A lot of big things happened. This post isn't about them. Because fortunately for the OMGs from NJ PDs column writer(s), a lot of strange, surprising, stunning and sometimes silly stuff happened too, in towns throughout New Jersey. This year, OMGs started up, collecting some of the biggest head-smackers around the state into a weekly digest for your, um, weekly digestion. You're welcome. Some of the stories that caught our eye this year: (Big, big OMG-please-don't-sue-us disclaimer: The following accounts reflect incidents as reported by police and other authorities shortly after they …

Each week, Patch takes a peek at some of the more surprising, shocking, stunning and occasionally silly police-related incidents reported throughout New Jersey for "OMGs from NJ PDs." Some of this week's reports: Feeling Possessive: The right way to dispute a vehicle repossession is to take it up with the creditor, or even legal authorities if you think the creditor's out of line. But the wrong way is to make a getaway with the car and run over the repo man's foot. Toms River police say a resident chose poorly when faced with that particular set of options. Ho Ho Ho? Against a backdrop of …

Each week, Patch takes a peek at some of the more surprising, shocking, stunning and occasionally silly police-related incidents reported throughout New Jersey for "OMGs from NJ PDs." Some of this week's reports: From Carjack Victim to Action Hero: A woman got crafty and clever when her vehicle was carjacked in South Orange, and she was forced to drive into Newark. She got a sheriff’s officer’s attention—by ramming the cop's vehicle with her car, according to police. Following the crash, the carjacker ran off, but a suspect was caught a few hours later, police said. Here's Hoping the Next 7 …

Each Monday, Patch takes a peek at some of the more surprising, shocking, stunning and occasionally silly police-related incidents reported throughout New Jersey for "OMGs from NJ PDs." Here are a couple of the reports: When Robbing a Store Becomes a 'Hazard:' A tip to would-be thieves: Don't leave the hazard lights on to the getaway vehicle while committing a robbery. According to Springfield Police, an officer was alerted to an armed robbery of a Route 22 7-Eleven when the thieves left the hazard lights on to their car that was parked on the shoulder of the roadway outside the store. …

Each Monday, Patch takes a peek at some of the more surprising, shocking, stunning and occasionally silly police-related incidents reported throughout New Jersey for "OMGs from NJ PDs." Some of the reports:If Only He'd Use His Powers for Good: We've got to admire this guy's ingenuity and cunning, though certainly not the way he allegedly put them to use. NJ.com reports that a man escaped from police (he was being arrested on thousands of dollars of active warrants and after allegedly harassing a diner employee) after he palmed a handcuff key in a fight with an East Windsor officer. Which is …

Each Monday, Patch takes a peek at some of the more surprising, shocking, stunning and occasionally silly police-related incidents reported throughout New Jersey for "OMGs from NJ PDs." Some of the reports: The Idea Sounded Half-Baked, But ... The Ridgewood Fire Department got a little creative when attending to a fuel spill from a bucket loader truck. The truck's fuel tank had suffered a rip, and fuel was gushing out. But a donation from a nearby homeowner gave firefighters what they needed to get things under control. "We used a potato on the nipple of the fuel tank as a plug," captain from…

Each week, Patch takes a peek at some of the more surprising, shocking, stunning and occasionally silly police-related incidents reported throughout New Jersey for "OMGs from NJ PDs." Some of this week's reports: Over the Woods and Through the River? That's pretty close to the course charted by a Long Valley woman who was arrested after allegedly trying to steal two farm vehicles belonging to Ort Farms. The woman was confronted by farm staff during the attempted theft, and fled the scene by crossing the South Branch of the Raritan River, police said. Multiple police departments set up a …

Each week, Patch takes a peek at some of the more surprising, shocking, stunning and occasionally silly police-related incidents reported throughout New Jersey for "OMGs from NJ PDs." Some of this week's reports: Maybe You Can Believe Everything You Read: Ever see one of those upside-down bumper stickers that says "If You Can Read This, Flip Me Over?" Ever see one on a car that was actually overtuned? Thanks to Toms River Patch, now you have. Just Treading Water: OK, steal a really fast sports car, and you might, just might have a chance of outrunning the cops (though we certainly don't …

Each Monday, Patch takes a peek at some of the more surprising, shocking, stunning and occasionally silly police-related incidents reported throughout New Jersey for "OMGs from NJ PDs." Some of this week's reports: Cleanup, Isle 9: If you're a frequent shoplifter, you're probably pretty cynical about loss prevention specialists and other store employees. You're a pro. Ain't no rent-a-cop gonna slow you down. But you probably aren't quite as cocky when you run into the real, badge-possessing deal, are you? Toms River police said one shoplifter had the misfortune of crossing paths with an off-…

One woman got a very special birthday gift—afriend and neighbor willing to risk her safety to help. Mary Ann Zalenski of Haddonfield discovered a burglar leaving her home Tuesday, Zalenski's 53rd birthday, she said. She screamed for her neighbor, Angelica Jeffreys to help, and when the robber "took off like a rabbit," Jeffreys went after her, the two women said. Zalenski herself and police soon joined into the chase, they said. Officers eventually found the alleged robber several hours later, police said. “I laid awake last night thinking about it,” said Jeffreys, 46, a marketing advertising …

We all remember this one from science, class right? "An object in motion will stay in motion, unless another force acts upon it." Ever wonder what Mr. Smartypants Science Teacher meant by "another force?" He might have meant "that thing that happens when you try to squeeze a ginormous object, like, oh, say, a truck, through a hole too small for it." We think that's the technical definition. We'll look it up later. South Orange Police say a truck driver (or his company) apparently hadn't done their route-planning homework, as the driver tried to get his 13-foot truck under a bridge that wasn't…

Many of New Jersey's police departments do fine, thorough, painstaking work. But that can get exhausting, so they've got to appreciate when alleged criminals don't even try to fly under the radar. They probably appreciate it a little less when someone tries to fly off a bridge, however. Each Monday, Patch takes a peek at some of the more surprising, shocking, stunning and occasionally silly police-related incidents reported throughout New Jersey for "OMGs from NJ PDs." This week, we're paying particular attention to reports of people who, well, the cops would have a had a hard time missing In…

This arrest was pretty sweet. And that's pretty much the only pun or knowingly bad joke we haven't made already about a report from Collingswood Patch that police may have finally caught an infamous doughnut dumper. (Seriously ... our original article has everything from "that's crumby" to police finding their suspect's account "full of holes.") Locals had been trying to figure out for some time who was dropping off delicious debris at Newton Lake. So local cops when on a two-day stakeout to see where the doughnuts were coming from. (Yes. We know. Doughnuts and cops. We already beat you to …

Three times is sometimes a charm. In the case of one Galloway man, it was apparently the opposite. And it all happened in the aftermath of a hurricane. The 38-year-old received multiple charges after allegedly causing three separate accidents on the same night in one hour, according to police. Luckily, in each of the first two accidents none of the victims were hurt, police said. However, as the descriptions piled up from each, the third accident (only involving the alleged perpetrator) led to the man's arrest for all three—and possession of suspected heroin. Each Monday, Patch takes a peek …

Sometimes, police really have their work cut out for them at a crime scene. They've got to canvass for witnesses. They've got to collect fingerprints, fibers and hairs. They've got to look for the slightest signs of disturbance, any subtle clues that might track back to the bad guy. And sometimes, the bad guy just makes things easy for them. That's what Madison police say happened when they were investigating a robbery at an office. They found one particularly helpful piece of evidence—the alleged burglar's wallet. We know the folks at American Express like to tell people "Don't leave home …

Cops say this crime had Andrea Bove's name written all over it. No, really. They literally mean his name was written down on the evidence. While patrolling the old Essex County Hospital Center on Fairview Avenue in Cedar Grove, officers noticed an open door and investigated further, police said Working with the Essex County Sheriff's Department, they found two lengths of freshly cut copper pipe, and a bucket of tools nearby, police said. Officers were getting ready to search the rest of the building when two men emerged from a wooded area nearby, police said. Both readily admitted removing …

You think you've been hot and uncomfortable this past week? Just be glad you're not covered with fur. The heat got to be too much to bear for one, well, bear, as a Dana Strus of North Caldwell learned. She looked out her window Tuesday and saw a black bear in her yard splashing around in her pool. The mother of one (with another on the way) did what one does in 2011 when something odd happens—she stepped out onto the patio to photograph and video her new friend Fozzie (and, lucky us, she was kind enough to share the video with Patch). We can only imagine that 20 minutes later, the bear's …

We need one of two things: smaller trucks or larger overpasses. At least, that seems to be the case in Chatham Borough, where too-tall trucks seem to have a habit of trying to squeeze through too-small spaces—one in particular. Chatham Borough Police said this past week a truck suffered extensive damage after the driver tried to cross under the train overpass on Watchung Avenue. But that tidbit probably didn't feel like news to a lot of people in Chatham. After all, back in mid-May, Chatham Patch ran a similar article: Truck Strikes Watchung Avenue Overpass. And just a few weeks before that: …

Which is more punishing—the law or a scorned spouse? Springfield police say one man was betting on the latter, when he allegedly lied to them about being robbed. It turns out, police say, the man had been at a go-go bar in Newark, and got lost driving home, eventually winding up in Springfield. When his wife became worried he was late, she kept calling him, and he eventually told her he'd just been robbed at gunpoint—rather than admit he was at the go-go bar, police said. But things got a little more complicated when the wife offered to call 911 for the man, police said. He instead told her …

Somebody did something bad to someone else who was sort of related to the first guy, but maybe not. That's about as far as our brains got when trying to make sense of a case where a 25-year-old Deptford man pleaded guilty to attacking someone else at with a knife a baby shower. In his plea, the man said the victim “was beating up on my little sister and a fight broke out”–a fight that led to the victim receiving a chest laceration, a broken rib and a collapsed lung. OK. We're following it so far. But the next few details, courtesy of West Deptford Patch, had us struggling to understand the …