A Virginia woman, wanted on a $50,000 Kearny robbery warrant, was arrested Feb. 11 when she graciously returned to the scene of the crime, the Kmart on Passaic Ave., Kearny police reported.
Just a month before, on Jan. 10, Kmart security had attempted to detain Nora Jdira, 27, of Springfield, Va., on suspicion of shoplifting, but she reportedly became combative, “violently resisted” the guards and assaulted one with her handbag before escaping in a car with Washington, D.C., plates, Kearny Police Chief John Dowie reported.
Officer Leroy Bibbs did a plate/driver’s license check and found a Virginia license for the owner.
Thanks to that license photo, Kmart personnel reportedly identified the suspect as Jdira.
On the afternoon of Feb. 11, there she was again and, lo and behold, was recognized by store personnel, police said. Officer Pat Becker, after confirming the outstanding warrant, placed Jdira under arrest. One might say that, in this instance, the store had a “no returns” policy.
Other recent reports on the KPD blotter included the following:
Feb. 12
At 2:30 p.m., Jason Taylor, 29, of Lyndhurst, came to KPD headquarters to inquire about the status of a taxi-driver license application he had submitted. The visit proved to be unwise, since Officer Pat Sawyer had determined that the would-be cabby had two outstanding warrants, one from Kearny and one from Newark, police said. Taylor was arrested and booked. His application has not been approved.
Feb. 15
Officer Tom Bannon, travelling on Schuyler Ave. near Midland Ave. at 8 a.m., came upon a blue Jeep stopped in the northbound traffic lane, its driver asleep behind the wheel and two cans of beer sitting in the center console, police said. After Bannon roused the motorist and conducted field sobriety tests, Jose Castillo, 24, of Irvington, was arrested, brought to HQ for an Alco test and issued a summons for DWI.
Officer Brian Wisely responded to Kmart at 5 p.m. after a shopper reported she had briefly left her cart unattended and then found her wallet had been removed from her backpack in the cart. Wisely reviewed security videos, observed the theft and was able to get a partial plate from the vehicle in which the culprit had fled. At HQ, the officer ran possible plate combos and eventually matched one to a similar vehicle, police reported. Det. Ray Lopez assisted in the follow-up investigation, and a suspect was developed. That individual, Khary Jackson, 37, of Irvington, accepted an invitation to visit HQ , where he was questioned by Wisely and subsequently charged with theft.
Feb. 17
At 8 a.m., officers responded to a report of a domestic dispute involving an assault at a residence near Belgrove Drive and Garfield School. During an investigatory interview, 22-year-old Joseph Ferguson of Kearny allegedly fled on foot from Sgt. Paul Bershefki.
He was apprehended by Officer Cesar Negron. Ferguson was charged with simple assault and resisting arrest.
Feb. 18
At 3:30 p.m., on the 300 block of Davis Ave., Officer Jay Ward investigated a collision between a car and a snow plow. The operator of the auto, Carl Astorga, 38, of Kearny, was charged with driving while suspended and failure to surrender a suspended license.
At 8 p.m., Officer Sean Kelly responded to Kearny and Pavonia Aves., where two men — a 26-year-old Kearny resident and a 52-year-old from Short Hills — reported that someone in a passing car had been firing paintballs at pedestrians. Near Town Hall, Capt. John Gouveia was flagged down by another pedestrian reporting the same thing, and Sgt. Anthony Limite took yet another report at Brighton Ave. and Halstead St.
Police said people had been struck, but no one was injured. Police have a description of the car and a partial plate, and the investigation is continuing.
Feb. 19
Officers Rich Carbone and Giovanni Rodriguez, on patrol in South Kearny, responded to a 7:45 p.m. report of a trespasser at a local business and encountered 30-year-old Elizabeth resident Hector Rodriguez. Police said he refused the officers’ requests to move on and was arrested for defiant trespass.
During a search pursuant to arrest, he allegedly was found to be in possession of several Tramadol tablets along with a glassine bag of suspected heroin, stamped “Great Ape.” He was also charged with unlawful possession of a prescription drug and possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia and reportedly was also found to have warrants from Linden and Caldwell.
– Karen Zautyk
