TEANECK HIT BY FOUR BURGLARIES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, January 11, 1991

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

Burglars broke into four township homes this week, making off with cash, jewelry, and cameras.
Police say they don’t know whether any of the incidents, which occurred between dusk on Monday and dawn on Wednesday, are related.
Early Tuesday evening, a 33-year-old deaf woman reported that she was at her West Englewood Avenue home when a man wearing a ski mask broke in and stole a jewelry box containing more than $1,000 worth of jewelry, police said. The burglar left quickly, leading police to believe he either saw the woman or heard a burglar alarm activated in the home. The woman ran to a neighbor’s house to summon police.
Late Tuesday, an Elmer Place resident told police he came home to find someone had kicked in his rear door, rifled through drawers in his bedroom, and stole about $200, small pieces of jewelry, and other items.
A Fairview Avenue home was burglarized late Monday or early Tuesday, police said. The owner came home from work about 2 a.m. Tuesday to find a desk ransacked and numerous items stolen, including $500, jewelry, a camera, a television, and a video camera.
In the fourth incident, early Wednesday, burglars failed to make off with any belongings. A Glenwood Avenue homeowner told police that two men kicked in her door and searched dressers and closets while she hid. The two burglars ran out when they heard noise, she told police.
Sgt. Robert Adomilli said anyone with information about any of the crimes should call the Teaneck Police Detective Bureau at 837-2565 or Crimestoppers at 833-4222.

Keywords: TEANECK; THEFT

COPS SEEK PAIR WHO ROBBED, TERRORIZED TEANECK RESIDENTS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, December 19, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B10

Police are searching for robbers who, in two separate incidents, held a township woman at gunpoint in her home and injured an elderly couple.

The woman, who is 54, was unharmed by the two males who made her lie face down on the floor for about 30 minutes while they ransacked her Franklin Road home at about 6:20 p.m. Monday, police said.

On Tuesday, an elderly woman remained hospitalized after she and her husband were attacked last week in their East Cedar Lane home by two robbers. Police said the two incidents may have been committed by the same men.

In Monday’s incident, the assailants posed as salesmen and brandished a gun, described by the victim as silver with a wooden handle.

They rang the doorbell, then pushed past the woman, asking “Where is the money? ” After disconnecting telephones, they stole an ankle bracelet, wedding and engagement rings, and several necklaces worn by the woman.

They also made off with $50, two fur coats, a black leather coat, other pieces of jewelry, and several telephones, police said.

Police did not identify the victims of the Dec. 12 incident and have not determined what was stolen from their home.

The husband, 75, pulled into his driveway at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, let his wife out of the car, and then opened the garage door with a remote-control device, Sgt. Robert Adomilli said.

He was grabbed by the neck from behind as he got out of his car and was told not to turn around or else he would be killed, Adomilli said.

The assailants shoved the man to the ground, showing him a gun that looked like it was made of steel or silver, or covered with chrome, he said.

His wife, 65, came outside upon hearing the commotion, and was also pushed to the ground, punched, and kicked by one of the robbers, Adomilli said. She suffered a broken hip, Adomilli added.

Both victims were taken to Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck. The husband was released Monday, and his wife was transferred to Hackensack Medical Center, according to a nursing supervisor at Holy Name.

Adomilli urged residents with information about the crimes to call 837-2565 or Teaneck Crimestoppers 833-4222.

The department will accept anonymous tips, and people who provide information that leads to an arrest may earn a reward from Crimestoppers, a committee of local residents, Adomilli said.

TEANECK MAN CHARGED WITH BURGLARIZING SEVEN HOMES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, December 16, 1990

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

A 20-year-old Teaneck man was being held on $35,000 bail Saturday, following his arrest the night before on charges of burglarizing seven homes.

Raphael DeJesus Diaz of 196 East Forest Ave., Teaneck, was arrested in a cordoned-off area of Sheffield and Grand avenues Friday by an officer, accompanied by a police dog, from the Bergen County Police Canine Unit.

Residents had reported two burglaries and a “suspicious person” in the area, Englewood Police Detective Robert Keane said. Police charged DeJesus with burglaries of seven homes, including the three Friday, and are holding him as chief suspect in about 30 burglaries, Keane said.

“This takes care of him, at least,” Keane said. “People in the community should be happy.

Unfortunately, there are others out there. They [the burglars] should know, with the canine unit out there, that they are going to be caught. “

Englewood police have strong evidence linking DeJesus to the burglaries, he said, although he did not elaborate.

The most recent wave of break-ins and burglaries to hit the city began in the East Hill section early in November, about a month after city police arrested a suspect in a series of burglaries in that area.

Most of the burglaries took place during the day, Keane said. County police assigned four officers from its canine unit to assist the city in the search, he said.

Physical descriptions of the suspects in the burglaries were similar, Keane said. The first sighting of a suspect was on Nov. 26 when a Linden Avenue resident saw a man inside his bedroom moments after he observed the same man ringing his doorbell.

Friday, a second floor apartment at 2080 Sheffield Ave., was broken into but the suspect did not take anything, Keane said. Shortly following this report, Englewood police received another report of a “suspicious person” coming out of an apartment at 25 East Sheffield Ave., he said.

County Police Officer Robert DiPalma, accompanied by the canine, arrested DeJesus near the site of the most recent apartments burglarized, Keane said.

Police recovered from DeJesus jewelry and coins later determined to have been stolen from 25 East Sheffield, Keane said.

Notes: Bergen page

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.

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.

BAIL RAISED FOR BROTHERS SUSPECTED OF ROBBERY

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, November 30, 1990

Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

A Municipal Court judge has increased bail to $125,000 each for two robbery suspects after police found about 150 vials of crack while searching their apartment for weapons used in the robbery, authorities said.

Rodney Wade Phoenix, 26, and Robert William Phoenix, 34, of 92 Shepard Ave., Teaneck, are being held in the Bergen County Jail on charges of robbery, resisting arrest, and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, police said.

Officer Colin Duff, while breaking up a fight between a Teaneck resident and the brothers at about 3 p.m. Monday, was struck on the back of his head and neck with a three-foot-long piece of wood by one of the brothers, police said.

The resident, Frank Fowler, 34, of 1158 Summit Ave., told police the Phoenix brothers had robbed him of $100 at knifepoint and gunpoint earlier Monday.

The incident started when Officer George Miros, standing at Teaneck Road and State Street, noticed Fowler being chased by the Phoenix brothers, police said. Fowler was carrying a two-by-four.

Miros stopped the brothers to question them. They told him they had settled a dispute with Fowler, and then ran north on Teaneck Road to Shepard Avenue, catching up with Fowler and fighting with him.

Fowler and Duff were struck by the brothers as Miros, Duff, and Sgt. Thomas Batchelor tried to break up the fight, police said. The brothers then ran away, but were arrested minutes later. Duff and Fowler were treated for their injuries at Holy Name Hospital and released.

Bail had been set at $100,000 on the armed-robbery charges. The bail was raised Wednesday.

The Phoenix brothers were out on bail awaiting trial for their part in a series of armed robberies in Teaneck and Paramus in March 1989, according to Bergen County Superior Court records.

SUSPECT IS ARRESTED AS HE ASKS COP FOR AID

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, November 29, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B05

A 23-year-old Newark man allegedly trying to resell a stolen Cadillac to its owner apparently got lost on the way to consummate the deal and was arrested as he was about to ask a Teaneck police detective for directions.

Rosent “Nate” McCabe, 23, of 1863 Willberg St. told police upon his arrest that he was being a “good Samaritan” in returning the car.

But Detective William Grace said he and four plainclothes detectives, in unmarked cars, had been waiting at the home of the car owner for McCabe to arrive.

The owner, whom Grace declined to identify, told Teaneck police he had received calls from unidentified parties in Newark on Monday, telling him that they had bought the 1984 Cadillac Fleetwood and would sell it back to him for $1,500, Grace said. The owner had reported the car stolen in Newark on Saturday.

The owner negotiated the price down to $900, and a meeting was set up for between noon and 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Grace and the other detectives were waiting for McCabe when he drove north on River Road at about 2:30 p.m., past the owner’s house. Grace said he and the other detectives followed the car.

McCabe apparently realized he had gone too far when he reached River Road’s intersection with Riverview Avenue and began backing up, said Grace, who was directly behind the Cadillac.

Grace said McCabe was about to ask him for directions when McCabe approached his car.

“I got out and told him to put his hands on the hood of the car,” Grace said.

McCabe was charged with possession of the stolen car and was released from the Bergen County Jail Wednesday on $500 bail.

YOUTH WHO HAD GUN IN HIS LOCKER TO BE HELD

By Michael O. Allen and David Voreacos, Record Staff Writers | Wednesday, November 28, 1990

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

A 17-year-old Teaneck High School senior, arrested this week after officials found a loaded semiautomatic pistol in his locker, will be detained until a juvenile court hearing scheduled for Dec. 7, police said.

The student, whose identity was withheld by police, faces a juvenile delinquency charge of possession of a weapon within an educational institution, said Capt. Gary Fiedler.

He was arrested Monday morning and was being held Tuesday in the Bergen County Juvenile Detention Center in Paramus.

The student also has been suspended from school, said Judy Distler, a school spokeswoman who said she had no further information on any disciplinary measures.

Authorities were alerted to the location of the gun by Principal James DeLaney, who called police at 9:15 a.m. Monday after receiving a confidential tip, said a report written by Detective Frank McCall of the Youth Bureau.

McCall went to the school and, with DeLaney and Assistant Principal Joseph White, removed a California-made .380 Kurtz semiautomatic pistol from a first-floor locker. The gun was loaded with four bullets in a magazine and one in the chamber, McCall said.

Police were attempting Tuesday to determine how the youth got the gun, Fiedler said.
He said the senior has a police record but he would not elaborate on it.

A YEAR LATER, A SHOOTING SUSPECT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, November 9, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Three Star P | NEWS | Page B03

A 33-year-old New York City man arrested Thursday by city police and charged with possessing a stolen car was wanted for a shooting in Englewood a year ago, police said.

Eric Flake was wanted for two counts of attempted murder, four counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of gun possession in the Nov. 18, 1989, shooting of Neville G. Tyrell of Teaneck, said Englewood Detective Capt. C. Kenneth Tinsley.

Flake was arrested at 1 a.m. Thursday along with Herbert Smith, 35, of New York City, who was a passenger in the car Flake was driving.

Tinsley said Police Officer James Morgan ran a check on the car’s license plate when Flake made a turn without signaling. Morgan learned the car was stolen from Prince George County, Md., Tinsley said.

Morgan, assisted by officers George Coleman and Timothy Riley, pulled the car over and arrested the men. Flake and Smith, also charged with possession of stolen property, were being held in the Bergen County Jail on $5,000 bail.

As they were processing the men at the Englewood police station, Tinsley said, the officers discovered that Flake was wanted for contempt of court, attempted murder, and related charges in connection with the shooting of Tyrell.

Tinsley said the police report of that incident indicated that Flake, who was standing with a friend at Lafayette Place and Parkview Drive, waved Tyrell’s car over and fired several shots as Tyrell rolled down his window.

One shot passed through Tyrell’s arm and struck his chest, according to the report. Tyrell drove to Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, where he was treated and released.

DAD HELD GIRL HOSTAGE BEFORE, COPS SAY

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 7, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B02

A 32-year-old Teaneck man who shot a neighbor Sunday night and then held his young daughter hostage as “protection” from police used the child the same way in an incident this spring, police said.

As he did Sunday, Shawn Thompson released then 16-month-old Jasmine after a dispute with his wife on June 19 over custody of the child, police said.

Police defused that situation without harm to anyone.

Thompson did not threaten to harm his daughter in either incident, according to police reports.

On Sunday night, Thompson allegedly shot Earl Johnson, a neighbor who apparently was attempting to mediate a dispute between Thompson and his mother.

Johnson, 29, was in critical condition at Holy Name Hospital with a neck wound Tuesday, a hospital spokeswoman said. Doctors repaired Johnson’s right jugular vein, but were unable to remove the bullet.

Thompson was being held in the Bergen County Jail Tuesday on $50,000 bail. Teaneck police charged him with aggravated assault and possession of firearms.

The shooting occurred after Hazel Thompson asked police to remove her son from the home they shared at 51 Garden St., police said.

Mrs. Thompson; her companion, Ernest Walters; her father; Jasmine; and Johnson, who lives across the street from the Thompsons at 44 Garden St., were in the house when police arrived.

Both Johnson and Walters had tried unsuccessfully to talk Shawn Thompson into leaving the house, police said.

Johnson took Mrs. Thompson’s father to his home across the street. Mrs. Thompson then left with police to seek a restraining order.

Moments later, police learned that someone had been shot at the house. Johnson had somehow left the house and was taken to the hospital, police said. Thompson had taken his daughter and was talking to police.

“This is one step higher than the last time, and I’m going to take it one step higher,” Sgt. Fred Ahearn said Thompson told him on the phone. “I’m not going to jail, and I know my daughter is my protection.”

But after talking with a relative and with Capt. Gary Fiedler, Thompson released the child and surrendered.

Police, armed with a search warrant, found two rifles, two handguns, and ammunition when they searched the house.

In the June incident, police said Thompson had a dispute with his wife, who had threatened to take the child away.

Thompson, who had taken Jasmine after the dispute, held police at bay for a short time, but then released her to an aunt. He was not charged.