October 22, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 9 Wyckoff Police investigate burglaries, arrest suspect in one case by John Koster The Wyckoff Police Department has investigated three home burglaries and arrested and charged a suspect in one incident. A 23-year-old man who once resided at a home on Grand- view Avenue was found sleeping in a shed with a broken latch when police came out to investigate a burglary at an adjacent home. The owner of the Grandview Avenue house told police that a rear window’s screen had been removed in an attempt to enter the house and a window had been broken in an apparent attempt to enter. The man found in the shed, who has no known present address, was charged with burglary, possession of heroin, possession of narcotics paraphernalia, and possession of burglar tools. He was committed to Bergen County Jail in default of $5,000 bail. Wyckoff Police Sergeant Brian Zivkovich and Patrolman Terrance Murphy handled the investigation on Oct. 10. On Oct. 13, at 11:03 a.m., Wyckoff police responded to a Pace Drive home to investigate an activated burglar alarm. Sergeant Jack McEwan and Sergeant Brian Zivkov- ich discovered that an attempt had been made to pry open a rear door and this action activated an alarm and apparently caused the burglar to flee. Later that same afternoon, a Thomas Place resident came home to find the house burglarized. The house had been entered through a second floor rear window and jew- elry and a computer were reported stolen. On Oct. 15 at 11:18 a.m., a Brewster Road resident received a call from his contracted alarm company stating that his motion detector had been activated. The resident who received the call went home and found that someone had shattered the glass on the rear sliding door and left a hole large enough to walk through in the door pane. The activation of the motion detection, however, frightened the burglar and caused him to flee without stealing anything. A vehicle described as a late-model blue or green Nissan Altima may have been used by a perpetrator in the two most recent burglaries since the car was seen in the neigh- borhood and did not belong to a resident. “As the holidays approach, burglaries tend to be on the increase,” Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox noted. “Although these recent burglaries happened during the day- time hours, the early hours of darkness create the potential for burglary. Residents who do not arrive home from work Francin, Martone running unopposed Wyckoff Board of Education incumbents Anthony Robert Francin and Louisa Martone are running uncon- tested for re-election to the Wyckoff K-8 school board. First appointed to fill vacancies due to resignations in 2010, Francin and Martone were elected to their first full three-year terms in 2011. Francin, an attorney, has served as labor counsel for A&P Foods, and is a member of the Bergen County Child Placement Review Board. He is also a former president of the Manchester Regional Board of Education and has lived in Wyckoff since 2003. Martone is an adjunct professor at Monmouth Univer- sity, where she supervises student teachers. She has served as president of the Lincoln School PTO and has been active in Cub Scout activities in Wyckoff. She served as New Jersey State Director of the Academic Decathlon for eight years. She and her husband have lived in Wyckoff for 15 years. J. KOSTER until after dark should make sure that the lights in the home are turned on by timers. A completely darkened home in the early evening houses is an easier and clear sign that a home is unoccupied.” Detective Sergeant Michael Musto, Sergeant Zivkovich, and Patrolman Ryan Noon took part in the investigation of the two most recent burglaries, along with Sergeant Kevin Kasak and Patrolman William Plisich. An investigation into the two unsolved burglaries was under way at press time. Detective Sergeant Musto also filed forgery and theft charges against a 22-year-old Florida woman after she cashed a fraudulent check in the amount of $7,241 at a Wyckoff bank. She had been picked up in Allendale for a similar crime and faces an appearance in court.