Kearny police are on the trail of a burglar who escaped with more than $11,000 worth of property from a Passaic Ave. business July 21. Chief John Dowie said the break-in was reported at 10 p.m. on the 100 block of Passaic, where an office had been ransacked and assorted items — primarily jewelry but also a camera and a Louis Vuitton bag — had been stolen.
After the initial investigation by Officer Derek Hemphill, the case was turned over to Detectives Scott Traynor and John Telle. “They have developed a suspect and we are hunting him,” Dowie said.
Other recent reports from the KPD blotter included the following:
July 19
After Officer Daniel Esteves saw a Jeep run a stop sign at Chestnut St. and Garfield Ave. at 2:30 p.m., his mobile data computer indicated the vehicle’s registered owner had a warrant from Elizabeth. The owner, Petronio Salazar, 39, of Kearny, turned out to be a passenger in the Jeep and was arrested. The driver was issued a summons for the traffic violation. It is not known if Salazar and the driver are still friends.
July 20
Officer Pat Becker, on patrol shortly after midnight, came upon a large and disorderly group at Kearny and Garfield Aves. and reportedly saw one of the individuals, Carlos Rabines, 22, of Kearny, punch another. Rabines was arrested for simple assault. Meanwhile, as back-up Officer Derek Hemphill attempted to disperse the crowd, 22-yearold Gianfranco Niccodemi of Kearny threw a metal object at the cop and fled on foot down Afton St., police said. Hemphill gave chase and found him hiding behind a picnic table in a Maple St. backyard.
Niccodemi was charged with obstructing the administration of law and on an outstanding Kearny warrant.
July 22
At midnight, Officer Tom Sumowski stopped a car with no headlights at Kearny and Linden Aves. The driver, who identified himself as Antoine Johnson, had difficulty answering routine questions, such as his date of birth, police said.
His passenger, Sherell Price, 22, of Newark, reportedly “attempted to corroborate the lies.” At headquarters, the driver was eventually identified as Jamar Johnson, 25, of Roselle, who had a suspended license, police said. He was issued summonses for that offense, for careless driving and for driving without lights. Price got a summons for allowing an unlicensed person to operate her car. And both were charged criminally with hindering apprehension.
After the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office notified the KPD that it had issued a warrant for a 17-year-old Newark female who was known to frequent Kearny, Det. Michael Farinola spotted her at 4:30 p.m. at Belgrove Drive and Afton St. She allegedly resisted arrest and tried to flee but was taken into custody by back-up Officer Sean Kelly. Charged on the warrant and with resisting, she was remanded to the Hudson County Juvenile Detention Facility.
At 8 p.m., Vice Unit officers, as part of an ongoing marijuana-distribution investigation, were conducting surveillance at Tappan St. and Davis Ave. when they reportedly witnessed a drug transaction between two Kearny men: Jovan Echevarria, 19, and Abdrubalameer Abdullah Alethan, 56. Police said Alethan, the alleged customer, was found to have four plastic bags of suspected pot and was charged with possession of the drug and drug paraphernalia. Echevarria, who was reportedly holding another bag of pot and $40 in cash, was charged with possession with intent to distribute, distribution within school and playground zones and possession of paraphernalia.
Officers Ben Wuelfing and Tom Pontrella encountered a large group gathered in a parking lot at Maple St. and Bergen Ave. at 10:20 p.m., saw among the John Rodrigues, 23, of Kearny, and arrested him on his outstanding Kearny warrant.
July 23
At 1:50 a.m., Officer Chris Medina was at Chestnut St. and Garfield Ave. whn his automatic license plate reader (ALPR) indicated that a passing VW bore plates that were not on file. Police said the driver, Walid Helmy, 20, of Kearny, was unable to produce a driver’s license or any paperwork on the vehicle. He was charged with driving while suspended, operating an unregistered and uninsured vehicle and misuse of plates. The car was impounded.
At 7:20 a.m., Officer David Rakowski’s ALPR indicated that the car in front of his on Harrison Ave. had a suspended registration and that the registered owner had a Secaucus warrant. Terrell Golding, 28, of East Orange was arrested and also charged with driving with a suspended license.
At 2 p.m., Dets. Michael Gonzalez and John Plaugic saw a Nissan run a traffic signal at Passaic and Bergen Aves. and attempted to make a MV stop, but the car accelerated, passing other vehicles in a reckless manner, police said. The detectives halted it between North and South Midland Aves., but as Plaugic approached on foot, it reportedly took off again, continuing north on Passaic. However, other units had been alerted and were waiting just up the hill, at the foot of Laurel Ave., where they blocked its progress. Police said that when Plaugic ordered him out of the car, the driver began screaming incoherently and had to be brought to the ground.
Harrison resident Raphael Mendonca, 28, was charged with eluding, obstructing the administration of law, reckless driving, disregard of a traffic signal, possession of a CDS and possession of drug paraphernalia.
–Karen Zautyk
