Burglars Strike Southwoods Lane House

On Nov. 16, a Southwoods Lane homeowner reported someone stole approximately $50,000 in jewelry from her house while she was on vacation from Nov. 9 through Nov. 14. Upon returning from the trip, the homeowner found emptied boxes of jewelry removed from her closet dresser and strewn about. She told police she did not believe any other items were stolen from the house.

Car break-in
A $3,000 designer handbag containing $400 sunglasses and a $550 iPad mini was stolen from a car parked outside an Eton Road garage overnight Nov. 17. The owner said she locked her car when parking it, but her son later got something out of the car and must have left it unlocked. The purse was on top of the center console in the front seat.

Stolen laptop
An 18-year-old Scarsdale High School student placed his Macbook Pro laptop computer in an empty locker in the boys' locker room at approximately 2:12 p.m., Nov. 17. When he returned from the weight room at approximately 2:56 p.m., his bag was still in the locker, but the laptop had been stolen. The value of the laptop was $1,800.

BB shot
A Brite Avenue homeowner told police someone shot a BB through a second floor window of his house. He noticed the damage on Nov. 17 and estimated it would cost about $350 to replace the window.

Check fraud
A Christie Place business owner reported someone forged four checks from her HSBC bank account and deposited them into a Brooklyn man's account. The checks totaled approximately $1,245.75. The signature used to sign the checks did not match the business owner's signature. The checks were dated Nov. 16, and the business owner discovered them while checking her online banking information Nov. 17. HSBC returned the money to the account.

Identity theft
On Nov. 19, a Bradford Road woman reported someone had fraudulently opened a Paypal account in her name, and a company, named JAGEX, charged 67 separate charges to the account on Aug. 31. Seven charges were for $59.99, and 60 charges were for $29.99. The woman immediately informed Paypal the account was fraudulent, and Paypal closed the account. Paypal asked the woman to file a police report about the incident.
A 45-year-old Dickel Road woman reported someone opened a fraudulent Facebook account, using her deceased father's photograph and name.

Phone scam
On Nov. 17, a Sprague Road man reported he had been scammed out of $2,500 by a "Treasury Department scam." While scams involving callers alleging to be government or Internal Revenue Service officials have become common, "this one had a slightly different twist" according to SPD Captain Thomas Altizio. In this instance, the scammer told the victim that the U.S. Department of Treasury had awarded him a "loyalty bonus." In order to collect it, the Sprague Road man was told he needed to send money for a registration fee to a person in Florida via Money Gram, which he did. The victim was then contacted again and told he needed to send money for "payment protection insurance" to another individual in Florida, which he did. The victim was then contacted a third time and sent send additional funds to a person in California to cover taxes. After the victim was contacted a fourth time and asked to send additional funds, he refused, realizing it was a scam. "We have repeatedly tried to warn residents that no branch of the Federal, State or Local government will ever ask a person to send money via Western Union, Money Gram or Green Dot Money cards," Altizio said.

Piano scam
A Crossway resident listed a piano on an online piano sales site and was contacted by a North Carolina man who stated that he wanted to buy the piano and offered the woman $3,500 more than the listing price "for her trouble." The woman received the man's check, but did not feel the transaction was right. She contacted the online sales site and learned the man, who uses the alias of "Wayne Bouffard," is a known scammer. The woman incurred no financial loss. She asked police to document the incident Nov. 18.

Followed
On Nov. 18, a woman reported her ex-boyfriend waits for her at a gas station on Scarsdale Avenue and follows alongside of her on her way to work in the mornings. The woman said she does not want any contact with him. Patrol told the woman about how to obtain an order of protection and how to contact police if she feels unsafe.

Voicemail
A Continental Road resident reported receiving an unusual voicemail message Nov. 19. The voicemail was from a caller who was looking for person named "Armand Klein." Police deduced the voicemail stemmed from wrong number call. Police phoned the caller for confirmation. There were no signs of criminality related to the call or voicemail.

Tree limb
A Weaver Street woman attempted to drive her 2014 Honda Pilot over a fallen tree limb across Morris Lane at 9 p.m., Nov. 19. During her attempt, her car became lodged on top of the limb. Police called a towing company to lift the car while police and towing personnel removed the limb from the road. The tow truck operator advised the woman her car was operable but may experience "some noise" due to bent plates underneath the car. The woman said she would take her car to a mechanic at a later date.

Leaves
A Boulevard man reported a neighbor's leaves were on his yard Nov. 21. The leaves in question were actually on the neighbor's yard. Patrol assured the man the village would soon collect the leaves.

Assistance
A resident of a Saxon Woods Road nursing home called police three times this weeks, stating she could not find her husband, and he might be dead. Patrol spoke with nursing staff that confirmed the resident's husband had passed away in the past. The resident is an Alzheimer's patient, and staff was attending to her needs.

At parents' request, police checked the welfare of a 17-year-old Wynmor Road girl who was home alone after midnight Nov. 22.

A White Birch Lane woman asked police to check the welfare of her husband, who was home and had recently gotten hurt Nov. 22. The woman was in Boston at the time.

911
A nine-year-old Brite Avenue boy called 911 because he was unhappy about his parents taking away his computer Nov. 22. Patrol arrived at the boy's house, and the boy said he overreacted by calling 911. Police spoke with the boy on the proper use of 911.

Suspended registration
While on patrol, police noticed a gray Ford Mustang appeared to be driving in a circle, as the car made one right turn, one left turn and two right turns near Post and Mamaroneck roads around 1 a.m., Nov. 21. Patrol conducted a traffic stop to see if the driver – a 26-year-old White Plains man – needed assistance. A check of the vehicle's registration revealed it was suspended on Jan. 9, 2015, for an insurance lapse. The driver's license had also been suspended on two separate dates – for insurance not being in effect and failure to answer a summons on the Town of Mamaroneck. While talking with the driver, police noticed a strong odor of burning marijuana coming from the car. Ash appeared to be on the driver's lap, as well. Patrol asked the driver if he smoked cigarettes, and he said "no." He claimed he had allowed friends to smoke marijuana in the car earlier that evening. Patrol checked the car for illegal substances and did not find any. The car's plates were removed, and the car was towed to an auto repair facility of the driver's choosing in White Plains. The driver was issued appropriate summonses.

Cars and roadways
Police placed reflective traffic cones around a dumpster on Walworth Avenue to alert motorists Nov. 16. The contractor responsible for the dumpster had a valid permit for it.

Police removed a log from Bypass Nov. 18.

Police removed an empty box from Scarsdale Avenue and threw it away in a trashcan Nov. 18.

Police issued a summons to the driver of a parked car blocking the exit of DeCicco's Marketplace Nov. 18.

The highway department removed a deer carcass from a grassy area adjacent to Mamaroneck Road near the Hutchinson River Parkway Nov. 19. The deer appeared to have died from injuries related to a vehicle strike.

A homeless man was lying on grass near the side of Post Road at 12:45 p.m., Nov. 19. Patrol advised him it was unsafe to lie there due to the close proximity to traffic. Patrol offered to call for medical assistance, but the man declined. He said he would walk to a better location to get some rest. He left in the direction of White Plains.

Police closed a section of Secor Road due to flooding Nov. 19.

A snapped telephone wire on Sheldrake Road appeared to have been pulled down from a passing Fedex truck Nov. 21.

A driver called an auto service for a flat tire sustained at Kent and Ogden roads Nov. 21. In the meantime, patrol helped the driver move her car into a safe location.

Nine car accidents were reported in the village this week.

Dogs
An Aspen Road man reported two black and white dogs entered his yard and lunged at him Nov. 17. Investigation showed two dogs matching the man's description were pets of a Rock Creek Lane family. Patrol spoke with the family and learned the dogs might have unintentionally gotten out of the house as a result of construction work. Patrol advised the family to be more diligent in keeping their dogs inside the house.

Police picked up a loose white dog from Popham Road and reunited it with its Taunton Road owner Nov. 22. The owner was issued a village code summons.

Lost and found
On Nov. 16, police found a Chase bank Visa debit card on the ground at Spencer Place and East Parkway. Patrol was unable to locate contact information for the person whose name was listed on the card. Patrol vouchered the card at headquarters.

A mother reported her son lost his cell phone at Scarsdale High School Nov. 16.

Car keys were found on Chase Road Nov. 19. Patrol returned them to their owner.

Firefighters
Four cans of mineral oil fell from a tree care truck passing through the village Nov. 16. Firefighters cleaned up spilled oil from two locations on Olmsted Road and from the intersection of Post and Ross roads.

A dead bug on a halogen light fixture was causing a burning odor inside a Springdale Road house Nov. 16.

Firefighters turned off the lamp and advised the homeowner to remove the bug after the lamp cooled.

Firefighters were called to a Boulevard house because of a reported explosion Nov. 16. Investigation showed a sealed tuna fish can inside a heated oven had exploded, causing an alarming sound. The resident said he was not aware he had turned on the oven.

Firefighters stood by for Con Edison at the site of a natural gas odor at Burgess and Richbell roads Nov. 18.
At Post and Burgess roads, firefighters isolated fallen electrical wires brought down by a fallen tree branch while standing by for Con Edison Nov. 20.

A village-owned leaf machine caught fire on Montgomery Road because of leaves coming in contact with the machine's exhaust manifold Nov. 11. Fire spread to some leaves on top of the machine's motor enclosure. Highway workers on the scene discharged a small dry powder extinguisher. The fire was out before firefighters arrived. Damaged was confined to some blistered paint on the machine's air cleaner system. Firefighters disconnected the machine's battery.

Con Edison was called about a leaking gas valve at Pinecrest and Brookline roads Nov. 20.

A gas odor on Valley Road was possibly caused by spilled gasoline Nov. 21.

Firefighters called Con Edison about elevated carbon monoxide readings in a Kensington Road basement Nov. 22. Con Edison turned off a gas burner unit.

Linens caught fire in an industrial clothes dryer at Quaker Ridge Golf Club Nov. 22. Club staff used a garden hose to extinguish the fire, and they removed the burned linens and discarded them outdoors. The inside of the dryer drum got scorched. Firefighters checked for fire extension and confirmed the safety and integrity of the building and interior structures. Firefighters disconnected the gas and electricity to the dryer and advised management to have the dryer serviced before using it again.

This week, firefighters assisted at six car accidents in the village. They responded to three false carbon monoxide alarm and 14 false alarms caused by device malfunction, sprinkler service, concrete dust, cooking smoke, power interruption, burnt toast and shower steam.

This report covering police and fire department activity from Nov. 16-22 was compiled from official information.

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