Police Report: Thieves Work Through the Holidays

Thieves continued to work through the holidays, entering another Scarsdale home and breaking into several cars. Here are two weeks of reports from the Scarsdale Police: On New Year’s Eve a Park Road home was burglarized. Residents returned home at 12:30 pm on 12/31 and found a smashed glass sliding door and a broken motion detector light. The master bedroom and a second bedroom were tossed including dresser drawers and the master bedroom closets. A gold and diamond necklace and a silver and gold bracelet were among the missing items. Police contacted the neighbors but no one saw or heard anything unusual.

A building maintenance storage closet in the basement of Building 3 of the Chateaux Circle apartments was vandalized overnight on 12/19-12/20. The locks and hinges were broken and a bicycle and $15 in cash were stolen.

Car break-ins: A Tuckahoe woman reported that her Honda had been broken into while parked at the Scarsdale Library on December 20th between 11:29 – and 11:49 am. The front passenger side window of the car was smashed and a pocketbook containing credit cards, checks, cash and identification were taken from the car. There were no witnesses.

Two cars parked on Eton Road in the early morning hours of 12/21 were vandalized. The front passenger window of a 1999 Mercedes was broken sometime between 10:30 pm and 1:20 am and a gym bag was stolen. A 2010 Acura that was parked nearby was also damaged when the front and rear passenger side windows were broken. A purse containing credit cards, identification, $30 in cash and medication were stolen.

That same night thieves broke the driver’s side back window of a 2002 Toyota RAV4 that was parked on Montrose Road. Stolen were a cache of gifts that had been donated for needy children.

Theft: On 12/16, a pair of diamond “huggie” earrings valued at $650 were stolen from Jewels by Joanne on Heathcote Road. Police will review the video surveillance to see if they can determine what happened.

Missing Toads: Village Naturalist Katherine Murphy reported that two fireball toads were removed from their tank at the Weinberg Nature Center sometime between 12/30/11 and 1/02/12.  Another naturalist reported that a family of six had remained at the center until closing time on 12/30.

Fraud: On 12/29 Sierra Cycles reported an incident that occurred via e-Bay. The bike shop sold a Gary Fisher bike valued at $1050 to a Texas man. However the purchaser said the bike was the wrong size and wanted to exchange it. When the bike was returned it had been disassembled and the derailer, shifters and pedals had been replaced with cheaper parts. The total value of the missing parts is estimated at $500.

Unwanted: Fenimore Road homeowners called police on 12/25 to ask for help removing their 38 year-old daughter from the house where she was not welcome. Penn Boulevard residents called police for help on 12/25 when their 23 year-old son came to the house. They wanted him out of the house but he refused to leave. After he picked up a few items he agreed to go.

Harassment: A painter, at work at a Greenacres Avenue home, was threatened by a former employee on the morning of December 21. The painter owes the employee $300 and the man was demanding payment. The employee threatened the painter, saying he would “kick his ass” and “break his jaw” if he was not paid.

Phone calls: A Fox Meadow Road woman reported that she received a suspicious phone call on 12/19. The caller claimed to be her grandson and said he was involved in a car accident in Mexico and needed $2,000 to fix the damage on the rental car. He instructed the Scarsdale woman to send the money to a lawyer. Since the woman did not recognize her grandson’s voice, she asked him to call back so she could verify the story. The caller never called back.

On 12/29, a Cayuga Road man reported that he had been receiving threatening phone calls for the past two months. He believed the calls were coming from someone with whom he had business dealings. The caller said, “I’m coming over with some guys and we are going to mess you up good,” and “we know where you live and where you go when you least expect it.” When police contacted the number from which the calls were made to say that a report for harassment had been filed, the harasser told the policeman to “scratch his ass.” However after the caller ascertained that it really was the police calling he gave his word that he would stop contacting the victim.

Death: Police were called to the ARC group residential home at 1 Foxhall Place shortly after midnight on 12/26 when an 84-year-old female resident was having trouble breathing. When they arrived the woman had passed away. The victim was identified as Patricia Sutton, and her doctor reported that she was hospitalized for a heart condition and high cholesterol two months ago. She had been living in the home for five years.

Also at ARC, a 79-year-old mentally disabled resident was the victim of identity theft. A fraudulent credit card account was opened in his name was opened at Capitol One Bank and two charges were made on the card; one for $215.67 at Walmart in White Plains and another for $13.62 at Subway in Mount Vernon.

Dog bite: A Walworth Avenue dog bit a deliveryman who was bringing a package to the home on 12/21. Renfeng Li of Flushing, NY sustained a dog bite on the leg. Though the dog was on a leash when the resident opened the door, the dog lunged at the man who was taken to White Plains hospital by SVAC. The dog is current on its shots and vaccines so rabies is not a concern.

Fight: A Lockwood Road a boy called police on 12/26 when he got into a fight with his younger brother over a cup of apple juice. In the fight, the younger brother broke a chair. When police arrived they spoke with the boy’s mother who said no help was necessary.

Mischief: At 3:30 am on 12/30 a Fox Meadow resident called police to report that a group of kids in a dark colored SUV was stealing the street sign at Wayside Lane and Carstensen Road. At the time, police were completing a case report for a missing street sign at Archer Lane and Stratton Road.

A Shawnee Road man called police at 10:42 pm on 12/30 when someone rang his doorbell and left a bag of dog feces on his front step.

Locked in: A man who was cleaning the Bank of America branch on Christie Place was locked into the bank at 10 pm on 12/28. Police were able to get him out by pulling up a security gate to the office.

Homeless: Marsha Jones of the Bronx showed up at Scarsdale Police Headquarters at 1:43 am on 1/1 and wanted shelter for the night. She had no identification and said she was homeless. Police tried to find a shelter but the nearest one with available space was in Peekskill. Police drove the woman to the bus depot in White Plains so that she could take a bus to Peekskill.