulled up to the stalled 1985 Ford Thunderbird at 12:35 a.m. Monday.
The homeowner told police he heard someone break into a rear basement window, and then he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. When the suspect finally reached the master bedroom, the homeowner and his wife both screamed.
As Karla Bradley was asking Melvin and Police Officer Robert Carney to help jump-start the car, the officers noticed the homeowner beckoning them from the third-floor window of his home.
Bradley was picked up by Carney underneath the Route 4 overpass on Teaneck Road about 1:46 a.m., police said.

Keywords: TEANECK; THEFT

FDU STUDENT HURT IN FIGHT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, January 20, 1991

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

An 18-year-old Fairleigh Dickinson University student who was kicked in the face and knocked down a flight of stairs during a fight in a Teaneck dormitory Saturday was in stable condition after an operation to remove blood on his brain, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Gerald P. Romano of Bristol, R.I., was unconscious when he arrived at Hackensack Medical Center at 12:30 a.m. following the fight in a dormitory hallway, Teaneck Police Officer Veronica Thornton reported.
Romano had a blood alcohol content of 0.21 percent, according to the report.
Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said his office wants to find out what caused the fight. But he said he does not expect anyone to be charged with a crime.
Witnesses told police that Ricardo Carter, 19, of East Orange kicked Romano in the face and knocked him down the stairs of the Linden 3B dormitory.
One of the witnesses, Candace Mitchell, 18, of Clearwater, Fla., said in an interview Saturday that Romano had been involved in a fight minutes earlier with Scott Barrett, 18, of Teaneck.

Keywords: TEANECK; COLLEGE; STUDENT; ASSAULT

TEANECK SHOOTING IS PROBED

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, January 19, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Two Star B | NEWS | Page A07

Police are investigating the circumstances under which a 20-year-old township woman was shot in the toe Friday, police said.
Paula Slade of 555 Wyndham Road was admitted to Holy Name Hospital shortly after 1 a.m. and was in good condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Slade and her boyfriend, William Reynolds of the Bronx, initially told police that an unknown motorist shot her in the foot as they walked along Cedar Lane, Police Sgt. Robert Adomilli said.
However, during questioning, Adomilli said, Reynolds told police that he found a gun in New York and was showing it to Slade, who he said had never seen or held a gun before.
Reynolds told police that Slade took the gun from him and ran away, cocking the .22-caliber revolver by mistake. The gun went off and struck the fourth toe of her left foot when Reynolds reached out to take it, Adomilli said.

Keywords: TEANECK; SHOOTING; PROBE

POLICE WARNING OF SCAM `CHIMNEY SWEEPS SOLICIT IN TEANECK

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, January 18, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page B05

Daniel Stewart said the deal to clean his chimney sounded good on the telephone, and the woman making the offer even gave him an additional $10 discount.
But when the deal later ballooned from $58 to about $1,000, Stewart, 36, of Birch Street, threatened to call police, and the workmen quickly left his home.
“They use high-pressure tactics,” Stewart said. “They try to scare you into making repairs. “
Teaneck Police Detective William Grace said township residents, especially the elderly, should be aware that this is just another variety of an old scam.
Grace, who sent a bulletin to police departments in the area when he heard of the scam, said police have no leads on who the con men were.
Stewart said he received a phone call about two weeks ago. A woman said American Chimney Experts was cleaning chimneys on Birch Street and offered to clean Stewart’s at a $25 discount from the $90 going rate.
“She asked me if I was a veteran and I told her no. She said too bad, because if I had been a veteran, that would have been an additional $10 discount,” Stewart said. She offered the $10 discount anyway, bringing the bill to $55 plus tax.
Three workmen arrived at his home about 45 minutes earlier than the appointed time, when he wasn’t home, he said. One man climbed to the top of the chimney, one went to the basement, and one sat down to play the piano as he negotiated with Stewart’s wife.
The man on the chimney started throwing objects down the shaft. Another said he felt something “furry” in the furnace flue. They said there was a carbon-monoxide buildup inside the chimney and that, because of state regulations, they had to turn the furnace off. They offered to do the work for $1,000.
“My wife told them they were crazy,” Stewart said.
The men disappeared when Stewart returned home about 30 minutes later and said he was going to call police.
A spokesman at the Bergen County Division of Consumer Affairs said he had never heard of American Chimney Experts.
Linda Enslow, secretary of the New Jersey Chimney Sweep Guild, said consumers should be wary of such offers. The guild can be reached at 761-1054, and it will refer people who need work done to professional sweeps in their community.

Keywords: TEANECK; FRAUD; CRIME