Masked Gunman Robs Scarsdale Home
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This just in from the Scarsdale Police: at 2:10 in the afternoon on Thursday November 11, a masked gunman entered a home at 315 Heathcote Road in Scarsdale. Since there were no signs of a forced entry, police believe the perpetrator or perpetrators came in through an unlocked door.
On the second floor of the house, the gunman encountered a 41 year-old housekeeper, forced her to the ground and bound her hands behind her back with duct tape. They taped her ankles together, partially covered her mouth with tape and pushed her into a second floor bathroom. After the intruder left the house, the woman was able to loosen the tape and free herself. She reached for her cell phone and called the homeowners who called the police. Though the victim was not hurt she was extremely distraught.
The second and third floors of the home were heavily tossed but nothing has been reported missing. From the report, Scarsdale detectives believe that the house was targeted, as most burglars prefer not to encounter people and flee if residents are home. This does not appear to be a standard home burglary nor is it believed to be connected with the other home burglaries that have recently occurrred in town.
Todd Wolleman, a neighbor said, “It’s very disturbing that this type of incident would happen in Scarsdale. This is highly unusual – we’re not used to this type of thing happening in broad daylight. It’s too early to jump to any conclusions about what happened so I will reserve judgment until I learn more.”
Police are asking neighbors to report any suspicious activity in the area and hope that anyone who saw anyone near the house on Thursday afternoon will call 722-1200. The Westchester County Police came to the scene to assist in locating the physical evidence and Scarsdale Police distributed flyers in the vicinity of the home asking for information.
Fish Tales, Thefts and More from the Scarsdale Police
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Koi Caper: Vernon Road residents reported that 20 Koi fish, valued at $3,000.00 were stolen from an artificial pond at their home. The resident’s found a fish net next to the pond that was apparently used to remove the fish from the pond. There are no suspects or witnesses.
Broken Glass: In the third burglary in as many weeks, there was a break-in at a Birchall Road home on Friday night November 5. The caretaker who lives at the home noticed that the phone line was illuminated and searched the house to find a phone that had been knocked off the receiver. He came upon a broken glass pane in a living room door as well as the dislodged the phone. At the time the man thought the glass had simply broken and he covered the hole with some artwork.
However, the next morning the caretaker found pry marks on the outside of the door and a hole large enough for someone to climb through to enter the house. Police suspect that it was a burglary attempt but it is unknown if entry was made or anything was stolen.
Identity Theft: An Aspen Road man came to police on 11/2 to report that three credit cards that had been delivered to his home were stolen. A total of $9,458.70 in purchases was made on the cards. The man had opened three new credit card accounts for himself, his wife and his daughter. When the cards failed to arrive, he contacted the bank and found out that the cards had been delivered by UPS on 10/25 and had subsequently been used to make numerous purchases.
Thefts: A leaf blower was stolen from a Scarsdale Village highway truck when it was parked in Scarsdale Village on 11/2. The leaf blower is valued at $500.
On November 1, a snowplow, valued at $4,800 was stolen from the parking lot of the Scarsdale Congregational Church at 1 Heathcote Road.
A Heathcote woman claimed that someone stole her $890 prescription glasses from her purse when she was shopping in Scarsdale Village on November 4th.
Fight: On the afternoon of November 1 a Greenacres man reported that someone was pushing and shoving another person at the bus stop at Post and Fenimore Roads. Police went out to investigate and found two disabled teens who were out for some exercise and play.
Sideswiped: A Chateaux Circle woman came to police headquarters on the morning of 11/2 to report that her car was sideswiped by a Bee Line Bus on Post Road in front of the high school.
Dispute: Greg Jahner from Wildlife Services in Brewster came to police to report that he was not paid for work he did for a Claremont Road family. The family called him to remove a bird from their family room signed a contract for the work and then gave Jahner a check for $322.00 for his services. However, the residents later cancelled the check, as they were not happy with the amount. Police advised Jahner that this is a civil matter.
Gas Leak: Scarsdale firefighters had to force their way into a Stonehouse Road home on 11/3 to stop a gas leak under the front lawn. The police and Con Edison were called as well.
Parking Advisory: Scarsdale Village Police want to advise residents about parking restrictions that are in force from November 1 to March 31. All overnight parking between 2 am and 6 am is prohibited and cars found on any Scarsdale streets between those hours will be ticketed.
Waiting Game for the Candidates in the State Senate Race
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It looks like we may not know the winner of the race for the 37th District State Senate seat until after Thanksgiving. As of this morning, 80,328 votes have been counted and incumbent Senator Suzi Oppenheimer leads challenger Bob Cohen by just 466 votes.
However, two districts remain uncounted as well as a reported 7,000 absentee, military, emergency and affidavit ballots.
According to an email from the Cohen campaign, a judge has “set the schedule” for the counting of the remaining ballots. The count for the emergency ballots will start on November 12, with the count of the absentee and military ballots set to begin on November 19. Still later, the affidavit ballots will be counted, at a yet to be determined date.
Why the delay? As soon as we know, we’ll pass the information on to you.
Updated Counts for the Oppenheimer Cohen Race
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New results posted on the Westchester County Board of Elections website continue to show a very close race for the 37th District State Senate seat currently held by Suzi Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer, the Democratic incumbent now shows 40,397 votes with Republican Bob Cohen at 39,931. The gap between the two candidates has now widened to 466 votes over the 180 vote difference reported on November 3rd.
However, according to the Journal News , two election districts have not been counted along with thousands of absentee ballots. The ballot tabulation is anticipated to take several weeks.
Teen Arrests Mar a Quiet Halloween
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Five Scarsdale teenagers were arrested during the Halloween weekend for activities that had little to do with tricks or treats. A 17-year-old boy was pulled over at 2:45 am on October 31 because he had the high beams on while driving on the Post Road. Police found beer cans in the car and the boy was arrested for unlawful possession of alcohol and failure to dim his lights.
On Halloween, a 17 year-old girl dropped her license on Barry Road where someone found it and turned it over to the police. When she went to headquarters to pick it up, police determined that it was a forged Delaware license and she was arrested for possession of a forged instrument, which is a Class D felony. She was released pending a future court date.
A 17-year-old boy was pulled over on Halloween when he failed to stop at a stop sign at the corner of Boulevard and Madison Roads. The officer asked for his license, and rather than pulling out his valid license, he presented a forged New York State driver’s license by mistake. He was given a summons for going through the stop sign and charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument.
At 10:35 pm on Sunday night, a car was pulled over when it crossed the yellow line while driving on Weaver Street. The officer smelled marijuana in the car and found a large bag at the feet of a passenger riding in the car. The 18-year-old passenger claimed ownership of the marijuana as well as some rolling papers, a glass pipe and a small scale. In addition, the boy had a forged Maryland license in his possession. He was arrested for unlawful possession of marijuana, criminal use of drug paraphernalia and possession of a forged instrument. He was released on $500 cash bail pending a future court date.
On Friday night October 29 at 10:15 pm, police found a large group of kids outside the Girl Scout House on Wayside Lane. Though many of the kids fled on foot when the police arrived, police did catch an inebriated 17-year-old boy holding an open can of Coors Light Beer. He was given a summons for consuming alcohol on public property and taken home to his mother.
At midnight on Saturday October 30, police went to talk to the occupants of a parked car on Popham Road and found that one of the girls in the car was sick from drinking too much. None of the other occupants of the car were drunk and they would not tell police where the 18-year-girl had been drinking. Police called the sick girl’s father and he came by to pick her up.
At 3:30 am on October 29th, police saw a N.Y.C taxi pull over on Palmer Avenue. A passenger got out of the cab, and spoke briefly to the driver. Then the policeman saw the passenger start to run into the parking lot and the cab driver got out of the car and yelled “help, stop him”. Police pursued the fleeing passenger into the lot, where he slipped and fell. Police found that he was drunk and running from the cab to avoid paying the $80.00 fare from Grand Central Station in Manhattan. The 23 year-old passenger was detained and later arrested for theft of services for failing to pay the driver. The man was released to his mother, a Sylvan Road resident, on $100 bail.
Leigh Murray, age 26 of Yonkers was arrested at 3:30 am on October 26th when police were conducting traffic stops on Garth Road. Ms Murray, driving a 1999 Volkswagen was found to be drunk with a BAC of .22. She had bloodshot eye, spoke with slurred speech and swayed. She was handcuffed and taken to police headquarters for booking where was placed in the holding cell, photographed, fingerprinted and released on $240 bail to a friend from White Plains at 6 am. Murray was charged with driving while intoxicated, and driving to the left of the pavement markings.
On October 29, Frank Fraioli, age 46 of White Plains, was arrested on a bench warrant for failing to appear in Scarsdale court. He was sent to jail until his court date on November 3rd. His original offense was stealing chewing gum from the 7-11 on Garth Road.
Burglary: In an incident that is similar to the break-in on Eton Road last week, police responded to a burglar alarm on Sheldrake Road at 8:30 pm on October 30th. They found a shattered rear glass door and a piece of Belgian block on the ground. Though no one was around, the master bedroom was tossed. Jewelry was stolen and the residents will compile a list of the missing items.
Theft: During the early morning hours of 10/28, a 2008 white Lexus 570 was stolen from the driveway of a Horseguard Lane home. The car was valued at $80,000.
Drunk: A woman was reported to be walking on the Bronx River Parkway at 2:32 am on 10/29. Scarsdale Police picked her up and found that she was drunk. SVAC transported the woman, who identified herself as Rita Delfini of Eastchester, to the White Plains Emergency Room.
Lost: Tzu-Chien Ju, age 59 of Palmer Avenue was reported lost at 8 pm on the evening of October 28th. She suffers from dementia and left the house on foot at 7 pm. The 5’2”, 110 pound woman had last been seen walking on Palmer Avenue carrying a plastic bag. Police searched the area for her and notified the Fire Department, SVAC and Central Taxi and also generated a hotline call to all Westchester agencies, the Westchester County Beeline bus, the MTA police and Westchester County control and they all participated in a search. Sergeant Siciliano of the Scarsdale police found the woman on Foxhall Road at 9:48 pm and she was evaluated by paramedics and returned home.
Car break-ins: Black Birch Lane residents reported that the front drivers window and front passenger window of their 1994 Dodge had been broken sometime between October 20 and 30.
During the night of October 25-26, there was a spate of car break-ins:
- The right front passenger window of a 2010 Honda CRV parked in the driveway of a Brookby Road was broken and an iPod was stolen.
- On Secor Road the resident believes that someone entered her 2008 Mercedes SUV and took her purse. The bag contained credit cards, a driver’s license, a Blackberry, $40 in cash and an Apple iPod.
- Also on Secor Road the passenger side window of a car was broken and a black purse containing a Louis Vuitton wallet, cash, prescription eyeglasses and an Apple iTouch were stolen.
- The rear passenger window of a 1998 Honda parked in a Quentin Road driveway was broken and two textbooks were taken.
- The passenger window of a 2008 BMW parked on Wynmor Road was broken and a black leather jacket was stolen.
More incidents occurred on the night of October 27-28.
- An Acura car key and a cell phone were taken from an unlocked 2009 Acura parked on Hathaway Road.
- A pair of Nike tennis shoes and a black dress were stolen from the trunk of an unlocked 2008 Mercedes parked in a driveway on Axtell Road.
- Also on Axtell Road, $12.00 in quarters was stolen from an unlocked car parked there overnight.
A Wynmor Road woman reported that $4,700 had been withdrawn from her Citibank account without her authorization on September 18. A withdrawal slip with a forged signature along with i.d. had been presented to a teller who remitted the funds. The incident is under investigation by the Citibank fraud unit.
Missing: Sometime between 10/24 and 10/28 an 18 speed Raleigh bicycle, valued at $450 was stolen from a Foxhall Place garage. Two campaign signs for Suzi Oppenheimer were removed from a Fox Meadow Road home on October 29th.
Lost: A Rectory Lane woman reported that she lost an 18 carat gold bracelet with multi-colored stones when she was walking on Rectory Lane on Saturday October 23rd. A Burgess Road woman reported that her silver and diamond Bedet watch, valued at $6,000 was missing from her home.
Accident: A Hazelton Drive woman, driving through the Scarsdale High School parking lot was hit by a school bus. The bus driver said that he did not see her car.
Harassed: A Mamaroneck Road woman received a note at her door from an estranged relative asking for help on October 26th. The relative also went to the resident’s husband’s place of business to contact him. The Scarsdale woman had not been in contact with the relative for 25 years and did not wish to speak with her. She asked the police to intervene.
A Gaylor Road man called police on October 27 for help getting rid of an unwanted visitor who had come to the house to make amends for a fight. Police asked the visitor to leave and he did so, without incident.
At 12:20 am on October 31, police were called to a Cushman Road home on a report that a fight was in progress. Police found some kids running from the scene, but there was no fighting going on.
At 1 am on October 31st, a Brewster Road woman reported an argument with her husband. Police mediated and everyone went to bed.
On the morning of October 28 a 9-year-old girl fainted in class at the Fox Meadow School. SVAC was called and took the girl to White Plains Hospital
Rocks: A Pinecrest Road man complained to police that kids threw rocks at his car when it was parked on Church Lane at 11:15 pm on Saturday night October 30. No damage was done to the car.
Found and turned over to police:
- A white and blue cell phone on Nelson Road at 9 pm on 10/31
- A Lexus ignition key and a BMW ignition key
- A Tiffany key ring with a car key in front of Starbucks on East Parkway
- A bicycle on Larch Lane
Coyote sightings:
- At 84 Garden Road at 3 pm on October 25
- At 97 Garden Road at 4:30 on 10/25
- At 92 Sheldrake Road at 5:51 on 10/25
- At 239 Mamaroneck Road at 9:47 pm on 10/25
- At 25 Mamaroneck Road on 10/27 at 7 pm
- At 50 Catherine Road at 8 am on 10/28
- At 166 Secor Road at 8:12 am on 10/28
- At Sycamore Road at 8:22 am on 10/28 – caller reports that a coyote attacked her dog but the woman scared the coyote off and the dog was okay.
- At 29 Black Birch Lane at 9:50 am on 10/28
- At 55 Park Road at 6:07 pm on 10/28
