April 12
A motor vehicle stop at a Franklin Ave. location, at 1:54 a.m., resulted in the arrest of Sergio Landeros, 26, of Garfield, who was issued summonses charging him with DWI and careless driving and released pending a court date.
April 13
At 4:06 a.m., police were alerted to an unknown man allegedly detonating fireworks in front of a Franklin Ave. residence. Police said the man, who was described as wearing a gray shirt and shorts, was reported seen running west on Sargent St. and driving away in a dark colored SUV. Police searched the area but found no one.
April 15
At 10:17 a.m., police were dispatched to a Union Ave. location after the homeowner noticed a small device resembling a grenade located near their garage. After concluding that it could be an explosive device, police called in the Essex County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad who determined it was an old smoke grenade that had been previously hollowed out and was no longer active. The squad removed the device for proper disposal.
At 11:50 a.m., police were sent to a Franklin Ave. location on a report of a male ripping mailboxes off a building. When they arrived, police said they found a man who matched a description they’d been given standing near the mailboxes and asked him what he was doing. Police said the man, who was intoxicated, began screaming at them and flailing his arms. Frank Ruglio, 26, of Nutley, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. After learning that Ruglio had outstanding warrants from Nutley and Newark, police contacted Newark PD who released him pending a new court date.
April 16
At 12:24 a.m., police responded to a Franklin Ave. location on a report of a broken car window. Police said the vehicle’s owner, accompanied by two others carrying garbage bags, came down to the ground level of their building to leave and observed a small black vehicle occupied by a man and woman in the covered parking lot near the Dumpsters. They told police that the vehicle left the lot, traveling south on Franklin. At this time, police said, the victim noticed that their front driver’s side window had been shattered and a silver purse containing a driver’s license, $10, keys and a health insurance card, was missing from their vehicle. Also listed as missing from the vehicle, police said, was a black purse with a N.J. ID and an unknown amount of cash. Police said two other purses were left in the vehicle. Police said it appeared that the thief used a prying tool to try to open the door, causing the glass to break. Police said the driver’s side door handle was missing and the door molding was ripped off and located under the vehicle. Police said they retrieved several business cards and other items from the Dumpster as evidence. Police said also found inside the vehicle an item not claimed by the victims. An investigation is continuing.
At 9:27 a.m., police responded to a Rutgers Place location on a report of criminal mischief where the owner of a parked vehicle told them that the vehicle’s rear window had been shattered overnight.
At 5:59 p.m., police received a report of criminal mischief to an auto at a Passaic Ave. location. Police said the driver’s side wheel had a dent with a paint chip missing and a scratch under the arc of the wheel well.
April 17
At 9 a.m., police were called to a River Road location on a report that a tree from the Passaic Valley Water Commission easement property had fallen onto the neighboring property, damaging a 2013 grey Honda wagon, parked in its assigned spot. Police said the vehicle sustained significant damage to its exterior and interior from rain entering through the broken windows. – Ron Leir
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.