Crime & Safety

Can't Get Your Money for Nothing

A $5 ATM fee is steep, but was it worth this response? Also this week in OMGs from NJ PDs, a knife-wielding stalker makes it easy for police to find him.

Each week, Patch combs through the more shocking, surprising and often absurd alleged criminal acts and police-related incidents that unfold throughout New Jersey. Here’s what went on this week for “OMGs from NJ PD.”

ATM Fee Avenger: An ATM fee cost Morristown’s Craig Nichols $5, a boatload of snack food, his freedom, his leg mobility and probably a sizable chunk of his dignity. But, hey, no bail charge—that’s a plus! Morristown Police say Nichols, 37, took up a one-man protest against a $5 ATM fee at a local 7-Eleven by deducting the amount from his junk food bill. Let’s just say it went downhill from there. So downhill that Nichols ended up in a jail cell, where he used wet toilet paper to cover a security camera. That earned him a pair of ankle shackles for the duration of his stay before he was released on his own recognizance. Oh, and we probably don’t have to tell you this, but police claim Nichols was drunk during the ATM rage.

Rock Hound By Day, Jailbird By Night: Mark Bianchi’s alleged treasure hunt didn’t sit too well with New Jersey Fish and Wildlife officers, who reportedly saw the 57-year-old Brooklyn man pull an Andy Dufresne and pocket to some rocks. Only problem was, these “50 rocks with crystals” were in Weldon Quarry, where officials say Bianchi allegedly shimmied under a fence to gain access. These crystals don’t have healing powers and Bianchi shouldn’t expect to make a killing on the black market, either. The Watchung quarry is home to trap rocks, aka rocks used in plain old concrete.

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Not the Brightest Bulb: Some people don’t know when to call it quits. But that actually worked out well for a stalking victim, who reported a man following her with a knife. Jefferson Police say 21-year-old Cody Evans, of West Milford, allegedly stalked a 47-year-old woman all the way to the police department, where he was taken into custody with the evidence in hand. Even the police admit this one was “one of the easier arrests we’ve had.”

All information comes from the police department named. An arrest is not a conviction.

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