YOU could help catch North Jersey burglar

If you see a silver Nissan with California plates, call police: He could be a burglar who’s been trying to hit homes in North Jersey, said Acting Washington Township Police Chief Randy Ciocco.

Police first got wind of the bandit’s appearance Monday afternoon, when a Harrison Street resident told officers a bald black man -- roughly 6 feet tall -- tried offering landscaping services after she found him on her property. The woman apparently scared him off, Ciocco said.

It was only a little while later, that a Crest Place resident came to Washington Township Police Headquarters and said he heard a noise in the basement, then found a man fitting the same description as the would-be landscaper on his property.

“The man told the homeowner that he was in the area to do some landscaping work, and he must have been at the wrong residence,” Ciocco said. He then took off.

No landscaping trucks or equipment were reported seen. However, the residents both reported the man driving off in the same silver Nissan with California plates.

Now that Detective Sgt. John Calamari (201-666-1140 x115) has begun investigating, with evidence processed by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department, Ciocco is hoping people immediately call police even if they think they see something sketchy.

The chief noted that you don’t even need a cell phone if there’s a pay phone nearby: 911 calls are free.

As Ciocco emphasized, never EVER approach suspicious people -- especially someone who police have connected to a possible crime. “Instead, notify the police immediately and provide the best description possible to the police dispatcher,” he said.