Attempted Car Thief Nabbed After Pursuit, Cops Say

Teen was chased by Denville police into Morris Plains early Friday morning.

The man who stole a car in Metuchen and was being pursued by Denville police ultimately was arrested when Denville and Morris Plains police apprehended the man as he attempted to flee on the train tracks. Morris Plains Police Department Chief Scott Thompson said his department was called to assist Denville when the alleged thief, Aaron Scarborough, 19, of Metuchen, ended up in the borough shortly after 3 a.m. on Friday. The man was pursued by Denville police down Route 202 into Morris Plains after they had identified his vehicle as stolen, according to a Daily Record article. During the chase, Scarborough crashed into a Morris Plains holiday display but regained control, only to drive partially off the train platform, leading to his …

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Denville Cops Nab Driver of Suspected Stolen Honda After Morris Plains Car Crash and Pursuit

Morris Plains police say they assisted in pursuit of fleeing suspect.

Road Block Keeps Central Park Traffic Off Glenbrook

Temporary barricade the result of resident complaints over the high volume of traffic, chief says.

A barricade was placed on Monday at the mouth of the so-called Glenbrook Road extension, blocking off much of the access to the residential street. According to Morris Plains Police Chief Scott Thompson, it's there as a result of citizen requests he's heard over the past year. Thompson said numerous borough residents registered complaints to police over the amount of traffic traveling through Glenbrook Road to get to nearby Central Park and its recreational facilities. In answer to the complaints, the Morris Plains Police asked the borough's public works department to place a barricade at the mouth of the so-called Glenbrook extension. The obstruction's presence forces drivers to travel around Glenbrook and onto Central Avenue to reach the…

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Margo D. Beller

1:00 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012

People will follow their GPS off a cliff if it tells them to go that way. But that part of Glenbrook between Watnong/Styles and Central is, in fact, a mapped street and is part of a thoroughfare that has served this town for decades. It was never a problem until the county started clear-cutting trees on its part of the Greystone property and started putting up fields. And now, with even more …   more ›

Neighborhood Shaken After Man Barricades Himself

Woman told to crawl through the grass as she was evacuated during Morris Plains incident Sunday.

Burch Drive appeared calm and quiet Monday morning, only hours after the Morris Plains residents were evacuated when authorities responded to a man who threatened to harm himself in his home Sunday night. According to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, about 20 residents on Burch Drive were moved to the Morris Plains Borough School as a precaution, after a man on the street barricaded himself in his house. The incident closed Mountain Way in both directions leading to Burch Drive. UPDATE: The 28-year-old Morris Plains man who barricaded himself faces weapons and criminal mischief charges, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said. Sarah Anderson, 30, was right next door to the incident, and was one of those residents evacuated. On …

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Police: Dog Alerts Girl of Laundry Room Fire

Officers douse blaze with chlorine from the home's backyard pool.

A homeowner's daughter who was home Tuesday when a fire broke out in a laundry room on Grannis Avenue was alerted to the blaze by the barking of the family's dog, police said Wednesday. The fire was extinguished from chlorine in the house's pool by two officers of the Morris Plains Police Department, according to Det. Jason Kohn. Kohn said Sgt. Mike Rolph and Ptl. Ryan McKay got to the home on 51 Grannis Ave. and extinguished the fire in the laundry room by filling up empty garbage cans with chlorine from the above-ground pool in the backyard. Kohn said Rolph and McKay first tried to knock down the fire with the extinguisher, but the fire was too strong. After several trips back and forth, the fire was extinguished with the chlorine, Kohn …

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Fire Damages Laundry Room on Grannis Ave.

Morris Plains fire left no injuries on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

A fire broke out in a laundry room inside a Grannis Avenue home Tuesday afternoon and was extinguished by 2 p.m., according to the police. The fire on 51 Grannis Ave. started in the laundry room around 1:30 p.m. and was contained to only that room, police said. No injuries were reported, police said. Sgt. Mike Rolph, the officer on the scene, said that the fire left significant damage to that part of the one-floor ranch home, but said "it could have been a lot worse." The fire had responders from the Morris Plains Fire Department, Cedar Knolls RIT Team, Morris Minute Men First Aid Quad, Morris Plains Police Department, and Whippany Fire Department at the scene. Traffic was being diverted at Sun Valley Way and Grannis Avenue where part of …

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Cops: Men Were Passing Fake $100 Bills

The following arrest information was supplied by the Morris Plains Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.

Morris Plains police say they caught a couple of Elizabeth residents trying to pass counterfit $100 bills at the Kohl's in Morris Plains, and that the scheme extends to other towns. On May 1 Det./Sgt. Kohn along with detectives from Kohl’s loss prevention unit, completed an investigation, police said. Using video surveillance and still photographs from Kohl's as evidence, police arrested Gabriel Minier, 22, and Christian Bernabel, 22, both of Elizabeth, on charges of forgery/ counterfeiting. Police said they beleive bills were passed in other jurisdictions, and the investigation will continue with the involvement of the U.S. Secret Service.

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1 Hurt When SUV Overturns on Rt. 10

Multiple-vehicle accident causes traffic on Monday afternoon.

An SUV overturned on the barrier of Route 10 in Morris Plains during a two-vehicle crash that left one person with a hand injury Monday afternoon. The Morris Plains Police Department, Morris Plains Fire Department, and EMS squad all responded to the incident, which occurred shortly after 3:15 p.m., near the newly opened Smashburger restaurant. According to Sgt. Michael Koroski of the Morris Plains Police, the driver of a red Chevrolet Trail Blazer moved abruptly into the left lane of Route 10 East to avoid a car that emerged from a parking lot. The Chevrolet collided with a Ford Edge in the left lane—which then made the Edge hit the barrier of Route 10 and overturn, Koroski said. The driver of the Chevrolet, Raymond Boone, 40, of …

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Morris Plains Police Up for Accreditation

Public can leave comments on May 7

The Morris Plains Police Department is up for accreditation—a recognition of personal excellence—and members of the public can take part in the process. Read on for the police department's full statment: A team of assessors from the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police (NJSACOP) will arrive on Sunday, May 6, 2012, to examine all aspects of the Morris Plains Police Department’s policies and procedures, management, operations, and support services Chief Scott Thompson announced today. “Verification by the team that the Morris Plains Police Department meets the Commission’s “best practice” standards is part of a voluntary process to achieve accreditation, a highly prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence”, …

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