It turned out to be a bad morning all around for Ashley Alexander, 26, of Clifton.
Police pulled over Alexander as she was driving her 2007 Toyota on Riverside Ave. near Sanford Ave., at 1:26 a.m., and placed her under arrest on an outstanding $215 traffic warrant from Nutley. And she was ticketed on charges of DWI and suspended license.
After posting bail, Alexander called a friend, Martin Craig, 23, of Estell Manor in Atlantic County, to pick her up. But police refused to let Craig drive Alexander home after allegedly detecting alcohol on his breath so Alexander called a Belleville friend for assistance.
When the third party arrived at 4:30 a.m., police said Craig began loudly complaining and arguing with that individual so he was charged as a disorderly person.
Oct. 9
At 11:43 p.m., police said they observed a 2000 Saturn parked on Paul St. in a no parking zone with its motor running and no driver visible but passengers in the front and rear seats and the odor of suspected marijuana detected. A bit later, police said the driver exited a nearby building and returned to the Saturn. After he was allegedly found to have marijuana on him, police charged Matthew Durante, 18, of Lyndhurst, with possession of drugs. The passengers were released, police said.
Oct. 7
At 4 p.m., police responded to 9 Polito Ave. on a report of a theft. An Elizabeth contractor who had been working at the site for the past four months told police someone had cut the locks off a storage container in the rear of the parking lot and removed numerous power tools.
At 2:18 p.m., police said Richard Makowski, 46, of Lyndhurst, walked into the municipal court administrator’s office on the second floor of the Municipal Building on Valley Brook Ave. and began arguing about an outstanding $250 criminal warrant from another jurisdiction. Police were summoned and Makowski ended up being issued a summons charging him with disorderly conduct. He was released pending a court date.
Oct. 6
At 10:50 p.m., police said Police Chief James O’Connor reported that a 2005 Honda Accord was stopped in the middle of Lake Ave. near Stuyvesant Ave. with the driver asleep at the wheel. Officers responded and roused the driver, Richard Gonzalez, 32, of Garfield. He was issued summonses charging him with DWI and careless driving.
At 7:24 a.m., police responded to a report of theft of services at an Orient Way location. Police said they were met by a New York taxi driver who told them he’d driven a passenger from New York to a Marin Ave. address in Lyndhurst but, arriving at his destination, the passenger told him he had no cash and offered to pay the $130.75 fare via credit card but the card was declined so the driver took his passenger to a nearby Seven-11 to use an ATM but that effort also failed. At this point, police said, the passenger asked if the driver would settle for $80 and the driver agreed, but police said the passenger then ran off south along Orient Way. He was described as about 5-foot-eight, 180 pounds, with short brown hair.
Oct. 5
At 4:48 p.m., police pulled over a 2002 Ford Explorer driven by Carlos Coronel, 58, of Newark, on Kingsland Ave. near Octavia Place, after officers allegedly spotted two open cans of Budweiser beer inside the vehicle. Police issued Coronel summonses charging him with DWI and having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle. His car was impounded and he was released pending a court date.
– Ron Leir
