Did a Leaf Blower Bandit in a White Van Strike Again? A Second Landscaper Victimized

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A week after police were told a man in a white van suspiciously appeared near a pickup truck where a $600 leaf blower was quickly stolen, a similar theft of a leaf blower was perpetrated in town, and a white van was again seen nearby. Darien police gave this account of the second backpack leaf blower larceny:

A work truck was parked behind the stores at the corner of the Post Road and Noroton Avenue (at about 1981 Post Road) between 8 a.m., when a $650 RedMax Model 8500 backpack leaf blower was in it and 8:30 a.m. — when it was suddenly missing. Shortly after the theft was noticed, a male driving a white, unmarked van was seen leaving the scene. No surveillance video was available at the spot where the leaf blower was taken. Police are investigating the incident.

Police Car

Leaf Blower Stolen from Back of Landscaper’s Pickup: Victim Was Away for 15 Minutes

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A contractor told police he was away from his pickup truck for only 15 minutes when he returned to discover that a backpack leaf blower was stolen from it. The truck was parked at 590 Post Road on Wednesday morning, May 3, when the contractor left it at 8:45 a.m. and returned to find the leaf blower missing at 9 a.m. When the contractor arrived at the scene, all of his equipment was accounted for, according to the Darien police report. Police were told that soon after the landscaper arrived at the scene, a white Ford van pulled into the same lot and backed in next to the victim’s pickup. The van had left the area by the time the contractor got back to the truck. The driver of the van was described as a man with salt-and-pepper hair and similar facial hair, somewhere between 5 feet, nine inches and six feet in height and in his 30s or 40s.

Darien Police Sign

Rolex Valued at $5,400 Stolen from Dentist’s Office

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A dentist, who last remembered seeing his Rolex watch when he took it off just before doing a surgical procedure April 7, told police on April 18 that it appeared to have been stolen. The dentist, with offices on the Post Road, told police that he noticed it missing on April 11. Cleaning people come to the office twice a week, and contractors have been in and out of the building, he said. The man’s stainless steel watch, an Oyster Perpetual Datejust, with a white face, isn’t the only item missing from the same building at 800 Post Road. A package valued at $12, and then a second one valued at $200 were missing from the lower vestibule area, police were told.

Police

Unusual Theft at Business Office: Data Service from Hotspot Device

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Pens, pads and paperclips have long been stolen from offices — even PCs, printers and Post-it notes — but a company with offices in Thorndal Circle reported the perpetration of a more unusual crime on March 30:

The theft of data service from a Verizon mobile wireless Jetpack hotspot — a device that allows wireless Internet connections. And it wasn’t just a little theft, either — it cost the company $1,200 for charges made in the month of March. That works out to almost $40 a day. When someone at the business contacted Verizon to ask about the charge that showed up on the vendor’s bill, Verizon said the hotspot had been hacked into and should not even have been in service. The device was available for activation in the event of an emergency.

Darien Police Headquarters

Stolen Credit Card Numbers Used to Bilk Online Darien Toy Store

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Tegu.com, an on-line store that sells wooden blocks with magnets in them and other toys, reported to police that stolen credit cards had been used to buy items priced at a total of $55,637.73, and most of it had already been delivered. The transactions with the business, located at 5 Tokeneke Road, took place over the last few months and in each case they were delivered to various addresses in Montreal. At some point, the store’s computer program alerted the business to the same credit card numbers in transactions linked to different email addresses. The business stopped the pending transactions, but not before $38,560 had already been delivered. The police department in Montreal has been notified, and at the time of the report to Darien police, fraudulent orders were still coming into the website.