April 18
Officer Joseph Vulcano, on patrol on the Belleville Pike at 6:45 a.m., stopped an eastbound car that had crossed into the westbound lanes, passing several other vehicles, including a tractor-trailer truck. Police said the driver, Juan Rivera, 21, of North Arlington, was found to have a suspended license and was charged with that offense, failure to surrender a suspended license and improper passing.
At 9:45 a.m., Det. Michael Gonzalez and Sgt. Paul Bershefski saw Vincent Salerno, 34, of Jersey City — described as being “very well known” to the KPD — sitting in a parked car at Elm St. and Seeley Ave. After a warrant check indicated he was wanted by Bernards Township, he was arrested and Bernards police were notified.
At 2:15 p.m., Officers Brian Wisely and Jordenson Jean saw two individuals on the railroad tracks near N. Midland Ave., an area described as being frequented by drug users. Police said the pair appeared to be passing a pipe between them, began walking away when they saw the officers and discarded a leather case in the bushes. It was retrieved and reportedly found to contain suspected marijuana. Francisco Lalama, 18, and a 17-year-old female, both of Kearny, were charged with possession of a CDS and of drug paraphernalia. The juvenile was turned over to the custody of her parents.
April 19
Officers Ben Wuelfing and Angelo Palagano responded to a 2:30 a.m. report of suspicious persons on the 100 block of Brighton Ave. and found three males sitting in a parked Dodge Caravan. When the officers illuminated the interior, they reportedly saw evidence of drug use and subsequently recovered a cigar apparently laced with marijuana, along with cigar rolling papers. Kearny residents Patryk Gaworski, 20; Edwin Rivera, 20, and Marllon Marques, 19, were charged with possession of pot and paraphernalia.
April 20
At 11 p.m., at Quincy Ave. and Elm St., Officer Dean Gasser saw a motorist hit a retaining wall while attempting to park. The driver, Walid Helmy, 20, of Kearny, was found to have a suspended license, police said.
April 21
Officer Pat Becker responded to a 5:20 p.m. report of a man apparently trying to break into a home on the 300 block of Devon St. via the front door. At the door, the officer found Harry McCourt, 54, of Kearny, who was in possession of a screwdriver, pipe and hammer, police said. McCourt was charged with attempted burglary and possession of burglar tools and on an outstanding warrant out of Harrison.
At 5:45 p.m., on the 500 block of Forest St., Officers Wisely and Jean observed 29-year-old Alexander Harkes of Kearny, whom they knew to be wanted by Kearny. After the warrant was confirmed, a search incident to arrest reportedly found Harkes to be in possession of drug paraphernalia. He was charged on both counts.
April 22
Officers Derek Hemphill and Vulcano responded to a multi-vehicle accident at 12:30 p.m. at the Rt. 7 viaduct. One of the drivers, Aaron Carmichael, 29, of Elizabeth, who had been operating a tractortrailer truck, was found to have a suspended license and two outstanding warrants, from East Rutherford and Trenton, police said. He was taken into custody. There reportedly were no injuries in the accident.
At 2:30 p.m., Officers Jay Ward and Jean were called to a South Kearny checkcashing business, where the proprietor reported that two individuals, who had made transactions there in the past, turned out not to have the required authorization to cash the checks they presented. Arrested were Bronx residents Massiel Hernandez, 29, and Jose Betance, 42. Both were charged with possession of bad checks, conspiracy and criminal attempt at theft. Hernandez also was charged with possession of a false government document (a fraudulent New York driver’s license).
April 24
At 7:30 p.m., Vice Unit detectives reportedly spotted Jeffrey Ortiz, 36, of Kearny drinking from a 24- oz. can of beer while walking at Woodland and Highland Aves. Pursant to issuing a Town Ordinance summons, they did a warrant check and found that he was wanted by Newark, police said. Arrested on that warrant, he was taken to headquarters, where further investigation showed he had several aliases and under those names had two more Newark warrants and one from Harrison, police said. He was held for those jurisdictions.
Sgt. Anthony Limite, Det. Stephen Podolski and Officers John Fabula and Luis Moran responded to a 7:45 p.m. report of a woman screaming for help on the 300 block of Forest St. Fabula arrived first and found a 31-year-old Kearny woman — bleeding from the face and crying — who said she had been assaulted by her ex-boyfriend. The alleged assailant had fled on foot. The officers searched the area and, on Davis Ave., Moran and Podolski encountered a man also bleeding from facial injuries. Police said he was the suspect and had apparently fallen from a fence or a shed while running away. They said Hector Reyesvendrelle, 32, of Newark was identified by the victim and was charged with simple assault.
–Karen Zautyk
