Early on March 11, Officer Neil Nelson responded to the Quik Chek on a report of a disorderly person in the store. When Nelson arrived, he found a man who was yelling and screaming about the service in the store, telling the workers that their chips were too stale. Officer Nelson attempted to calm the individual down, but to no avail. The man was subdued, handcuffed, and arrested. Jonathan Perez, a 20-year-old resident of Newark, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
Later that day, Officer Mike Andrews was on patrol in the area of Kearny and Garfield around 5:20 p.m. when he discovered a 15-year-old who was screaming on Kearny Ave. When Andrews stopped and looked at the youth, the juvenile sarcastically responded, “What are you looking at?” and continued to be belligerent. Andrews cautioned the child about his behavior, but this failed to curtail from his behavior. The 15-year-old Kearny male was arrested and brought to Headquarters pending pickup from his parents.
Just ten minutes later, Officer Brian Wisely was on patrol in the area of Devon St. when he observed two individuals who appeared to be intoxicated sitting on a stoop. Wisely questioned the pair and confirmed his suspicion of the two being intoxicated while also confirming that they were sitting on the stoop of a residence which neither belonged to.
When he asked for identification, he realized that one of the individuals was 17-years-old and in possession of a pack of cigarettes. While continuing the search, Wisely found the 17-year-old was in possession of a set of brass knuckles. The knuckles were seized and the youth was placed under arrest. The 17-year-old male Kearny resident was charged with possession of a prohibitive weapon.
On March 12, the Kearny Vice Squad received information regarding a marijuana distribution operation on Davis Ave. and set up surveillance. Around 11 p.m., they observed what they felt to be drug activity taking place, and approached the vehicle. On approach, they observed the front seat passenger throw away a plastic sandwich bag containing what was believed to be marijuana from the car. The officers took the occupants from the vehicle and placed them under arrest. Along with the initial bag thrown away from the car, another green Ziploc bag was taken from the floor of the vehicle. A search of one of the individuals found a silver-colored grinder. Based on their onsite observations, Kearny Vice was able to obtain a search warrant to search the residence of one of the males. The search of the residence found two more ounces of marijuana and a scale from within the residence with packaging material indicative of a distribution operation. Two 22-year-old Kearny males were arrested. One was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a controlled substance in a motor vehicle. The second was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, distribution of marijuana, distribution in a school zone, and distribution within a playground/ park zone. Bail was set at $2,500.
The following day, on March 14, Officers Ben Wuelfing and Derek Hemphill were doing an evening check of the area below Schuyler Ave. by Harvey Field and observed a car parked close to the fence. The officers lit the area and found five individuals near the press box of Harvey field. Officer John Becker arrived as backup. The individuals were questioned as to how they got into the field and admitted to climbing over the fence. A search of the area found a discarded container that contained marijuana and a smaller jar with marijuana. The group was then placed under arrest. Four males and one female, all between the ages of 16 and 18 years old, were charged with defiant trespass, possession of marijuana, and use of marijuana.
-Anthony J. Machcinski
