A lesson for the week is this: lock your cars, even in the driveway. The Maplewood Police Department blotter reports that, on August 26, police responded to a car alarm sounding on Orchard Road. A resident reported that two cars in her driveway had been entered and that items were missing. Another resident reported seeing four youths leaving the area after the alarm sounded.  Police officers stopped two young males in the area; in the course of the investigation, the men were found to be in possession of items stolen from vehicles in the Orchard Road and Elmwood Avenue neighborhood. Further investigation by detectives indicates that at least 12 cars in the area were entered and had items removed. Adriano Santos, 18, of a Madison Ave. address in Irvington, and a 15-year-old juvenile male were charged with the thefts and the investigation is continuing into the identity of the other subjects involved. Police noted that the vehicles were unlocked when the young men entered them.

On the same date, two police officers observed a subject loitering in the area of 44th St. and drinking an alcoholic beverage in public.  The officers learned that the individual, Jhoma Boswell, 32, of West Orange, was wanted in connection with an investigation into a subject eluding Maplewood officers on August 20, 2009.  In the previous incident, officers believe that Boswell fled from a motor vehicle stop. Boswell was taken into custody for the Maplewood warrant and also issued a Township summons for drinking in public.
 
On August 27, 2009, a resident reported that his Diamond Back Edgewood Hybrid bicycle was stolen from the Maplewood Train Station.  The bike was parked and locked at 8 a.m. and when he returned at 5:45 p.m. it was gone.
 
The following day, a Union Avenue resident told police, he was asleep in his living room in the late afternoon when he was awakened by three male subjects inside his home.  When confronted by the homeowner, the three subjects fled from the house.  The homeowner was able to identify two of the three subjects and police were able to track the two suspects down. Trezel Garris, 18, of South Orange was arrested and charged with burglary.  The second person arrested was a 17-year-old from South Orange. Maplewood detectives  continue to investigate the identity of the third suspect.