Serial North Jersey Burglar…will Bail Reform cut him loose again?
Dawud Ward, the serial burglar of North Jersey…is back in custody and looking for NJ Bail Reform to “bail” him out again. What will be Wards fate this time? We have reported on Ward a number of times on our New Jersey Facebook Page. I imagine this is not the last we have heard from Ward…
- ZERO Accountability
- ZERO Supervision
- ZERO Bail…just a “pinky promise” to return
You won’t believe how many times this accused burglar has been released
From NJ.com – Mar 3, 2017
ELIZABETH – How many burglary charges does it take to be held in jail in New Jersey?
Dawud Ward, 23, of Plainfield is about to find out.Dawud Ward, 23, of Plainfield (Essex County Department of Corrections)
Ward just racked up his 10th burglary charge in New Jersey since last fall. Eight of those charges came this year after the state’s new bail reform law came into effect.
Ward’s most recent arrest came in Maplewood, Feb. 22, his third arrest this year. In both of his previous arrests, which occurred just three days apart in January, Ward was released from jail by judges in Middlesex and Union counties.
Ward’s releases have frustrated officers at several of the eight police departments that have worked to arrest him.
In South Plainfield, Det. Joe Indano called it ridiculous.
“When we saw he’d been released in Middlesex County and then again in Union County, the reaction was just, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,'” Indano says. “Here’s a guy we caught in the act, and we figured let’s see how it plays out with the new law. And sure enough, he’s released. What does it take to keep this guy locked up?”
In Mountainside, Lt. Joseph Giannuzzi said he was one of the officers who caught Ward in the act and removed him from the bedroom of a home.
“It’s crazy,” Giannuzzi said about Ward’s releases. “I guess burglars are not deemed a threat under the new law, but to me they are still a threat to the public. They have no idea if someone is home. How long will this go on before he encounters someone and becomes violent?”
Under the new bail reform system, instead of cash bail, judges use a rating system and other tools to determine the level of danger or flight risk of defendants when deciding whether to have them held in jail to await trial.
The Union County and Middlesex County prosecutor’s offices declined to comment on Ward’s arrests or releases.
Ward had another detention hearing in Union County Friday afternoon, where a judge will decide whether he should be held or released yet again.
Here is a timeline of Ward’s alleged criminal activities and how his charges unfolded:
Virginia, 2014: Ward, then 21, is charged in four burglaries with receiving stolen goods, breaking and entering with the intent to commit a felony and five counts of grand larceny. He ultimately pleaded guilty to three counts of grand larceny and two counts of breaking and entering. Whether Ward served jail time in Virginia is unclear.
Mountainside, Sept. 2, 2016: Police say Ward committed two burglaries, and was caught by officers in the bedroom of the second house. Police say Ward was also seen casing a home on Aug. 24, when a resident called to say a man was looking in her windows. Ward was charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of theft and two counts of criminal mischief. He was held in the Union County Jail on $135,000 bail, but made bail and was released sometime in October, police said. The charges remain pending.
Scotch Plains, Dec. 14, 2016: Police respond to a burglary at a home on Raritan Road, where someone entered through an unlocked side door and took coins and jewelry. Police said they also had two calls that day in the same area of a suspicious person knocking on doors, soliciting money and inquiring about landscaping work. Police would later connect Ward to these incidents.
Cranford, Dec. 29, 2016: Police respond to a Riverside Drive home, where a rear door was pried open and the homeowner saw a man walk out from behind her house. When she encountered him, he asked if a certain person lived at the home before leaving, the police report said. The report says the homeowner, becoming concerned, was able to take a photo of Ward’s car, which she turned over to police. Police would later connect Ward to this burglary.
Watchung, Jan. 5: Watchung police respond to a burglary on Hillcrest Road, that they would later connect to Ward.
Cranford, Jan. 10: According to a police report, Cranford Detective Spencer Durkin, believing Ward to be the suspect in the Dec. 29 Cranford incident, formed a task force with detectives from Scotch Plains, Cranford, Westfield, Mountainside, Watchung, Hillside, New Providence, Berkeley Heights and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. Durkin also receives approval to put a tracking device on Ward’s car.
Morris Township, Jan. 11: Morris Township police respond to a burglary that they would later connect to Ward.
Scotch Plains, Jan. 12: Scotch Plains police respond to Sleepy Hollow Lane where they say the homeowner said he heard his doorbell ring, but he did not answer assuming it was a delivery person, according to a police report. The report said the homeowner heard someone coming up the stairs to the second floor of his home and saw a man in front of him. When asked what he was doing, the man, who would later be identified as Ward, replied “Sorry, [redacted] texted and said to just come inside.” The homeowner told Ward to leave, which he did, and called the police.
South Plainfield, Jan. 13: South Plainfield police say Ward burglarized a home on May Avenue and was caught in the act by officers. Ward was in possession of burglar tools, gloves and a garbage bag, police said. He was charged with criminal attempt, burglary, possession of burglar tools, four counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Middlesex County court, Jan. 17: A Middlesex County Superior Court judge denies the Middlesex Prosecutor’s Office motion to keep Ward detained and he is released. At this time, Ward’s criminal record only included the Virginia, Mountainside and South Plainfield burglaries, as he had yet to be charged in the Cranford and Watchung burglaries.
Scotch Plains, Jan. 19: While under surveillance by the task force of detectives, the tracking device on Ward’s car showed him to be in the area of Clydesdale Road. Police responded and found a burglary has been committed after someone cut the screen to a porch and pried open a door. Ward would later confess to this burglary, police say.
Cranford, Jan. 20: Three days after his Middlesex release, Ward is arrested in Cranford after being caught in the act of another home invasion burglary, police said. Cranford police said an off-duty detective saw a suspicious person exiting a Locust Drive home with what later was determined to be proceeds from a burglary. At this point, Cranford police also charged Ward in the Dec. 29, 2016 burglary. Police said Ward confessed to the burglaries. While he was in custody in Cranford, multiple other departments interviewed Ward to connect him to burglaries in their towns but it took several days for some of those charges to be filed.
Union County court, Jan. 21: After his Cranford arrest, Ward has another detention hearing this time in Union County Superior Court. Several charges for burglaries in January were not yet filed. He is again released.
Middlesex County court, Jan. 26: After Ward’s Union County charges, prosecutors in Middlesex County file motions to rescind his release in that county.The following day, a judge approved the motion and issued a bench warrant for Ward’s arrest. Authorities and Ward’s public defender said they were unable to reach Ward for that hearing. He did not appear in court.
Scotch Plains, Jan. 26: Scotch Plains police, after interviewing Ward while he was under arrest in Cranford on Jan. 20, connect him to the burglaries on Dec. 14 and Jan. 19 in their town and file charges.
Watchung, Jan. 27: Watchung police charge Ward with burglary, theft, criminal mischief and disorderly persons charges for the Jan. 5 burglary in their town.
Scotch Plains, Jan. 30: Scotch Plains police, after interviewing Ward while he was under arrest in Cranford on Jan. 20, connect him to the burglary on Jan. 12 in their town and file charges.
Linden, Feb. 17: Linden police respond to a residential burglary on the 600 block of Ercama Street. A woman told police she awoke to find a man looking through her drawers. “The man then placed a pillow over her face and covered her head with a blanket as he pressed an object into her side and told her to remain quiet or he would kill her,” the police report said. He stole a safe box containing passports and $8,000 in cash and jewelry. Police developed and released a forensic sketch seeking the public’s help to identify the burglar. They would later connect Ward to this crime.
Maplewood, Feb. 22: Maplewood police respond to a call about two men – which they say turned out to be Ward and an accomplice – acting suspicious and ringing doorbells at homes in South Orange and Maplewood. The pair fled from police when they were spotted, but were both apprehended, Maplewood police said. Ward was charged with obstruction, hindering apprehension and possession of drugs. Maplewood police said he was found with crack cocaine and suspected heroin. Ward also was found with women’s jewelry, cash and a cell phone, police said. They said detectives are attempting to identify if those items are proceeds from a burglary, but so far Ward has not been charged with burglary in Maplewood.
Also on this day, Morris Township police charge Ward with the Jan. 11 burglary in their town.
Linden, Feb. 28: Linden police charge Ward with robbery, burglary and terroristic threats in the Feb. 17 incident.
Union County court, March 3: Ward has another detention hearing, where a judge will decide whether he should be held or released yet again.
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You’ve been LIED to New Jersey…NJ Bail Reform is RECKLESS, DANGEROUS, and YOU are PAYING for it.
* All Defendants confirmed released by court or own recognizance *