
Police Blotter
By Joyce Farrell
June 21, 2024 – Fraud
A Pelham resident reported a check fraud to police headquarters. The resident had mailed a check for $58,800 to a business in Rockaway. He reported that the check was washed and that the name to whom it was made payable was replaced with that of an individual, who he does not know, and was fraudulently cashed.
June 20, 2024 – Aided Case
The Pelham Fire Department, Pelham EMS, and two police officers responded to a male’s call for medical assistance. After ingesting a prescribed antibiotic, he experienced body chills and cramping in his legs. He told the police officers that it was not the first time that it had happened. He was transported to Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital for further evaluation.
June 14, 2024 – Criminal Contempt
The Pelham Police Department (PPD) received a call from the New Rochelle Police Department informing PPD that they had been advised of a black Nissan Rogue in the area of Main and Division Streets with a Black female passenger screaming that she was being kidnapped. Investigation revealed that the vehicle was registered to a Pelham resident. Units were advised, and the vehicle was observed stopped at Third and Lincoln Avenues. A Pelham police officer reported to the location. The victim exited the vehicle from the front passenger seat, and the police officer spoke with the driver who said that they had just come from a storage unit in New Rochelle. PPD advised the officer that there were two full stay-away orders against the driver, a TPO (temporary order of protection), and an order of protection, both of which named the victim as the protected party. The driver was arrested.
June 13, 2024 – Fraud
Police responded to a call from a resident who reported that he had been the victim of a scam. He stated that at the beginning of April, he received a text message on WhatsApp from an unknown number. The perpetrator gave a name, and the complainant stated that the two spoke cordially for a few weeks. Then the perpetrator asked the complainant if he would like to invest money using cryptocurrency. The complainant agreed and knowingly and willingly sent $5,000 in cryptocurrency from his Coinbase account to the perpetrator. During May and June, he sent approximately $600,000 and did not receive any return on his investment. The complainant stated that the website provided by the perpetrator had a customer service option, but when he tried to use it, more money was requested. He believes that he was targeted in a pig slaughtering (or pig butchering) scam. The complaint was reported to the detective division.
June 8, 2024 – Suspicious Circumstance
The police were dispatched to a resident’s home because she was receiving alerts on her phone that an AirTag was near her location. She found it at the rear of her car near the exhaust pipe. She did not know who it belonged to or how it got there. The AirTag was taken into evidence, and a police detective was notified.
June 6, 2024 – Fraud
Police responded to a call from a resident who reported that he was the victim of a fraud. He has purchased a camera kit from someone on Facebook Marketplace for $5,050. The seller was to ship the items upon receipt of payment in his business partner’s Venmo account. The buyer was then given a FedEx tracking number for the package. When the package didn’t arrive on the designated date, the buyer checked with FedEx who informed him that the tracking number was not associated with his name or address. When he attempted to contact the seller and his business partner, the buyer discovered that the seller had used a false name, that of someone whose Facebook account had been hacked. He was advised to contact his bank, Venmo, and Facebook about the incident. A police detective was notified.