Police Report: Two Arrests, Two Burglaries and Suspicious Homebuyers

An employee of a Yonker’s appliance repair service was charged with grand larceny and unlawful possession of personal identification after an investigation of a complaint from a Scarsdale man dating back to September 30, 2010.

A that time, a Scarsdale resident found fraudulent charges on his debit card after he had used the card to pay for repairs made by the Yonkers service. An investigation by Detective Rodriguez from the Scarsdale Police Department revealed that Ann Marie V. Cherry, who was employed at the company had used the man’s debit card.

According to a press release from the Scarsdale Police, “The investigation involved the examination of credit card transactions, merchant documents, telephone and cell phone records, and required numerous interviews with witnesses, suspects and other involved individuals in Westchester County and New York City.”

Ms. Cherry was arrested on April 26, 2011 and Scarsdale Police also have an arrest warrant for another suspect who made fraudulent purchases on the card, using the victims credit and personal information. Ms. Cherry was released on her own recognizance and given an April 27th court date.

In their second arrest this week, Scarsdale Police nabbed a 35 year-old Levittown man who preyed on an elderly Greenacres woman in late March. Claiming that he made repairs to the woman’s Kingston Road home, he drove the 92-year woman to the bank and had her withdraw $2,400 as payment.

When a companion came to the home later, she found the bank receipt and asked the elderly woman wit whom she had gone to the bank and why. The Greenacres woman was unable to recall the circumstances or what she had done with the funds.

However, the transaction was captured on video tape at the bank branch and photos of the suspect were distributed to Police Departments throughout Westchester County. On April 26th Scarsdale Detectives Albano and Rodriguez saw the man driving on Post Road. They stopped him in his car and identified him as the man in the video. Jon Musella, age 35 was placed under arrest and subsequently made a statement admitting that he was involved in the incident.

At his arraignment in Scarsdale court he was remanded to Westchester County Jail without bail.

Burglary: A home on Meadow Road was entered sometime during the day on April 19th. When the resident returned home at 5:20 pm he found that someone had pried open the door that leads to the kitchen. Coats and jewelry, valued at $18,000 were missing. The home is for sale and two days before two women had come to the door inquiring about the house. The resident let them in and showed them around. The homeowner suspects that the two women may have been involved in the burglary.

In another case involving suspicious homebuyers, an agent from Houlihan Lawrence called police on 4/22 when someone she took to see a Greenacres Avenue home acted strangely. The person who she took to look at the home identified himself as Eugene Segall but when the agent sent Segall a follow-up email she received a response from a man named Segall who had not contacted her about looking at a home. She realized that the potential buyer had supplied false identification. The homebuyers were described as a Hispanic couple driving a Hyundai or Toyota.

When the agent returned to the home the next morning, the key was missing from the lock box and it is unclear if another agent had it or if it was stolen.

Thieves: A woman who lives on Crossway parked her car at Scarsdale High School while she ran on the track on the afternoon of April 21st. When she returned to her 2009 Lexus, she found that the front passenger window was broken and later discovered that her wallet was missing as well as her credit cards.

On the night of April 24th, a Thornwood Place woman saw a man looking through her husband’s car which was parked at the house. She startled the intruder by knocking on the window of her house and he fled into his car and drove toward Black Birch Lane. The residents provided a limited description of the suspect and believe that others were in the getaway car as well.

A Trek bicycle, valued at $450 was stolen out of a Popham Road garage, sometime during the week of 4/15-4/21. The residents went away and inadvertently left the garage unlocked.

Harassed: A Webster Road woman complained that a friend who lives in Virginia was sending her harassing messages on her cell phone. Police contacted the man who apologized and agreed to stop contacting the woman.

On 4/24 a Brewster Road man complained of harassment from someone who had wanted to purchase his car. The Scarsdale man had accepted a down payment of $500 in cash for the car but wanted to return the money. The potential buyer was refusing to accept the refund and insisting he be sold the car.

Damage: An employee of a local business parked his 2010 Mazda at the Freightway Garage on the morning of April 15. When he returned to the car at 5:30 pm that same day he found a scratch on the left rear panel and door. Since he had a disagreement with someone at work, he suspected they may have done the damage. However the surveillance camera did not show any activity near the man’s car that day.

On the morning of 4/18 a Haverford Road man called to complain that his mailbox had been knocked over. The man believes that the newspaper deliveryman is to blame. Police called the newspaper carriers to inquire.

A Vernon Road resident complained on 4/19 that construction vehicles from a neighboring home were driving over her property and damaging her lawn. One of the workers said he would tell the contractor about the problem.

Falling Poles and Trees: A damaged utility pole in front of Hitchcock Church was found leaning on another pole on the morning of 4/20. Verizon was contacted to repair it. A large tree fell across Birchall Road and was reported on the morning of 4/21. Police called the highway department.

Missing: A Meadow Road woman came to police to report that she lost her gold tennis bracelet in Scarsdale between April 20 – 22. The bracelet is valued at $2,500.

Kids: At 10 pm on Saturday night police received a complaint about noisy kids congregating behind Quaker Ridge School. Police stopped two kids and had their parents pick them up. Loud kids were also reported in Correll Park at 10:30 pm on 4/23 and police asked them to leave the area.

Animals: A Quentin Road resident spotted a coyote in the neighborhood on 4/18. At 11 am on April 24, a cat got stuck in the soccer net at Quaker Ridge School. Police were able to free it.

From the Greenburgh Police - Trouble for Realtors

In another incident involving thefts at homes that are for sale, on 4/23 a Glenwood Road woman reported that over $5,000 in jewelry was missing from her home. The homeowner told police that realtors held an open house there on April 10th and she later realized that her jewelry was missing.

Furthermore, an agent from Remax agreed to show two men an apartment on Alexander Avenue in Hartsdale that was available for rent on 4/22. The two men only identified themselves as Robert and Kyle and refused to sign the disclosure form. Once inside the apartment they accused the agent of scamming them, claimed the price was too high and said they were going to report her to the Yonkers Police. The next day the agent received a phone message from “Robert” again claiming that he was reporting her to the Yonkers Police.

Theft: An outdoor light fixture, valued at $600 was stolen from the front lawn of a Clayton Road home in Scarsdale overnight on 4/18- 4/19.

A 2010 Mazda that was parked on Paradise Drive in Scarsdale was damaged overnight on 4/18-4/19. When the owner returned to the car she found that the sunroom had been smashed.

Tires and rims were stolen from a 2008 Honda parked at 370 Central Park Avenue Scarsdale overnight on 4/19 – 4/20. When the owner returned to his car the tires and rims were missing and he found it lying on two large rocks.

Heather Murphy, age 40 of the Bronx was caught stealing $415 of merchandise from TJ Maxx on Satruday 4/23. She was booked at Greenburgh Police and released on $250 bail.

Drugs: At 4 am on April 21 police followed a car along Secor Road because it had a loud muffler. While they were following the car, someone threw a clear plastic bag out of the passenger side window. Police recovered the bag and it contained nine plastic bags of marijuana. However, the people in the car claimed that they had borrowed the car and that the marijuana did not belong to them. They were issued traffic tickets.

Bomb? On the morning of April 21, police spotted a backpack at the Hartsdale station next to the rear warming booth. The backpack appeared to be full and not knowing what it contained, police cleared the area and contacted the MTA Police. They brought a bomb sniffing dog to the station and determinedthat the pack did not contain explosives. MTA Police opened the backpack and found that it held books and sneakers.

DWI? A 24 year-old White Plains woman was stopped by Greenburgh Police on Central Avenue at 5 am on 4/24 for a traffic violation. Police smelled alcohol on the woman’s breath but she refused to take a breathalizer test. She was taken to headquarters and issued a summons for failing to use the designated lane.

Nasty Neighbor: A Hartsdale woman complained that her neighbor allowed his dog to rip open a bag of garbage on her front lawn on Tuesday evening 4/19.