Deerfield Lane Homeowner Wakes Up to Find Stranger Sleeping on his Couch

This week frorm the Scarsdale Police: On May 2, a Deerfield Road homeowner woke up to find a shirtless stranger asleep on his couch. He did not know who the man was or how he got there. Three patrol units arrived at the house and questioned the stranger. The stranger said he had been with friends in White Plains the previous night. He remembers being "significantly intoxicated," walking for a long time (thinking he was heading toward Hawthorne), lying down and going to sleep. According to police, it appeared that the man entered the Deerfield Road house through an unlocked rear sliding glass door. On scene investigation revealed that the man was mistaken and confused, and he did not intend to commit a crime. The door showed no signs of forced entry, and no items were missing from the house. The man was pleasant and apologetic. The homeowner did not wish to pursue the matter further, and the man left by taxi.

Arrest
On April 28, police arrested Caroline Diaz, 25, of Mount Vernon, on charges of third-degree possession of a forged instrument and third-degree unlawful possession of personal ID. The charges were related to an incident that occurred on March 26, during which Diaz attempted to cash a fake Chase check at a Yonkers bank. The check had been made payable to Caroline Diaz for $823.56 and had been written against a Scarsdale resident's account. At that time, the bank teller became suspicious of the check and did not process it. According to Diaz, she received the check from a friend "Samantha" whom she had known for two months. The friend said she received the check from a man named "Johnny," whom Diaz had never met. After being booked and processed, Diaz was released on her own recognizance. She was ordered to answer charges at Scarsdale Village Justice Court on May 6.

Domestic trouble
An Edgewood woman reported her husband was verbally abusing her in an argument April 30. Police advised the couple to stay away from each other in separate parts of the house that night.

Identity theft
On May 1, a Bradford Road resident reported he was the victim of credit card fraud. At least four fraudulent charges were made to his Citibank credit card account.
On May 1, a Brookline Road man told police someone filed a fraudulent tax return, using his name and Social Security number.
On May 2, a Black Birch Lane woman told police someone filed a fraudulent tax return, using her name and Social Security number.
On May 2, a Franklin Road man told police someone filed a fraudulent tax return, using his name and Social Security number.

Harassment
On May 1, a Brambach Road man reported that one of his former employees showed up in front of his house, demanding an apology for being dismissed from his job at the man's company. The man asked the former employee to leave, and the employee complied. The man wanted police to document the incident because he had already filed harassment charges against the man with New York City police.

Ice cup
A neighbor allegedly threw a cup of ice at a White Road man April 28. The incident was allegedly related to an ongoing dispute the two men were having about the location of the neighbor's parked car with respect to the property line on their shared driveway. The neighbor neither confirmed nor denied throwing ice at the man, but she said he was having a "bad day" and was irritated by the man taking pictures of his parked car. Police advised the men about the process that could be used to resolve their civil matter.

Scam
A Chase Road business owner was contacted by a person pretending to work for Con Edison April 27. The person said the business's electricity would be turned off if the business did not pay $490, allegedly "the deposit on a new meter." As per the caller's instructions, the owner went to CVS, purchased a pre-paid "Net Spend" card and provided the caller with the card's code numbers. A few hours later, the owner received a call from another person who also alleged to be from Con Edison. This second caller requested more money for a different Con Edison account. The owner then realized the calls were part of a scam. She tried to cancel the "Net Spend" card, but someone had already drained the cash from it.

Computer hacking
On April 27, a Scarsdale middle school teacher reported someone hacked into her personal email account on April 13 and sent fraudulent emails to her financial portfolio manager. The emails allegedly asked the portfolio manager to transfer money out of one of teacher's accounts. Since the teacher lives in Manhattan, police advised her to follow up with New York City police.

Fraudulent checks
On April 30, a Kingston Road woman reported someone was drawing fraudulent checks on her bank account. One check was cashed for $2,300, and another attempt was made in the amount of $2,305. Her account has since been closed and the bank's fraud department is following up.

Unwanted email and mail
On April 28, a Tunstall Road resident reported receiving an unwanted email from a person with whom she did not want to have contact. This person had been previously advised by police to refrain from contacting the resident in November 2013. According to the resident, she had been acquainted with the person while on the same track team in high school during the 1970s. In a recent email, the person made reference to the resident allegedly viewing his LinkedIn profile and expressed hop that they could "reconnect after 40 years." Police called the person to advise him to leave the resident alone.
A Madison Road woman reported receiving unwanted mail April 28. Police read the unwanted mail and felt it was not criminal in nature. The woman said she would try to handle the matter on her own.

Help
An elderly man with dementia became disoriented while walking the dog, while visiting grandchildren on Tunstall Road May 1. A New Rochelle police officer came across the man and tried to help him by calling Scarsdale police. While en route to Marion Drive, in New Rochelle, where the man was waiting with the New Rochelle police officer, Scarsdale police encountered the man's wife. She said her husband was lost. Police told her he was safe with NRPD. The man's wife picked up her husband and was grateful for police assistance.

Parked car
A woman reported a "suspicious white car" was parked outside a flower shop on Harwood Court for approximately three or fours hours April 27. Patrol spoke with the driver who said he was a delivery person for the florist.

Scofflaw, accidents
Police called for a tow to remove a car involved in a parking ticket scofflaw April 28. The owner of the car owed $610 for accumulated parking tickets. The owner of the car returned before police had it towed.
Six car accidents were reported in the village this week.

Dogs
Police reunited a lost Chihuahua with its owner, after a passerby found the dog loose near Crossway field, May 2.

Village code
Police advised a solicitor, who was working on Johnson and Carman roads, that he needed a permit to solicit in the village April 30. He was given a verbal warning and picked up by his boss.
On May 1, police dispersed a group of kids gathering in the street at Butler and Kensington roads.
After nearby residents complained about loud music coming from Fenway Golf Club after 10 p.m., May 2, police spoke with the club manger, who advised she would instruct the DJ to lower the volume.

Lost wallets
On April 27, a man reported losing his wallet after using it at the Shell station at Post and Popham roads. About an hour later, a passerby found the wallet and brought it to headquarters. Police contacted the owner, who came to headquarters to retrieve the wallet.
A person found a wallet on Post Road and gave it to police May 1. It contained two Scarsdale High School ID cards, a devit card, a Metro card, a credit card, cash and receipts.
On May 2, a Montrose Road woman reported her children's babysitter lost a black Velcro wallet at Greenacres playground on April 29.

Fire

Firefighters stood by for Con Edison at the site of an outside gas odor in sewers at Heathcote Road and Crossway April 27.

A painter using a gas-powered pressure washer in a Harvest Drive basement caused elevated levels of carbon monoxide throughout the house April 28.Firefighters advised the painters about the risks of carbon monoxide and used a large electric fan to ventilate the house.

Firefighters helped a resident retrieve keys that had fallen into a storm drain on Crossway April 29.

Firefighters stood by as Metro North personnel extinguished a smoldering wooden railroad tie on the northbound Metro North Railroad tracks near the Scarsdale train station April 30.

Firefighters removed a fallen telephone wire from Heathcote Road May 1.

Firefighters checked a malfunctioning stove in a Heathcote Road house and advised the homeowner to have the appliance serviced May 2.

Firefighters could not identify the source of a smoke odor in the area of Shawnee and Cohawney roads May 3. They thought the odor might be drifting over from a large, ongoing brush fire in parkland in the Palisades.

This week, firefighters responded to four false water flow detection alarms, two false carbon monoxide alarms and seven false fire alarms caused by device malfunction and burnt toast.

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