The Verona Police Department is working with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the Sunday night home invasion that left a Verona senior citizen with a fractured elbow.
“They offered a significant presence and we accepted it,” said Captain Mitchell Stern on Tuesday.
As MyVeronaNJ.com reported first on Monday morning, the police got an anonymous call and responded to a Grove Avenue house at 11:40 p.m. They found a senior citizen tied up and upset, and transported her to the hospital. She is recovering now with her family. (Family members asked that the name of the victim and her address not be disclosed.)
Stern stressed that the investigation is still ongoing. As a result, the police are not releasing much information about the incident.
The VPD sent out a Nixle alert earlier today asking the public to be vigilant. “Nobody knows your street as well as you do,” Stern said. “If you see something that seems suspicious, it probably is. If your dog is barking and that’s out of the ordinary, it’s probably worth calling us.” Stern added that he would rather have the public call with things that don’t check out than dismiss a gut feeling. “If you call us and it’s nothing, we’re not going to laugh.”
The Nixle message said that there have been several burglaries in town lately. Stern said the VPD is looking at all of them to see if there is a connection to the home invasion. Verona Police Chief Doug Huber said yesterday that there has not been a home invasion in Verona “in many years”.
If you have a tip, please call the Verona Police Department at 973-239-5000.
