Kearny police were credited with saving the life of a young man who apparently had been prepared to jump from the roof of an apartment building last week.
Police Chief John Dowie said the individual had been spotted on the building at Kearny and Midland Aves. at 12:44 p.m. Jan. 8.
Police Officer Steve Hroncich, one of the first responders, went to the roof and began a dialogue with the man, who was sitting on a ledge. Hroncich was joined by Det. Mike Gonzalez, who also talked with the man, described as “despondent.”
Both officers were then able to get close enough to grab him “and lift him out of harm’s way,” Dowie said. Kearny EMS then transported him to Beth Israel Medical Center for observation.
Of his men, the chief said, “They did a good job.”
• Other reports from the Kearny PD blotter include the following:
Jan. 4
P.O. Brian Wisely, dispatched to disburse a group of people gathered at Afton St. and Kearny Ave. at 7:30 p.m., recognized one of the individuals as someone who had outstanding warrants. Arrested and held for bail was Sidnei Antunes, 26, of Kearny, who police said was wanted by East Newark and Kearny.
Jan. 5
At 8:15 a.m., P.O. Steve Hroncich and Sgts. Charles Smith and Mike Cardella responded to a report of a suspicious male outside a house on Duke St. They arrived to find 32-year-old Celio DaSilva out in the 30-degree cold wearing a T-shirt.
Police said DaSilva’s behavior was erratic and he told them there was someone in his apartment. At his request, they entered the premises, found no one there, but, in plain view, reportedly saw a baggie containing a white powdery substance.
DaSilva was charged with possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
At 3:20 p.m., Officers Phil Finch and Louis Moran approached a car that had been idling “for quite some time” at Woodland Ave. and Devon St.
Police said the registration was found to be suspended and that the owner had a warrant out of Elizabeth. The car was impounded and Gerald Dickson, 50, of Kearny was arrested.
Jan. 7
P.O. Ben Wuelfing, on patrol at 1:15 a.m. at Kearny Ave. and Halstead St., spotted a motor vehicle traveling on Halstead without its headlights on.
When he stopped the car, he reportedly smelled a strong odor of marijuana, and the driver turned over a hollowedout cigar filled with the drug, Dowie reported. Isaac Matos, 21, of Kearny was arrested for possession of pot, possession of paraphernalia, driving without lights and possession of a CDS in a motor vehicle.
At 7 p.m., Vice Squad detectives saw a passenger in a car stopped at a light at Schuyler and Bergen Aves. apparently rolling marijuana into a cigar. They followed the vehicle and pulled it over on Schuyler, where they arrested Gabriel Barrera, 20, of Kearny on charges of drug and drug paraphernalia possession.
Jan. 9
At 7:15 p.m., P.O. Frank West saw a car traveling north at “a high rate of speed” on Schuyler near Midland Ave. and stopped it at Seeley Ave., where he reportedly seeing the driver toss a bottle into the rear. Arrested after reportedly failing a field sobriety test, and a later Alcotest at headquarters, was David Snyder, 43, of Jersey City, who was charged with DWI and careless driving. Jan. 10 Another DWI arrest, this one of Almir Carvalho, 35, of Kearny, occurred at 9:10 p.m. after P.O. Brian Wisely reportedly saw him driving erratically in the area of Kearny Ave. and Hoyt St. Carvalho was also charged with careless driving.
Jan. 11
At 1:15 a.m., after Harrison P.D. issued a BOLO about an attempted gas station robbery and a van that fled north on Passaic Ave. toward Kearny, Officer Wuelfing spotted the vehicle in question parked at a hydrant at Bergen Ave. and Chestnut St. and discovered that its ignition had been punched out.
Harrison dispatched officers to Kearny, and Newark police reported that it was the same vehicle being sought in a series of robberies in that city. It was also tied to a robbery at Newark’s Penn Station, a crime being investigated by N.J. Transit Police. It was impounded by Kearny nd eventually turned over to Newark.
At 10 a.m., Officers Hroncich and David Rakowski and Sgt. Paul Bershefski responded to a report of possible drug use in a car on Ann St. off Harrison Ave. Arrested was the passenger Carlos Narvaez, 30, of Harrison after he was found to be wanted on two Harrison warrants, police said. The driver, Rosa Feliciano, 22 of Harrison was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and being under the influence of a CDS.
At 4 p.m., Vice detectives in the area of Passaic Ave. and the Belleville Pike saw two individuals in a motor vehicle who were known to them from “numerous” CDS encounters. Dowie reported.
The officers stopped the car on Passaic after observing that one of the occupants had a small glassine fold, police said. But as they approached on foot, the vehicle took off and the suspects “began to throw objects out the window.”
Pursued by the detectives, the car crossed the bridge into Belleville, where the police broke off the pursuit so as not to endanger other drivers in the rush-hour traffic. However, Dowie noted, the officers knew the suspects to be from Kearny, so after notifiying Belleville P.D. of the situation, they simply waited at the bridge for the car to return. Which it did.
Arrested on charges of eluding police, resisting arrest (the men reportedly had to be forcibly removed from the vehicle) and conspiracy to possess a CDS were Sean McCarthy, 35, and John Teixeiro, 41. The driver also got a summons for reckless driving.
Jan. 13
P.O. Jay Ward, who had responded to a 4:30 a.m. noise complaint on Johnson Ave. and had warned a partygoer not to drive, reportedly saw the same individual behind the wheel a short time later. He stopped the car on Dukes St., where the driver reportedly failed a field sobriety test, and where a search allegedly turned up a small plastic bag believed to contain cocaine. Earnie Olivo, 35, of Kearny was charged with DWI, reckless driving, possession of a CDS in a motor vehicle, possession of cocaine and possession of paraphernalia.
– Karen Zautyk
