Crime & Safety
Police Blotter: Arrest Made in Auto Burglary Case
Police investigate numerous other crimes. Arrest information is provided by police and does not indicate a conviction.
South Orange Police, working with Millburn and other jurisdictions, have made an arrest in a Millburn vehicle burglary case from earlier this month.
On Saturday, the South Orange Police Department arrested Lonnie J. Askew, 40, who had been identified by Millburn police as involved in the burglary of a vehicle on Jan. 6 on Wyoming Avenue, said Millburn Police Public Information Officer Lt. Pete Eakley.
In that case, a Millburn resident reported seeing someone breaking into her vehicle around 10 p.m. The vehicle was parked in her driveway and the resident immediately contacted the Millburn Police Department, Eakley said.
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Millburn units responded to the scene, but the suspect had fled and could not be found.
However, Millburn detectives developed a lead after lifting Askew’s fingerprints from the victim’s vehicle and identifying him through the New Jersey State Police.
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Askew was charged with theft of moveable property and burglary to an automobile, Eakley said. Bail has been set at $5,000 and Askew is awaiting his court hearing at the Essex County Jail.
According to information from the South Orange Police Department previously reported on Patch, Askew was also arrested on Dec. 6 at approximately 11:43 p.m. after officers responded to a call of a suspicious person in the driveway of a Longview Road residence.
As an officer was responding to the scene, he observed Askew reaching into a 1995 Ford parked in a Brentwood Drive driveway. He was also identified as the man seen trespassing in the driveway of the Longview Road residence, which is located a short distance away. SOPD also reported in April that Askew was arrested for burglary after being observed entering a basement window to an apartment complex on Irvington Ave. Askew was also arrested in 2009 on burglary charges stemming from a break-in in Maplewood.
Millburn Police continue to investigate and work with other towns to address the rash of auto burglaries and stolen cars, and Millburn township officials said last week that more arrests are imminent and, while unconfirmed by police, that detectives are part of a multi-county working to bring the crime spree to an end.
The Millburn Police Department says officers are still actively investigating other vehicle burglaries that have occurred throughout the Township and anyone with any additional information on this case or any other crimes should contact the Detective Bureau at (973) 564-7017.
Additional vehicle burglaries and an auto theft also occurred in town during the last week.
The following is a list of the major cases the Millburn Township Police Department:
- Shoplifting: On Jan. 18 at 10:17 p.m. employees at Nordstrom at The Mall at Short Hills reported that they detained Allen Bush of Newark. Bush was an employee of the store and was being held by loss prevention personnel for allegedly stealing merchandise and cash over the course of the last month. Bush was arrested, processed, charged with shoplifting, and released pending his court date.
- Marijuana possession: On Jan. 18 at 10:19 p.m., Officer Ronald Guench observed a Nissan driving in the area of Millburn Avenue and Myrtle Avenue without a front license plate. The vehicle was pulled over and subsequent investigation resulted in the driver, Janeen Butler of Millburn and David Emanuel Goodwin also Millburn being arrested for possession of marijuana. Both parties were released after processing pending their court hearings.
- Shoplifting, possession of marijuana: On Jan. 19 at 6:18 p.m., the Millburn Police Department responded to Nordstrom Department Store on report of shoplifter in custody. The investigation resulted in the arrest of Jean M. St-Vil of East Orange on charges of concealing a hat (value $21.90) and trying to exit the store. St-Vil was arrested, charged with shoplifting, in addition further investigation found him to be in possession of Marijuana, which he was charged. St-Vil was released pending his court hearing.
- Theft from vehicle: On Jan. 19, at 2 p.m., a Ferncliff Terrace resident reports that she noticed that her fog lights from her 2008 BMW had been stolen.
- Burglary/theft: On Jan. 20 3:04 p.m. Monoc (an Emergency Medical Services Company) reported that sometime over the last 5 days someone stole a two-way portable radio from an equipment locker at their East Willow Street facility.
- Burglary: On Jan. 21 at 8:11 a.m. the Millburn Police Department responded to a Millburn Avenue business – E Wireless and Beyond on a report of an a open door. Further investigation found that the business had been burglarized, miscellaneous items including cell phones and cash were taken from the business. The burglary occurred between 7 p.m. on Jan. 20 and 8:11 a.m. Jan. 21.
- Shoplifting: On Jan. 21 at 6:21 p.m. the Millburn Police Department responded to Neiman Marcus in The Mall at Short Hills on a report of a theft. The investigation resulted in a suspect being detained by police units and that person being subsequently arrested and charged with shoplifting over $800 in various clothing items. Darryl Watson of Newark was arrested, processed and released pending his court hearing.
- Stolen license plates: On Jan. 21 at 1:01 a.m., a Millburn Avenue resident reported to the Millburn Police Department that someone had stolen both of his New Jersey License Plates off of his 2006 Lincoln. The victim believes the plates were stolen while he was at a friend’s house on Westview Road in Short Hills between 12:15 and 12:50 a.m.
- Vehicle burglary: On Jan. 22 at 9:21 a.m., a Hilltop Road resident reported that someone burglarized her 2010 Chevy sometime between 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20 and 9:20 a.m. on Jan. 22. There was no sign of forced entry into the vehicle and, although ransacked, nothing appeared to be missing.
- Vehicle burglary: On Jan. 22 at 9:37 a.m., a Hilltop Road resident reported someone burglarized his unlocked 2009 Lexus sometime during the overnight hours. Although the center console was ransacked, nothing was reported stolen from the vehicle.
- Vehicle burglary: On Jan. 22 at 10 a.m. a Main Street resident reported someone burglarized his 2000 Jeep Cherokee. The suspect stole miscellaneous paperwork and keys and also attempted to steal the vehicle by cracking the steering column.
- Vehicle burglary: On Jan. 22 at 12:16 p.m. a Sherwood Road resident reported that someone burglarized and ransacked his 2008 Chevy Suburban between 11 p.m. Jan. 21 and 12:16 p.m. Jan. 22. There were no signs of forced entry; stolen from the vehicle were two wallets and miscellaneous paperwork.
- Stolen Vehicle: On Jan. 22 at 12:31 p.m., a Jefferson Avenue resident reported that between 6 p.m. on the Jan. 21 and 12:31 p.m. on Jan. 22 someone stole a 2007 Audi. The vehicle owners were not sure if they had left the vehicle unlocked and said that a spare key might have be inside the vehicle.
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