CRIMINAL SEXUAL CONTACT ARREST

Yesterday, at approximatley 7:30 P.M., a 30 year old female was standing near the pharmacy counter at the "Walgreens" on Main Avenue when an unknown male approached her from behind and began to rub his genitals against her buttocks. The suspect then fled the store in an unknown direction. At that time, Officer Kling was in the process of patrolling the area when he was notified of the incident by the victim.  A few blocks away, Officer Kling located a possible suspect walking toward the City of Passaic  In response, Officer Kling attempted to detain him, however, the individual refused to comply. The suspect responded by shedding his outer garments (jacket and sweatshirt) and running away from the officer. A foot pursuit ensued and numerous officers responded to assist. The suspect managed to elude the officers initially, however, after conducting a throrough search of the area, Officer Kling ultimately located the suspect hiding under a staircase near Madison Avenue. Officer Kling, along with back-up officers, ordered the suspect to come out from the staircase. The suspect initially complied, but became combative once he was told he was under arrest. The suspect continued to resist arrest, causing officers to become involved in a lengthy physical altercation; which eventually culminated into a successful apprehension. The suspect, later identified as Christian Acevedo (30) of Passaic, was identified as the individual responsible for the sexual contact incident and was charged with "Criminal Sexual Contact", "Resisting Arrest by Flight", and "Obstruction of Justice".

ARMED ROBBERY ARRESTS

Today, at approximately 12:30 A.M., a 47 year old Wayne resident was robbed while aboard a "jitney" bus.  The victim boarded the bus in New York City and remained on-board as the bus entered the City of Clifton. At the intersection of Main Avenue and Union Avenue, three male parties entered the bus and sat down near the victim. One of the individuals displayed a black colored handgun and demanded the victim's cash and I-Pod. In response, the victim stood up, ran toward the bus driver and began to plead with him to stop the bus. The bus driver complied and the victim exited the bus on Main Avenue near the Washington Avenue intersection. Upon exiting, the victim ran toward an approaching police car in a frantic state and advised the officer of what had transpired. At that point, the bus had already begun traveling toward the City of Paterson. Officer Suhey immediately started to search the area and ultimately located the bus in question on Main Avenue near West Third Street. A motor vehicle stop was conducted on the bus and during that time, Officer Suhey located the three suspects as they tried to flee from the interior of the bus. and was able to successfully detain them until back-up officers arrived.

It was subsequently confirmed that all three suspects were involved in the robbery. As a result, they were placed under arrest and conveyed to police headquarters. In addition, the imitation firearm utilized in the incident was located on the floor of the bus after it had been apparently discarded by one of the suspects prior to their attempted flight from same. The suspects were ultimately charged with "Criminal Attempt to Commit Armed Robbery", "Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery" and "Possession of an Imitation Firearm".

The identities of the arrested individuals are as follows:
1) Nathaniel Dickson (21) of Paterson
2) Franco Carrera (18) of Paterson
3) Giancarlo Rodriguez (18) of Paterson

ARMED ROBBERY

At approximately 1:20 A.M. today, a 26 year old Clifton resident was robbed at gunpoint on Lasalle Avenue. The victim reportedly had met an individual on "Craigslist" recently and agreed to purchase numerous electronic devices from him. Both the victim and the seller decided to meet to solidify the deal early this morning. When the victim was approaching the prearranged meeting location, an African American male party jumped out from behind nearby shrubs and brandished a handgun. The suspect pointed the weapon at the victim and demanded "the money". After the victim turned over a large sum of cash, the suspect further demanded his cellular phone and jewelry. The victim complied and the suspect subsequently fled the scene on foot.

The suspect was described as a being approximatley 6;2" in height and was wearing a black and white colored "Yankees" cap, a light grey sweatshirt, and dark colored pants.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Clifton Police Detective Bureau @ 973-470-5908.

ROBBERY

Last night, at approximately 5:30 P.M., a 14 year old boy was robbed by two male parties as he walked home from Christopher Columbus Middle School. The victim intially observed the suspects in the parking lot of the school as he was leaving. Unbeknownst to him, the suspects began following him as he walked toward the library and ultimately confronted him on Main Avenue near the intersection of Washington Avenue. After the suspects surrounded the victim, Suspect #1 (see descripition below), persuaded him to hand over all cash and electronic devices on his person. Fearing for his safety, the victim complied and turned over a cellular phone, I-Pod, and cash to the suspects. The suspects subsequently fled the scene (on foot) toward Piaget Avenue.

Suspect # 1 was described as a Hispanic male, approximately 18 years of age, with a thin build and was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt. Suspect # 2 was described as a Hispainc male, short in height, approximately 20 years of age, with a medium build and was wearing a denim jacket. Suspect # 3 was described as a Hispanic male, approximately 23 years of age, with a medium build, side-burns and was wearng a dark blue sweater.

The incident occurred in view of motorists and pedestrians alike and could have been mistaken for a friendly encounter. The suspects in this incident may be responsible for a robbery that occurred during the first week of December (2011). Anyone who may have witnessed this incident or any other suspicious act occurring in this vicinity, is urged to contact Detective Bermudez of the Clifton Police Juvenile Division at 973-470-5882.

STABBING

On January 29, 2012, at approximately 3:00 A.M., patrol officers were approached in the parking lot of 1366 Clifton Avenue (Richfield Shopping Center) by a male party who stated that his brother had just been stabbed. According to the complainant, he and his brother were walking to their vehicle after exiting "Bliss" night club when a verbal altercation ensued with three unknown male parties.The altercation reportedly turned physical and during the course of the assault, one of the three individuals brandished a knife and stabbed the complainant's brother in the chest. The complainant, who also suffered from injuries relating to to the assault, (however was not stabbed),  further indicated that another suspect  "punched out" the back window of his vehicle prior to fleeing the scene. It was reported that the suspects fled the scene in a black BMW.

Officers were subsequently directed to the 23 year old victim who was lying semi-conscious in the parking lot with a stab wound to the mid-torso. Medical personnel were summoned to the scene and a description of the fleeing actors and their vehicle was transmitted to other patrol units and surrounding jurisdictions. The victim was taken by ambulance to the St. Joseph's Hospital were he was conveyed to the Trauma Unit.

In the meantime, Patrolman Nicholas Hriczov and Patrolman Michael Adamo were in the process of searching the Clifton/ Passaic border when they observed a vehicle that matched the description of the suspect vehicle. The officers subsequently stopped the vehicle on Blaine Street in the City of Passaic and met with the occupants of same. Blood evidence was quickly located inside the vehicle and the officers placed the three male occupants under arrest. It was subsequently confirmed that these individuals were involved in the assault and as a result, were conveyed to police headquarters.

Detective personnel became involved and the investigation progressed throughout the night. All three individuals were ultimately charged criminally. It was determined that the dirver of the vehicle, Jesus Ayala (35) of Garfield, NJ, was directly involved in the stabbing and as a result, was charged with Attempted Murder along with weapons offenses. Having been previously convicted of a crime, Ayala was additionally charged with a criminal statute relating to convicted felons being prohibited from carrying weapons. Ayala's co-defendants, Moises Arroyo (35) of Garfield, NJ and Jose Lopez (35) of Passaic, NJ were charged with Aggravated Assault (respectively) for the assault perpetrated upon the complainant during the incident. Lopez was additionally charged with Criminal Mischief for damaging the complainant's vehicle.

The victim of the stabbing suffered significant injury which ultimately required surgery. He remains at the hospital in recovery. The investigation is on-going.

ROBBERY

On 1/26/2012, at approximately 2:25 A.M., an armed robbery occurred at the "Shell" gas station located on Route 3 East. (Clifton). The attendant was approached by the suspect, who intially requested to purchase cigarettes. However, once the attendant entered the booth to retrieve them, the suspect brandished a handgun and pointed the weapon in the face of the attendant; stating "give me all your money." The suspect then entered the booth and proceeded to remove cash from the register as well as from the attendant's person. The suspect subsquently fled the scene on foot toward Route 3.

The suspect is described as an African American male with a slender build, approximately 6' tall, with an unshaven appearance. He was reportedly wearing a light blue or grey colored jacket (with the hood up) and denim jeans.

There are no further details available at this time. Anyone with information regarding this incident or any of the previous gas station robberies is urged to contact the Clifton Police Detective Bureau at 973-470-5908.

MISSING JUVENILE

This agency is searching for a missing juvenile (runaway) and is asking for the public's help in locating her. Jazmine Amaya (16 years of age) left her Clifton home in October 2011 and has not been in contact with her family since. Jazmine is a habitual runaway and usually frequents the area of Paterson, NJ. Investigators have been working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other state agencies; however, have been unsuccessful in determining her whereabouts.

At this time, Jazmine faces no criminal charges. However, due to her status as a juvenile, anyone choosing to harbor her, can be charged with offenses relating to child endangerment.  Anyone with information regarding Jazmine is urged to contact the Clifton Police Juvenile Bureau @973-470-5882 or the Clifton Police  Communications Center @973-470-5911.

BURGLARIES

On January 22, 2012, sometime between the hours of 1:00 AM and 2:20 AM, five businesses located on Piaget Avenue (specifically the "Middle Village" section) were burglarized. The actor(s) gained entry by breaking through each of the business's front (glass) doors. Once inside, the actor(s) removed proceeds (mainly cash) and subsequently escaped undetected.

The jurisdictions of Garfield and Mew Milford experienced similar incidents during the overnight hours and investigators are looking into the possibility that the burglaries may all be related. Anyone with information regarding any of these incidents is urged to contact the Clifton Police Department Detective Bureau @ 973-470-5908.

Sexual Assault

The Clifton Police Department Juvenile Division is currently investigating two incidents of Sexual Assault that occurred on the Clifton High School Campus on two different occassions during the month of January 2012. Both incidents involved the same (male) actor and (female) victim and occurred during the course of the school day. The incidents did not involve an "attack" of any sort; but were rather the result of prior acts of coercion. To date, the 17 year old male actor has been apprehended and detained in the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center. He has been charged with two counts of Sexual Assault, two counts of Criminal Coercion,  one count of Criminal Sexual Contact, and one act of Criminal Restraint. The investigation is on-going and additional information will be available upon it's conclusion.

ARMED ROBBERY

On 01/02/2012, at approximately 10:20 PM, a pedestrian became the victim of an armed robbery. The incident occurred at the intersection of Getty Avenue and Grace Avenue (Clifton) when the male victim was approached from behind by two male suspects, one of whom placed a metal object against the victim's mid-section and physically forced him up against a nearby fence. At this time, the second suspect began to remove cash and various personal belongings from the victim's person. Upon conclusion, the second suspect pulled the victim's hood over his head, turned him around several times, and told him to "start walking or you will get shot." The suspects fled the scene on foot toward Main Avenue.

Suspect #1 was described as a light skinned male (possibly African American), approximately 6' tall, and in his early 20's. This suspect was reportedly wearing a black "North Face" jacket and a black ski mask. Suspect #2 was described as a dark skinned male, approximately 6' tall, with a thin build, also in his early 20's. Suspect #2 ws reportedly wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

It is unknown if this incident is related to the robbery that occurred on Lincoln Place on 12/30/11. Detectives are currently investigating both incidents and further information will available as the investigations progress. Anyone with information regarding either of these incidents is urged to contact the Clifton Police Detective Bureau @973-470-5908.

ARMED ROBBERY

On December 30, 2011, at approximately 10:50 PM, a 39 year old male was walking to a family member's residence on Lincoln Place (Clifton) when he was approached from behind by two male parties; one of whom was in possession of a "large", dark-colored handgun . The suspect proceeded to place the barrel of the weapon against the chest of the victim and demand that he hand over all the cash in his possession. The victim complied and also relinquished custody of other personal property to the suspects, who subsequently fled the scene on foot toward Center Street.

The suspects were described as being Hispanic, probably of Dominican descent, and in their early 20's. The suspect in possession of the handgun was described as being tall, with a thin build, and a dark complexion. Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Clifton Police Detective Bureau @ 973-470-5908.