A Montclair driver’s new license plates were signed for at his home and then vanished, and by the time he reported them stolen, another town’s police department had already run them. It was one of five incidents in this week’s Montclair police blotter. The others included a porch package theft caught on camera nearly two weeks before it was reported, a shoplifting incident at Kings Supermarket, and a lost wallet that a passerby turned in, which came back without $1,000 in cash. The week’s reports span September 15 through September 22.
Stolen license plates run by Berkeley Heights police before they were reported missing
A Montclair man on Orange Road was waiting on two new license plates and the registration for his 2025 Chevrolet Suburban. When they didn’t arrive, he called the dealership. The dealership confirmed the plates had already been delivered to his home and signed for while he was away. He never received them.
After he reported them stolen on September 15, police discovered the plates had already been run by the Berkeley Heights Police Department four days earlier. Someone apparently had the plates in use before the man who owned them knew they were gone.
Porch theft on Elmwood Avenue caught on camera, reported two weeks later
Surveillance footage from an Elmwood Avenue home shows a man walking up to the porch shortly after midnight on September 3, sitting down on the front steps, and picking up a package before walking off west on Elmwood Avenue. Inside was a pair of women’s shoes worth $180. The resident didn’t report the theft until September 16, nearly two weeks after her camera caught it.
Police describe the man as older, bald, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, wearing glasses, a black T-shirt, black pants and white shoes.
Kings Supermarket shoplifting suspect kept walking after being stopped
A woman walked into Kings Supermarket on Valley Road at 8:30 a.m. on September 20, grabbed two reusable bags and filled them with merchandise as she moved through the store. She was stopped at the exit but kept walking anyway, carrying the stolen items south on Valley Road.
Police describe her as 50 to 60 years old, wearing a yellow jacket and brown plaid pants.
A lost wallet comes back missing $1,000
A man pulled over on Union Street on the morning of September 21 to check something in his car and lost his wallet in the process. A citizen found it in the street on Clinton Avenue and turned it over to an officer, who returned it to its owner after checking his driver’s license. The owner then reported that $1,000 in cash and a blank check were missing. The police report doesn’t say when or by whom they were taken.
Arrest made at the Salvation Army on Trinity Place
A 47-year-old Montclair man was charged with disorderly conduct on September 19 following an incident at the Salvation Army on Trinity Place. It was the only arrest in this week’s blotter.
For a bigger-picture look at how these incidents compare with crime across town, read How Safe is Montclair…Actually? Catch up on earlier weeks, including the Aug. 25–Sept. 1 blotter.
