Man Hunt, Scam and Smashed Mailboxes from the Police

Missing Young Man: At 3:30 am on the morning of June 6th a concerned Fox Meadow mother called police to say that her 20 year-old son, Andrew R. Ehrlich was missing. He was last seen at 37 Innes Road and police learned from the boy’s friends that they had already been searching for him for an hour. Police searched Innes Road, the Heathcote School, Wynmoor Park, the Heathcote bypass, St. Pious Church, Correll Park, Franklin Road and Sycamore Roads. Ehrlich, a student at Lafayette College, had been at a party on Franklin Road near midnight on 6/5 and was said to be highly intoxicated. He had originally planned to sleep at 37 Innes Road but left there and could not be found.

Scarsdale police called the Fire Department to help and they used a thermo-scanner in the search. Police also notified the Westchester County police who sent a canine officer to assist. As part of the effort, Police called Verizon and they traced Ehrlich’s cell phone signal and said it was near 37 Innes Road. His last phone call had been made at 1 am to Gianni Dematteo of 56 Secor Road. Police went to the Secor Road home and found Ehrlich asleep at his friend’s house at 6 am, nearly three hours after they had begun their search. Ehrlich was taken home to Kensington Road by the Scarsdale Police and released to his parents.

Vandalism: Seven mailboxes on Bradford Road were smashed and knocked off their support posts between 11:30 pm on 6/5 and 1:30 am on 6/6. Residents at 20, 21, 22, 25, 28 31 and 40 Bradford Road sustained damage to their mailboxes during the spree. There were reports of noisy kids in the area at that time but no suspects were found.

Duped: Anthony Scarcella, age 80 of Barker Lane was the victim of a scam that cost him $2,965.00 on June 1st. He received a call from a girl who identified herself as his 18 year-old granddaughter. She claimed that she was driving in Canada with two other girls where they was stopped by the police and drugs were found in the car. Furthermore, she was administered a drug test that yielded negative results but she needed money to hire a lawyer. Then another woman, who identified herself as Barbara Johnson, a police officer, got on the line and told Mr. Scarcella that “if he didn’t send the money his granddaughter would go to jail and have a record.” She said the money would need to be sent to Spain to avoid taxes. Scarcella was advised to send a wire transfer for $2,965 to Helen Massuci, 177 Gardo Road, Valenzia, Spain and he went to the Western Union at the A&P on Quaker Ridge Road in New Rochelle to send it. Copies of the receipt were given to the police.

Mr. Scarcella later learned that his granddaughter had been in Poland, not Canada, for the past two weeks and was due to return home that day. Police spoke to the granddaughter who had no information about the scam.

Cars Entered: Thieves entered three more unlocked cars and stole what they found this week. At 31 Brite Avenue, a 2004 Toyota was entered overnight from 6/3-6/4 and the owner lost her camera, blackberry, credit cards and identification cards. That same night a BMW and a Toyota parked at 42 Huntington Road were entered and cash and coins were taken. On the night of 6/1-6/2, a car parked at 45 Walworth was entered and the victim’s wallet containing $350 in cash, credit cards and a Metro North monthly pass was taken.

Burglary Attempt: An Oak Way woman reported damage to her front door on the morning of 6/1 that may have been the result of an attempted burglary. There was damage to the paint and the metal frame around the door lock. No one heard or saw anything suspicious.

Forged Checks: A Cushman Road woman found that someone had used her personal checks to make $7,890 in payments to Mercedes Benz, NYS Income Tax and the North Country Trails Association. She reported the incident to police on 6/5. She spoke to her Chase branch manager who refused to identify the forger but said he had an account at the branch. The forger had $4,756 in missing funds deposited into the victim’s account and said that the balance of the stolen funds would be deposited by Monday. The bank manager did not explain what had happened and Police advised the victim to close her account.

Graffiti: At 4 am on 6/4 police were called to Rodney Road due to a noise complaint. While searching the area they found some kids making graffiti in the road.. The suspects feld but left behind a can of red spray paint and graffiti on the pavement and on a garbage can on Jefferson Road. Pictured were a Star of David and a BBC tag that is similar to the “Big Bag Crew” tag found a few years ago.

A woman who lives near the corner of Mamaroneck and Palmer Roads found a small piece of paper in her flower bed that said “KILL JEWS” on the morning of June 1. The note was written on the back of a receipt but there was no company name on the paper. The woman was concerned for her safety and reported the incident to the police.

Arrest: Matthew McIntosh of Old Greenwich was stopped by police while driving a green Landrover on Heathcote Road on the morning of June 3rd. He had been speaking on a cell phone. McIntosh had no driver’s license and a check of his record showed that his driving privileges had been suspended twice for failures to answer two summons’ in North Salem and Amenia, N.Y. The license plates on the car were registered for another vehicle and he admitted that he had removed the plates from a Ford and put them on his Landrover. He also had no proof of ownership of the car. His car was impounded and towed and McIntosh was issued summons’ for cell phone use, improper use of plates and a broken windshield.

Animals: Marta Murphy who walks the dog for Cooper Road residents came to police to report an incident that occurred on the afternoon of 6/3. She was walking the homeowner’s Black Labrador puppy at 28 Cooper she two large Golden Retrievers charged toward her and the puppy. While trying to flee into the house with the puppy she fell and scraped her leg. A woman from 29 Cooper came and took control of the golden retrievers. She said she was visiting 29 Cooper with her dogs for a play date and did not give any further information. She did not offer to assist Ms. Murphy.

Police received a call about an opossum at the playground at the Girl Scout House. They found the animal that appeared to be fine and relocated it to a wooded area on the morning of June 2nd.

A dog was found at the intersection of Bradley and Locust Roads on the afternoon of June1. Police assisted in locating the dog’s owner and bringing the dog home.

A dog broke free from its leash on Mamaroneck Road on Sunday 6/6, in reaction to a bicyclist. Unfortunately, the Bijan Frise ran into Mamaroneck Road where it was struck and killed by a Mazda driven by a woman from Granite Springs, New York.

Neighbors at Colonial Road and Mayflower Road were engaged in a dispute about tree pruning on June 5. Police advised them to resolve their differences via the building department.

A caller advised police that Chat American Grill had placed tables on the sidewalk of Christie Place in violation of Village code at noon on 6/6. Police spoke to the restaurant manager who was unaware of the rules and agreed to move the tables back inside.

A Puritan Road man reported that his ex-wife failed to drop off his daughter for visitation on the afternoon of June 1st

A Bronxville woman needed assistance at the corner of Popham and Garth Road at 7:30 on June 2nd. When police arrived the woman said that she felt sick from a few drinks and agreed to take a cab home.

Car Trouble: A Brookfield Road resident who had been instructed not to drive due to a medical condition attempted to take out his car around noon on 6/4. Police were called to stop him. The man’s cardiologist was called on the phone and the doctor concurred that the man could become faint or impaired without warning. The man agreed to permit his driver to drive for the day.

A driver exiting the DeCicco’s lot on the afternoon of 6/3 hit the curb, confused the brake with the accelerator and ran into a car traveling east on Christie Place. The driver was indentified as Shirley Ruckhaus, age 82 of Garth Road. No injuries were reported.

Anthony Postiglione of Vernon Drive, Scarsdale was driving a 2009 Nissan at 11 PM on Tuesday 6/1 eastbound on Heathcote Road when he drove off the roadway, hit a telephone pole and several trees and came to a stop in the opposite direction. The driver left the scene but was later taken to White Plains Hospital for treatment.