A man walking near Midland Avenue and Portland Place exposed himself to a woman on her way to work last week, one of five incidents in this week’s Montclair police blotter that also included an assault inside a Bloomfield Avenue gas station, a cash register theft on Church Street and an attempted break-in at a Highland Avenue home. The week’s reports span August 25 through September 1, with no arrests reported in connection with the incidents.
Indecent exposure reported near Midland Avenue and Portland Place
A woman walking to work in the area of Midland Avenue and Portland Place on August 26 told police a man approached her and exposed himself before walking off west on Portland Place. She described him as husky, in his 30s, with a beard, wearing a black shirt and light blue shorts printed with pink flamingos.
Assault at the Shell Gas Station follows a dispute over a TikTok video
A woman flagged down an officer on Bloomfield Avenue on August 26 and said she had just been assaulted inside the Shell Gas Station. She told police she was making a purchase when two other women approached her and an argument broke out over a TikTok video. The confrontation ended with the two suspects striking her in the face before leaving the store and walking west on Bloomfield Avenue.
Police describe both suspects as approximately 19 years old; one wore a red hoodie and black pants. The victim declined medical attention at the scene.
Montclair theft reports: a cash register and a gas station drive-off
An employee at Charmed Beading Studio on Church Street stepped into the back room on August 27 and returned to find a man taking cash from the register. She yelled, and he ran east toward Bloomfield Avenue with an estimated $100 to $200. Police describe him as slim, wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt.
Separately, on Bloomfield Avenue, a black Nissan pickup truck with Pennsylvania plates pulled into the Shell Gas Station around 4 a.m. that same day and took on 19 gallons of gas, a $111.01 fill-up, before driving off west without paying.
Neither suspect has been identified.
Attempted break-in caught on Highland Avenue home security camera
A Highland Avenue resident reviewing his home security footage discovered that a man had entered his backyard during the overnight hours on August 29. At 3:06 a.m., the camera captured the suspect shining a flashlight through the kitchen windows and trying the locked rear kitchen door before walking north out of view. No entry was made.
Police describe him as medium build, wearing a gray Nike Tech zip-up hoodie with the hood up, dark pants with a white stripe down the sides, gloves and a mask.
