By Karen Zautyk
KEARNY –
Add one more to the Asking-to-be-Arrested file. Actually, make that two more, since a pair of suspects ended up in cuffs.
At 4 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, KPD Officers Chris Medina and Ben Wuelfing responded to a report of a car blasting music and blocking a driveway on Windsor St. The sounds “could be heard a block away,” Police Chief John Dowie reported.
The cops approached the vehicle, a 2008 BMW, and asked the driver — twice — to lower the volume, Dowie said. Upon the third request, the 33-year-old Newark man got out of the car, giving the officers a clear view of his passenger, who was reportedly taking a few slugs from a can of Four Loko, another can of which was on the curb.
Wuelfing attempted to give the driver field sobriety tests, but the man refused to cooperate and insisted he hadn’t been driving, Dowie said. Taken to police headquarters, he reportedly refused a breath test.
Medina questioned the passenger, who was found to have no ID and who, when asked his name, replied, “Obama.” As the officer began a pat-down, Dowie said, the man asked, “Do you want me to take off my pants?” and then did so. And bent over. Redressed and also taken to headquarters, the passenger, a 35-year-old from Newark, again removed his pants and refused to be fingerprinted and photographed, police reported.
He was charged with obstructing and hindering apprehension, littering, and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle.
The driver was charged with DWI, refusal to take a breath test, consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle and prohibited parking.
The BMW was impounded.
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In other Kearny police news, officers were called to the Devon St. footbridge at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, to help Harrison cops break up a “large brawl.” Dowie said a crowd was watching several separate fights when the KPD arrived.
Officers Paul Bershefski and Dave Rakowski physically separated two of the combatants, a 16-year-old from Harrison and a 17-year-old from Kearny. Another Harrison 16-year-old reportedly became defiant and profane when Officer Sean Kelly attempted to disperse the crowd.
All three youths were charged with disorderly conduct.
The cause of the melee is not known.
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At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6, the Vice Squad, in the course of an ongoing investigation, executed a search warrant at an Elm St. business suspected to be a drug distribution center. Dowie said his officers targeted the place after making several controlled buys of the prescription painkiller Oxycontin.
During the search, they reportedly confiscated marijuana and $700 in cash, and arrested a 37-year-old Kearny woman on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession with intent to distribute.
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On Oct. 8, Officers Richard Pawlowski and Pete Jahera were on patrol in South Kearny at 4:40 a.m., when they received an alert about a theft in progress at a Hackensack Ave. business.
On the property, they found a white van parked next to a Dumpster, and two Jersey City men, aged 40 and 46, behind the container. Dowie said the pair admitted to being there to steal scrap metal.
Both were charged with trespass and theft. The 40-year-old also was found to be wanted on two Jersey City warrants.
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At 1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 9, Officer Cesar Negron was advised by a concerned citizen of a possible drug transaction at Hickory St. and Pierce Place. The witness gave a description of the suspected dealer, whom Negron located and confronted on Forest St.
When the suspect refused to remove his hands from his pockets, Dowie said, Negron did a pat-down and found a glass vial containing marijuana. At headquarters, the 18-year-old Kearny resident was also reportedly found to have a large bag filled with pot stuffed down the front of his pants.
With the suspect’s consent, Dowie said, police searched his home, and while no additional drugs were found, they did confiscate a replica handgun and three rounds of .22 caliber ammunition.
The teen was charged with possession of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute, possession of paraphernalia and intent to distribute in or near a public park.
Investigation of the gun is continuing.
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On Oct. 10, at 4 p.m. Officer Jay Ward stopped a motor vehicle near Halstead St. and Kearny Ave. after the driver failed to yield to a pedestrian. The 36-year-old Bridgewater motorist produced an international driver’s license, but upon questioning, admitted he had bought it in Newark, Dowie said.
He was charged with possession of a false government document, and was turned over to Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents.
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A car parked in a secluded area at the Arlington Dog & Cat Hospital on Passaic Ave. at 7:30 p.m. last Wednesday drew Officer Mike Andrews’ attention. As he approached the vehicle on foot, he observed the a male passenger holding what appeared to be a silver marijuana grinder and a cigar. Additionally, Dowie said, the car “reeked of pot” and the man had loose particles of pot on his lap. A search reportedly produced a bag of the drug on his person.
The man, a 22-year-old from Paterson, also had warrants from Clifton and Elmwood Park, the chief said. He was charged on those and for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.
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Last Thursday brought a 1-2-3 punch: three arrests in two locations in the span of one minute.
At 2:50 p.m., Officers Mike Andrews and Neil Nelson spotted two suspicious individuals on Highland Ave. near Liberty St. who appeared to be peering into homes and driveways.
Asked for ID and run for warrants, both were found to be wanted. One of the men, a 26-year-old from East Orange, had two no-bail warrants–one from Essex County and one from Burlington County–along with a $350 warrant out of Lyndhurst.
His companion, 21 and also from East Orange, had warrants out of Ho-Ho-Kus and Pequannock.
At 2:51, Officers Bershefski, Rakowski and Steve Hroncich arrested another wanted man, a 22-year-old from North Arlington, after they spotted him near the Burger King on Passaic Ave. That suspect had a Bloomfield warrant.
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Finally, at 7:10 p.m., Thursday, Officer Nelson apprehended a 33-year-old from Kearny, who was wanted on a $1,000 Fair Lawn warrant, after the cop observed him leaving a Kearny Ave. bar. Stopped at Windsor and Grove, the man was allegedly found to be in possession of suspected cocaine. He was charged with possession of drugs and paraphernalia, plus the warrant.
