A man tried to lure two young girls playing on Heller Way into his car March 18, but the girls ran and told their parents, police said.
A Montclair woman reported that her 12-year-old daughter and 8-year-old niece were playing in the front yard of her Heller Way residence when a vehicle pulled up in front of the residence.
The driver asked the girls if they needed a ride, police said. The girls ran to the back yard and notified their parents, police said.
The vehicle was described as a dark red, four-door vehicle last seen heading south on Heller Way. The driver was described as a male in his 20s or 30s.
Anyone with information can contact Detective Daniel Heiser at 973-509-4724.
The following additional activity has been reported by Montclair police in their weekly blotter:
MOTOR VEHICLE CRIME
Thursday, March 10 — A man reported that at some point between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m., someone entered two unlocked vehicles that were in his Pleasant Way driveway. A cellphone and a pair of earbuds were reported stolen.
Wednesday, March 16 — A resident reported that her mother’s 2021 Toyota Rav 4 was stolen out of her Hitchcock Place driveway. A responding detective observed the vehicle fleeing on Thomas Boulevard and followed the vehicle before losing sight of it on South Orange Avenue and Stuyvesant Avenue in Newark.
Thursday, March 17 — An employee of Senior Care Enterprise on Greenwood Avenue reported that one of the business’s transport vans was stolen from their lot just before 7:30 a.m. The vehicle is a white 2016 Ford van and was last seen heading east on Walnut Street.
Thursday, March 17 — A woman reported entering her vehicle on Bellevue Avenue and observing all of the items within her center console had been removed. She checked her surveillance video and observed a small, crossover-type vehicle stopping near her vehicle. A male exited and entered her vehicle. Nothing was reported missing.
Saturday, March 19 — A woman reported that she left her 2018 Kia running along the curb on Glenridge Avenue while she entered a nearby store. When she returned five minutes later, the vehicle was no longer there. A silver Huffy Mountain bike was left in its place.
Sunday, March 20 — A man reported that he parked his silver 2014 BMW on Bloomfield Avenue while he picked up food. When he returned a few minutes later, the vehicle was gone. He reported the vehicle was off and he was in possession of both sets of keys.
THEFT
Tuesday, March 8 — A man reported that his bicycle was stolen from the lower level of the Park Street YMCA between 8:15 and 10:35 a.m. The bicycle was described as a green and black mountain bike valued at $400. Surveillance video shows a male between 5 feet and 8 inches and 6 feet tall, wearing blue jeans, a dark color sweatshirt, a black backpack and a mask covering his face approaching the bicycle. In the video, he removes a pair of bolt cutters from his bag and flees with the bike towards North Fullerton Avenue.
Tuesday, March 8 — A Lloyd Road resident reported that she left her residence at 7 a.m. and returned at 5:30 p.m. When she returned, she discovered a first-floor exterior door leading to a bedroom had been forced open. Multiple rooms within the residence had been entered and ransacked. Jewelry boxes from the master bedroom had been emptied. A full inventory of missing items was not available at the time of the report.
Tuesday, March 8 — An employee of a contracted oil disposal company reported a theft of cooking oil from a Valley Road business. A 175 gallon tank that had been placed empty in August had been drained empty. The oil was valued at approximately $500.
Monday, March 14 — An employee of Fleet Feet on Bloomfield Avenue reported that at approximately 12:30 p.m. a male entered the store and started to look at various items. The man removed one red jacket off of a hanger on a rack and placed it into a black gym bag he was carrying. Shortly after, the man then took another jacket off of a hanger and placed it into his bag. He then exited the store with the jackets after being confronted and fled east on Bloomfield Avenue. The man was described as between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, 35 to 50 years old, wearing a black “Nets” hooded jacket, green pants, black shoes, a black beanie and brown sunglasses. He was carrying a black The North Face backpack and a black gym bag with neon green straps.
Tuesday, March 15 — An employee of The Connect Clothing Store on Bloomfield Avenue reported a female and two males entered the store and stole $785 worth of merchandise. The female was had a medium build and black hair, and was wearing a gray shirt and gray pants. The first male was slim built and wearing a baseball cap, black pants, a blue hooded sweatshirt, and white and blue sneakers. The second male was heavyset, wearing black pants, an orange hooded sweatshirt, a black and orange camouflage jacket and white and black sneakers, and was carrying a black plastic bag.
Wednesday, March 16 — An Orange Road resident reported that she received a notification from her surveillance system of motion in her kitchen. As she checked the footage, she observed an unknown female in her kitchen. Entry appears to have been gained through a bathroom window. Proceeds were between $30 and $400 in cash and personal documents.
Wednesday, March 16 — Walnut Street area restaurant owners reported theft of cooking oil from their used oil tanks. Surveillance video shows two males exiting an older model Jeep Cherokee with temporary registration. The males are seen tampering with the oil tanks.
SUSPICIOUS INCIDENT
Monday, March 21 — The manager of Chase Bank on North Fullerton Avenue reported that over the past several weeks unknown juveniles or young adults have been congregating in front of the bank and asking customers to cash checks for them. The juveniles have always run off when the manager confronts them. The manager reports receiving several complaints from customers regarding the juveniles — specifically, that they are aggressive in their requests and become angry when their requests to cash checks are denied. The requests are mostly made on Fridays and Saturdays. When individuals agree to deposit the checks, they turn out to be mostly fraudulent.
The police blotter is based on information provided to Montclair Local at the discretion of the Montclair Police Department, and reflects events as described by the department. It may not reflect the complete scope of police activity. Any descriptions of wrongful activity are merely allegations, and any persons mentioned in the blotter are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The MPD encourages anyone who wishes to report criminal or suspicious activity, or who has information pertaining to an ongoing investigation, to call 973-744-1234. In an emergency, residents are urged to call 911.