
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Park Ridge NJ, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo announced the arrest of AUSTINE. PARKS (DOB: 3/17/1971; single; and unemployed) of 18 East Hickory Street, Spring Valley, NY on charges of False Public Alarm and Violation Of A Final Restraining Order. The arrest is a result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti and the Park Ridge Police Department under the direction of Chief Joseph Madden.
On Wednesday, April 17, 2019, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber
Crimes Unit was notified by the Park Ridge Police Department that an unknown telephone caller, using technology to anonymize the calling line identity (“Caller ID”), placed a telephone call to the Park Ridge Police Department claiming that there was an active shooter at a private residence in Park Ridge. First responders, including the Bergen County Regional SWAT Team, determined that the call was a false report and no
emergency had actually taken place. Members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit and Park Ridge Police Department initiated an investigation to identify the caller.
As a result of the investigation, Austin E. PARKS was charged on Monday, April 22, 2019 with False Public Alarm, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:33-3A(1)B, a 2nd degree crime and Violation Of A Final Restraining Order, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:29-9B(1), a 4th degree crime. PARKS, who was already detained in the Rockland County Jail on an unrelated matter, was extradited to Bergen County on April 30, 2019. PARKS is currently
lodged in the Bergen County Jail pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on a date to be determined.
Acting Prosecutor Calo states that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He would like to thank the Park Ridge Police Department, Spring Valley and Clarkstown NY Police Departments, the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office, the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office for their
assistance with this investigation.