Several Burglaries Reported in Nutley

A number of thefts and a burglary were reported in Nutley earlier this month, including one incident where the suspect reportedly posed as a township employee, police said. 

On Jan. 12, a Park Avenue homeowner told police that sometime in the last few weeks, construction equipment and other items were taken from the backyard of the home. Taken were a front-loading bucket valued at $1,200, two sets of loading forks worth $450 and $750, and a $300 GPS unit from a vehicle.


On Jan. 14 at 3:19 pm, a woman reported that  a man wearing a green traffic vest, hard hat, an ID badge  and a walkie talkie came to her home claiming to be from the water department. The homeowner did not notice the name on the badge.

The man convinced the homeowner to allow him into the basement, where they remained for 20 minutes until the man told the homeowner he had to go upstairs briefly, adding that the homeowner should remain in the basement to keep an eye on the water level.

When the man failed to return after several minutes, the homeowner went upstairs. The man had left and the homeowner noticed several items missing, including $2,185 in cash, a Visa credit card, 12 savings bonds, a watch, rings, birth certificate, marriage license, life insurance policy, a will, a state ID card and a checkbook. The homeowner called police immediately.

The suspect was described as a 5’6”clean-shaven white male who appeared to be about 45 years old. 



Around 11:30 am Jan. 15, a  Hillside Avenue resident reported that someone kicked in the door of their residence and stole $2000 in jewelry, $385 cash, 2 BlackBerry cell phones valued at $250 each, and a GPS unit valued at $100. A truck filled with $400 worth of scrap metal was also driven from the site to a scrapyard and then returned to the address empty. A Chevy Trailblazer was also reported missing.

The victim told police he may know the suspect.


On Jan. 17 at 11:18 am, a burglary was reported in the area of Brittany Circle.  The victim stated that an actor/s came into the house and took six  watches valued at over $20,000.    There were no signs of forced entry anywhere in the house.