Seton Hall Student Robbed at Gunpoint, Cops Say

Man was walking near Ivy Hill Park.

  A Seton Hall University student was robbed of $200 by two men with a silver handgun Monday night, said South Orange Police Chief James Chelel. The student, a male Newark resident, was walking on Wilden Place near the Newark border at around 9:50 p.m. when he was approached by two men, one of whom displayed a silver handgun, said Chelel. The men demanded the student's cash, which he turned over, said Chelel. The two men fled, and the student walked back to campus and called police, he said. Chelel said the student described the two men as black, wearing black jackets and ski masks and roughly 5' 10" tall. South Orange Police are working with Newark Police and campus security on the case, said Chelel.

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Police Arrest Man, After Nighttime Chase, Crash

The South Orange police arrested a Newark resident

A store window is broken, a stolen car found, and an alleged thief arrested, according to the South Orange police.  Robert Lilly, 18, is in custody after a neighbor reporting seeing a man trying to enter parked cars on Prospect Street at 1:30 a.m. The neighbor further said that the man was leaving the area in a white BMW. South Orange police saw the car head north on Academy Street. The driver of the BMW allegedly tried to sideswipe the officer's car, before losing control of the car and driving into a beauty supply store at 125 South Orange Avenue. Lilly left the car and ran two blocks before South Orange police arrested him. The car was reported stolen in Newark. Lilly was charged with eluding, resisting arrest, aggravated assault on a …

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Door-to-Door Peddling Leads to Three Arrests

The South Orange Police arrested two men and one woman

The South Orange police report two men and one woman were arrested in three separate incidents of door-to-door peddling. Anthony Thomas, 22, of Paulsboro, was arrested on the evening of Sept. 19 on Richmond Ave. when a resident complained he was going door to door. Police learned that Thomas had an outstanding arrest warrant issued for his arrest from Camden county. Tyrie Webb, 21, of Camden, was arrested on the evening of  Sept. 18 on Riggs Pl. Residents reported that Webb was going door to door, and South Orange police learned that Webb had an outstanding arrest warrant from Somerdale. Daiondria Cochran, 19, of Ohio resident was arrested on Sept. 12 in the afternoon on Meeker Street.  When South Orange police arrived on Meeker Street, …

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Stolen Phone Tracking Device Led Cops to Thieves

South Orange Police arrested three people and recovered a stolen phone and car.

South Orange Police said phone tracking software helped them locate a stolen phone and the three people accused of stealing it. Police said Tyheem Pollard, 18 of Newark, and two teenagers, also from Newark, were arrested after they were identified by a Seton Hall student who was punched in the face and robbed of his phone. The student, who was robbed on August 29, said he was walking towards the university from Ivy Hill along Wilden Place when the three approached him and demanded his phone. When the student refused to hand it over, he told police he was punched and that the phone was taken. He said the three people who robbed him then got into a silver Dodge Neon and drove east into Newark. However, using the phone’s tracking software, …

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Shoplifter Flees RiteAid into Waiting Mercedes

The store has seen two shoplifting arrests in the last weeks, but the suspect got away.

The manager of Rite Aid told South Orange police on Aug. 27 at around 9:20 a.m., a man entered the store and began to put merchandise into his backpack. The man, described as black , approximately 6"2" in height, clean shaven and approximately 200 lbs. fled the store. He got into a black Mercedes station wagon and drove east on South Orange Avenue. Rite Aid has seen two recent arrests for shoplifting. Both a shoplifter and a man who gave a false name and had an outstanding warrant were arrested in separate incidents. Betty Louis, 42, of Budd Lake was arrested on Thursday at approximately 2:15 p.m. after she was seen putting merchandise into her bag. Louis argued against arrest when South Orange police were called. She was eventually taken …

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Police Arrest Man for Burglary, Trespassing

South Orange police say 34-year-old Irvington man was seen by a homeowner while trying to burglarize a house.

South Orange police have arrested an Irvington man was apparently trying to burglarize a house – but was spotted by the homeowner while hiding near a cabinet. Police said a South Centre Street resident was closing a window in his house at 2:20 a.m. on Tuesday when he spotted a man hiding in his home and called police. The man near the cabinet fled through a window and into the back yard. He had apparently entered the house by cutting a screen. Later that day, South Orange police on patrol at 4:30 p.m. saw a man enter the back yard of a home on Cameron Road. Detectives matched his description to the man described in the earlier attempted burglary and arrested Quran Armstrong, 34, of Irvington. Armstrong was charged with trespassing and may …

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Rite Aid Sees Shoplifting, Outstanding Warrant Arrest

The South Orange police made two recent arrests at Rite Aid

Both a shoplifter and a man who gave a false name and had an outstanding warrant were arrested in separate incidents at Rite Aid on South Orange Avenue.  Betty Louis, 42, of Budd Lake was arrested on Thursday at approximately 2:15 p.m. after she was seen putting merchandise into her bag. Louis argued against arrest when South Orange police were called. She was eventually taken into custody and changed with shoplifting and with resisting arrest. Wayne Simpson, 43, of Newark was arrested on August 15, at approximately 3:45 p.m. after a detective saw him at Rite Aid.  Police learned that Simpson had an outstanding arrest warrant from Newark. When Simpson was taken into custody, police learned that he gave false information about his identity…

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Teen Arrested With Stolen Cell Phones in Hand

14-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy allegedly stole phones from South Orange stores; Boy allegedly assaulted Academy Street restaurant owner.

  A 14-year-old girl accused of stealing phones from employees at two South Orange businesses with a 15-year-old boy, has been arrested in Newark, police said. According to South Orange police, the 14-year-old girl and the boy allegedly stole phones from Eden Gourmet and Robyn Ross. The boy is also accused of assaulting the owner of an Academy Street restaurant. The girl, a Newark resident, was arrested Aug. 9 on Market Street in Newark. She had the stolen phones with her, police said. South Orange police said the 15-year-old boy is believed to be responsible for an assault at the Academy Street restaurant that happened on Aug. 6. The restaurant owner told police she was struck in the face after she told the boy to leave the store if he …

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South Orange Goes National Night Out!

South Orange will see National Night Out come to Floods Hill on Tuesday

South Orange’s third Annual National Night Out will take place on Flood’s Hill on Tuesday, August 7 from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.   National Night Out (NNO) is an event celebrated in over 15,000 communities nationwide involving citizens, public safety agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations, and local officials.  The event is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, generate support for public safety and strengthen neighborhood spirit. “Last year over 800 people came out to Flood’s Hill and participated in NNO festivities,” said Sheena Collum, Chair of the Citizens Public Safety Committee.  “South Orange has a lot of public safety pride and this night is a way for residents to honor all of our first responders, …

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Police Blotter

South Orange Police Blotter: Rash of Stolen Vehicles, Car Break-ins Reported

Arrest information was provided by the South Orange Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.

Three vehicles were stolen and seven more car break-ins were reported to South Orange police. On South Kingman Road, a resident reported her 2003 Chevrolet was taken from her driveway sometime during the overnight hours of April 20. On Warren Court, a 2002 Dodge was taken from the resident’s driveway sometime between April 21 and April 22. A Mountain Lakes resident reported his 2002 Jeep was stolen from the Rescue Squad parking lot adjacent to Third Street sometime between April 16-April 17. An attempted theft was reported in the parking lot across the Rite Aid located on South Orange Avenue. The victim reported that sometime April 18-April 19, the rear passenger window to her 2002 Jeep was broken and that someone attempted to steal the …

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