Bethlehem Area Weekly Police Blotter April 24: Second suspect arrested in Facebook Marketplace gone wrong

NJ man involved in December incident at Vista incident

SLINGERLANDS – The second suspect involved in a robbery incident that occurred on December 27 on Vista Blvd was taken into custody.

On Monday, April 15 Bethlehem police traveled to New Jersey and arrested Majid Godje, 24 of Jersey City, NJ on a long list of charges.

According to police, the incident alleges that Majid Godje, along with Ronaldo Alcazar, arranged a Facebook Marketplace meeting to purchase a necklace. This is when they say Godie and Alcazar arrived at the meeting location and displayed a firearm and stole the necklace from the victim.

Godje was charged with robbery – first degree,criminal use of a firearm – first degree, robbery – second degree, criminal possession of a weapon – second degree, grand larceny, conspiracy, unlawful imprisonment, all felonies and menacing, a misdemeanor.

Godje was arraigned by Bethlehem Town Judge Ryan Donovan and was remanded to the Albany County jail with no bail. He is due back in court on May 7.

The United States Marshal Task Force in New York and New Jersey assisted the Bethlehem police with this investigation.

On January 30, Bethlehem police Detectives traveled to New York City to pick up the first suspect, Alcazar, 25, of Queens, and return him to Bethlehem to face charges. The US Marshals Task Force also assisted in that operation.

Alcazar was charged with robbery-first degree, criminal use of a firearm, robbery-second degree, criminal possession of a weapon, grand larceny, unlawful imprisonment, and conspiracy, all felonies, and menacing, a misdemeanor.

Alcazar was arraigned at that time in Town of Bethlehem Court and remanded to Albany County jail in lieu of $30,000 cash bail or $60,000 bond.

On Wednesday, Dec. 27 at approximately 11:30 p.m., Bethlehem police received a 911 call from a woman who witnessed an armed robbery in progress in the parking lot of Plug Power at 125 Vista Boulevard.

When police arrived, the victim advised officers that two black males, one armed with a handgun, had a physical altercation with a male victim, then stole jewelry and the victim’s car keys. Both males then fled the scene.

According to police, the suspect vehicle was a dark-colored Toyota Sienna minivan (possibly purple) occupied by two black males and was last seen southbound on Vista Boulevard towards Route 85. There were people in the area who witnessed the incident, due to a shift change at the business.

Alcazar allegedly displayed a handgun and was wearing a black and white skeleton sweatshirt hoodie and a mask.

The alleged robbery was the result of a Facebook marketplace pre-arranged meeting from where the victim intended to sell the jewelry to the suspects.

The Bethlehem Police Department reminds people that there is a safe exchange location for E-commerce on the east side of the Bethlehem Town Hall at 447 Delaware Ave, Delmar, that is monitored by surveillance video and police personnel.

Outstanding warrant

NORTH GREENBUSH – Police took an Averill Park woman into custody on Thursday, April 11 for an outstanding warrant because she failed to appear in court for a September incident in Glenmont.

According to reports, on September 15, Jennifer Basolt, 36, and two other people were arrested for criminal possession of a controlled substance for having crack cocaine and xanax pills. The motor vehicle that she was a passenger in at that time, driven by one of the other people, was not inspected and the driver did not have a valid license.

At that time, Basolt and the others were given an appearance ticket, but she did not return to court.

She was processed and arraigned this time in Bethlehem Town Court at 11:50 p.m. and was released on her own recognizance. Basolt is due back in court on May 7.

Second warrant for 2019 petit larceny

DELMAR – Bethlehem police met State Police troopers on Saturday, April 13 to pick up an Albany woman for the second time because she did not show up to court for a 2019 larceny at Marshall’s in Glenmont.

Janya Frazier, 26, was previously arrested in September in Guilderland on an active warrant for the same incident. At that time she was arraigned by Bethlehem Town Judge Andrew Kirby  and released on her own recognizance and was supposed to appear on October 3. She did not appear.

This time, she was arraigned by Town Judge Ryan Donovan and he released her on her own recognizance again so she could be transported to Guilderland police where Frazier had an outstanding warrant there.

She is due back in court on May 7.

DWI on Delaware Avenue

DELMAR – Bethlehem police observed a white 2023 Honda CRV traveling southbound at a high rate of speed  on Cherry Avenue Extension on Sunday, April 14 at approximately 2:34 a.m.

According to reports, officers followed the vehicle and paced it traveling at 55 mph in a 30 mph zone and performed a traffic stop.

Officers observed the driver, a 25-yer-old Niskayuna man, to have glassy and bloodshot eyes and an odor on an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath. The man was given and failed field sobriety tests and tested positive for breath alcohol on a pre-screening device.  He said that he was drinking bourbon at a friend’s house earlier.

At the police station, the man provided a breath sample that returned a .10 percent BAC. He ws charged with DWI and ticketed for speeding.

He was given a bill of particulars and released with an appearance ticket for Bethlehem Town Court on May 7.

Burglary at hair salon

GLENMONT – On March 31 at approximately 2:12 a.m. a passerby observed the front door of Great Clips at 380 Glenmont Road to be smashed and called police. When police arrived, they searched the area and entered the business. A search found that the cash drawer was missing, the power was off and the back door of the business was open.

According to reports, police contacted the owner of the business and he and the manager arrived at the scene a short while later. They provided police with security camera footage that showed a man break the front glass with a black pipe, head to the register and take a bank deposit bag and the register cash tray. The man then took a “coffee fund jar” from a shelf in the breakroom.  The man then shut the power off to the business and left through the back door.

Officers found the black pipe in a snowbank.

After an investigation, police arrested Miguel Rodriquez, 35, who is homeless, at the Rensselaer County jail on Tuesday, April 16.

He was charged with burglary, criminal mischief and concealing, altering or destroying evidence, all felonies, and possession of burglar tools and petit larceny, both misdemeanors.

Rodriquez was arraigned by Bethlehem Town Judge Andrew Kirby and released to a third party. He is due back in court on May 21.

The post Bethlehem Area Weekly Police Blotter April 24: Second suspect arrested in Facebook Marketplace gone wrong first appeared on Spotlight News .