The Alternative Press

A weekly roundup of South Orange police news.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – A 21-year-old Irvington resident has been arrested in connection with break-ins at two Hartford Road homes on Nov. 7.

Dereck Smith was arrested at 9 p.m. on Tuesday after an investigation by the Detective Bureau. He is accused of breaking into a safe at one home and stealing a safe from another home. Among the items taken were computers and jewelry.

He was taken to the Essex County jail.

Police also arrested Dysher Florene, 18, of Newark, and a juvenile from Newark after they attacked a South Orange woman walking on Charlton Avenue Monday morning, throwing her to the ground and taking her purse. A witness called police, who apprehended both suspects and recovered the victim’s purse.

In other police news:

• Three Newark teens were charged with attempted the carjacking of a vehicle driven by a South Centre Street resident at 2:20 p.m. on Tuesday.  She told police she struggled with the three when they attempted to force their way into the car. They fled when she laid on her horn. The three males, two 14-year-olds and a 15-year old, were spotted hiding in bushes behind a residence on Cameron Road and then on Milton Place. Officers secured a perimeter and then chased and apprehended the teens. They were taken to the Essex County Youth House in Newark.
   
• Approximately 10 youths were involved in an attack on a Maplewood juvenile on Irvington Avenue on Nov. 11. The victim told police that one individual in the group who followed him struck him in the face and another punched him. They fled after stealing a cell phone. The robbery occurred at 7:50 p.m.   
   
• A 13-year-old Newark resident was arrested on charges of weapon possession after police found he was carrying a semi-automatic pellet gun. Police had observed the juvenile following a woman on foot down Irvington Avenue at 6:45 p.m. and stopped him to question him.
   
• A 20-year-old South Orange resident reported that he was assaulted by a group of males who had been on the porch of a Waverly Place residence at 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 10 when he left a nearby residence.
   
• Niles Mayo, 41, of Newark, was arrested Tuesday after police observed him acting suspiciously in the Tuxedo Park area. During questioning, the suspect fled on foot and was discovered hiding in a garage in Newark. Police said that he had been carrying a backpack that contained burglary tools, including a bolt cutter, screwdrivers and pry bars.
   
• Joshua Feldman, 27, of South Orange, was charged with driving while intoxicated after police were called to an accident on South Ridgewood Road on Thursday at 1 a.m. No injuries were reported.
   
• A Richmond Avenue resident reported that sometime between Nov. 7 and Nov. 9, someone entered his residence, stealing a camera and numerous electronics.
   
• A Milton Place resident reported someone stole a vehicle from his driveway sometime overnight on Nov. 11.
   
• Three Seton Hall University students, Elizabeth Lucas, 20, Steven Bauenfeind, 20, and Tyler Robert, 20, were arrested at 1:20 a.m. on Nov. 10 after police saw them sealing a portable stop sign from the intersection of Ward Place and Irvington Avenue.

Source: http://southorange.org/Police/blotter.asp

The reporter is participating in a hyperlocal journalism partnership between The Alternative Press and Seton Hall University's Department of Communication & The Arts.