PD: Porch Pirates, Car Burglars, Cooking Oil Thieves Hit Westfield Last Week

WESTFIELD, NJ — Two cars were stolen from at the train station, Amazon packages were plucked from a porch and someone got away with 20 gallons of used cooking oil in town last week, Westfield Police said Wednesday.

A victim reported to police that his vehicle was burglarized sometime on Sept. 22 while parked in the South Avenue train station lot. According to the victim, an unknown person entered his vehicle and proceeded to damage the steering column, police said.

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The victim also reported that his New Jersey identification card, American Express credit card and $1,300 in cash were all stolen from the vehicle, police said. The victim was not sure if the vehicle was secured when parked, police said.

The same day, another person told police that his vehicle was also burglarized sometime while parked in the South Avenue train station lot. According to that victim, an unknown person entered his vehicle and proceeded to damage the steering column and ignition.

At the time of report, the victim was not able to determine if anything was removed or missing from the vehicle, police said. The victim was unsure if the vehicle was secured while parked in the lot, police said.

MORE: Westfield Police: Two Cars Stolen After Overnight Burglary on Dudley

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On Sept. 23, a resident of Cacciola Place reported that, at about 3 p.m., he noticed that someone had stolen a license plate from his motorcycle, which was parked on the front lawn of his property, police said.

A business on West South Avenue reported to police on Sept. 25 that someone had stolen approximately 20 gallons of used cooking oil, valued at about $60, according to police. The theft occurred over a timeframe of about a week, and was discovered when the third-party company contracted to retrieve the oil noticed that the container had been tampered with, police said.

The theft of used cooking oil, commonly known as “grease theft,” has become more common as it is sold to produce biodiesel, according to Evergreen Grease .

On Sept. 27, a resident of Walnut Street reported that she saw on her Ring Doorbell security camera that four packages were delivered to her residence that day at about 3:20 p.m. by Amazon, and were then stolen off the front porch by an unknown suspect.

The total value was estimated to be $100, police said.

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