Falafel Hut Owner Robbed

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 10:53am | COMMENTS (14)

On Sunday night around 9:30 pm, the owner of the Falafel Hut on Bellevue Avenue in Upper Montclair was walking through the parking lot when a man came up to him and asked for directions to Route 46.
While the business owner was pointing him in the right direction, the man punched him in the face and then demanded money.
The thief took off with an undetermined amount of cash and hopped in the backseat of a waiting four-door black car, possibly a Pontiac, police say.
Montclair Police say the suspect is a Hispanic man about 20 years old, standing around 5-foot-11, with a dark complexion and clean shaven face. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Adam Topps at 973-509-4717.

14 Comments

POSTED BY hrhppg | May 26, 2009 @ 11:06 am
Bloomfield seems crime lite compared to the muggings in Montclair.
POSTED BY Mrs. Martta | May 26, 2009 @ 11:13 am
Yes, no one seems to talk about the rising crime rate in Montclair, except Baristanet. I, for one, am grateful, as I like to be made aware of these things.
POSTED BY Sandy | May 26, 2009 @ 11:34 am
I am in the Watsesing Heights section of Blmfd. It seemed to me that there is very little crime here. So I stopped a police car coming down the street and inquired of him about crime in this area (that often gets a bad rap, from outsiders.) I was floored when he told me that the large rectangle formed by the boundries of Glenwood Ave on the East, Glen Ridge town line on the West, Bloomfield Avenue on the North and the East Orange Town-line on the South, are among the lowest crime occurances in the town! Stolen cars are higher than some other areas (people don’t use garages or Brake Pedal Clubs) ~ but that was the most oft reported crimes. (Also some stolen backyard patio furniture then & again.) But that hold-ups, shootings, beatings, armed robberies, rapes, etc were extremely low, almost unheard of in this rectangle.
POSTED BY banana split | May 26, 2009 @ 11:46 am
How horrible. I had two separate cars pull over next to me yesterday asking how to get to the iris gardens. I gave directions, but never for one moment let my guard down. Bad people are bad people, no matter what town they’re floating through.
POSTED BY Mrs. Martta | May 26, 2009 @ 11:55 am
Sandy: I think the muggers are going to where the “rich” people (as they perceive them) are.
Yes, crime can happen anywhere at any time. And the police do a pretty good job apprehending most of the bad guys. The buck seems to stop in court, though. Too many end up back on the sreet with nary a slap.
POSTED BY hrhppg | May 26, 2009 @ 11:57 am
I’m glad you went to a source Sandy, thanks for the post. I sometimes wonder if things aren’t being reported based on peoples attitudes toward the South End. Good to know there is nothing to report.
POSTED BY mandy939 | May 26, 2009 @ 12:03 pm
You can check the Montclair Times online- they have a police blotter section that lists everything. That’s where Baristanet seems to get their info a lot of the time.
POSTED BY Debbie Galant | May 26, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
mandy939,
Not true. We march down to the police station just like the Montclair Times does.
POSTED BY Sandy | May 26, 2009 @ 12:31 pm
When we as good people leave out home, face it..bad stuff can & will happen anywhere! Fromcar accidents, to being mugged, to you name it. But……. in & around our collective homes we do have a dime’s worth of control.
* first Floor window locks
* Use the locks you have ALL the time !
* Keep back yard & decks UNlit when nobody is enjoying them. Do not illuminate them for the world to see. Thieves like good quality patio sets.
* Do not leave out lawnmowers, grills and the like
* Keep garage door closed & locked
* Put cars in there, not on street & if on street ALWAYS use a BRAKE CLUB, not a steering wheel club, they can be removed in 10 seconds. YOU don’t know how, but the 17 year olds know how. BRAKE CLUBs are impossible to defeat !
& A barking dog is a good investment!
* Do not rear your Rolex when you go for a walk in the park ! Common Sence. THIMK as the sign used to say.
POSTED BY Jim | May 26, 2009 @ 1:04 pm
Do not rear your Rolex when you go for a walk in the park.
Well, thats the disgusting thought of the day.
And, yes, common sense would say that garages are for storing cars, but there seems to be an American cultural tradition of using them as extra storage for all of our stuff instead, and the cars can go on the driveways and streets instead.
POSTED BY Spiro T. Quayle | May 26, 2009 @ 1:07 pm
If I am correct, the owner of the Felafel Hut is a fellow who is about 5′-2 and who walks with a pronounced limp.
Nice job, Mr. Mugger – picking on someone like that. You must be a real tough guy.
POSTED BY Sandy | May 26, 2009 @ 1:42 pm
C’mon cut me some slack “WEAR” – it was a darn TYPO as I was fighting off a mugger whilst I was typing.
His friend was busy stealing my Lincoln outta the crotch and there was a guy ringing my doorbell to come inside & check the upstairs furnace!
POSTED BY diane | May 26, 2009 @ 7:22 pm
sorry to hear this, the owner is a very nice guy. and they have the BEST hummus in the world!!
POSTED BY april | May 28, 2009 @ 7:24 pm
sad to learn this too.

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