KEARNY –
Perhaps you are familiar with the word already, but your correspondent was not, and she has since added “huffing” to her vocabulary — thanks to a Kearny man who managed to get himself arrested three times on three consecutive days.
Last Thursday, July 11, at 3 p.m., a concerned citizen notified Kearny police headquarters that she had observed an individual engaged in “huffing” on Davis Ave. — an individual who then got into a car and drove away, police reported.
Det. Bryant Obie and Officers Chris Medina and Sean Kelly responded to the area, located the car and stopped it on Davis. According to police, the driver, identified as Carlos Crincev, 33, of Kearny, as visibly drowsy and “appeared confused and disoriented.”
Kelly inquired as to where he was coming from, and Crincev replied that he was “coming from Brazil,” Police Chief John Dowie noted.
When Crincev exited the car, Kelly reportedly observed several aerosol cans with straws attached inside the vehicle. “Huffing” refers to the practice of inhaling the contents of a certain type of aerosol to get high, we were told.
Field sobriety tests were conducted, and Crincev was criminally charged with use of a toxic chemical for intoxication. He was also issued summonses for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence and while in a school zone.
At HQ , Crincev was also given literature by Kelly regarding narcotics counselling, Dowie noted.
The following day, at about 10:35 a.m., yet another concerned citizen notified the cops that a motorist travelling south on Kearny Ave. near New Lawn Ave. had struck a pedestrian stantion in the middle of the street and then veered wildly into the northbound lane, police reported.
“He stopped his vehicle in the area and appeared to have passed out, according to the caller,” Dowie reported.
The motorist, police said, was Crincev.
Officers Joe Vulcano and Ben Wuelfing responded, observed that Crincev appeared to be under the influence and located five cans of aerosol spray in plain view within his vehicle, Dowie said.
They conducted field sobriety tests and then arrested him for allegedly operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
At headquarters, he was processed, given further testing and charged with DWI, possession of and use of toxic chemicals for purposes of intoxication.
On Saturday, at 9:20 a.m., Officer Jay Ward responded to a motor vehicle accident on the 100 block of Dukes St. and arrived to find that a parked 2012 Honda had been struck by another vehicle that had fled the scene. A witness gave Ward a description of the fleeing vehicle, which the officer broadcast to other patrol units.
Shortly thereafter, police said, Officer Vulcano came upon the car, unoccupied, in a nearby parking lot and recognized it as the same vehicle that had been involved in the Kearny/New Lawn incident the day before.
The search for the driver continued, and he was found by Lt. Tim Wagner on Hoyt St. It was Crincev, who police said was observed “huffing” from a 10 oz. spray can.
So for the third time in as many days, Crincev was arrested. This time for DWI and DWI in a school zone, possession of and the use of toxic chemicals for intoxication, as well as reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
In this instance, Dowie said, Judge Kenneth Lindenfelser was contacted and apprised of the three arrests, and bail for Crincev was set at $25,000.
Other recent reports from the KPD blotter included the following:
July 8
In June, police reportedly began receiving a number of complaints about drug use and underage drinking in the neighborhood of Schuyler Ave. and Pine St. The Vice Unit launched an investigation and at 8:40 p.m. July 8 was conducting surveillance when the officers observed what appeared to be a hand-to- hand drug transaction.
They arrested Khalidah Johnson, 18, and Luis Torres, 19, both of Kearny, after the two were allegedly found to be in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Arrested later at his Kearny home was the alleged seller, Philip Dabrowski, 19, charged with possession and distribution of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, and distribution of a CDS in a public place.
July 9
Officer Vanessa Sevillano and Sgt. Paul Bershefski responded at 6:45 a.m. to a report of an auto accident at Garfield and Schuyler Aves. and arrived to find that a Honda had apparently struck a parked pick-up truck. According to police, the Honda’s driver, Thomas Montanez, 43, of Jersey City, appeared unsteady on his feet and had constricted pupils.
Police said Sevillano observed a pill vial on the car’s center console and a clear plastic bag containing several pills on the driver’s side floor, and the motorist reportedly admitted ingesting Oxycontin and Xanax.
Using her Mobile Data Computer, the officer also found that Montanez had an outstanding drug-offense warrant from the Hudson County Sheriff ’s Office, police said.
Montanez was charged on the warrant and with DWI, careless driving, possession of a CDS in a motor vehicle, unlawful possession of a prescription drug and possession of paraphernalia.
Chief Dowie said the suspect was taken to Clara Maass Medical Center for health clearance and then transported to the Hudson County Jail.
At 6 p.m., the Vice Squad was on stakeout at Kearny Ave. and Patterson St. after receiving information that a Kearny resident was in possession of heroin at that location. The officers observed and confronted 46-year-old Robert Craig, who reportedly surrendered four glassine bags of suspected heroin.
He was charged with possession of the drug and of paraphernalia.
July 10
In response to an increase in residential burglaries, the KPD recently established a burglary suppression detail, and on this date, at 1:20 p.m., one of its officers, Det. Mike Farinola, put under surveillance an individual spotted near Devon St. and Woodland Ave. The man was initially seen peering into and then attempting to open the door of a parked car, police said.
The man continued walking north on Devon St., and at Devon Terrace reportedly tried to push in an air conditioning unit in a private residence. Failing at that, he disappeared into an alleyway on the 200 block of Devon St., reemerged and again began walking up the street.
At this point, police units closed in, and the man was stopped by Farinola and Chief Dowie on Devon near Bergen Ave. The suspect, identified as Jose Rodriguez, 36, of Newark, was found to be in possession of burglar tools, a crack pipe, and a glassine envelope containing a white powdery residue, police said.
Rodriguez was charged with two counts of criminal attempted burglary, two counts of criminal trespass, possession of burglar tools and of drug paraphernalia. He was remanded to the Hudson County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.
At 8:30 p.m., the Vice Squad saw a shirtless man walking near Highland Ave. and Rose St. with “the unmistakeable orange cap of a hypodermic syringe protruding from the waistband of his shorts,” Dowie reported.
After the officers approached him to confirm it was a needle, he was also found to be in possession of a glassine bag stamped “Just Do It” and containing a white powdery substance, police said.
They arrested 24-year-old Harrison resident Christopher Lindsay for alleged possession of heroin, of a hypoermic needle and drug paraphernalia.
July 12
At 7:15 a.m., Officers Vulcano and Wuelfing responded to Kearny High School on the report of a trespasser sleeping on the grounds. It turned out to be Shaeed Epps, 36, of no known address — who has made repeated appearances in Kearny and in the blotter.
Epps, who reportedly had an outstanding warrant from Elizabeth, was charged with defiant trespass and sent to the Hudson County Jail in lieu of $1,000 bail.
– Karen Zautyk
