Kearny police were on radar detail on Rt. 7 in South Kearny last Wednesday when, at 4:14 p.m., Officer John Fabula clocked a westbound PT Cruiser doing 68 in a 45 mph zone. Officer Brian Wisely stopped the vehicle and, as he approached on foot, reportedly detected the odor of marijuana. Asked about the scent, police said the driver, Alexander Delgado, 44, of Lyndhurst, replied, “That’s my air freshener.”
After backup officer Sgt. Charles Smith noticed a handrolled cigarette in the center console, Delgado admitted to having two small bags of pot in his pocket, police said. He was arrested charged with possession of the drug and paraphernalia and also received a summons for speeding.
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Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
Feb. 13
Officer Luis Moran responded to Walmart at 7:59 p.m. to take into custody an alleged shoplifter who had been stopped by store security. Suspect Francisco Maldonado, 25, of Newark was found to have two warrants from that city and, unable to post bail, was taken to the Hudson County Jail.
Feb. 14
Moran took into custody another shoplifting suspect, Jessica Rosado, 36, of Newark, at 2:37 p.m. at ShopRite, where store security was holding her. Police said Rosado had been seen on videotape stealing baby formula the previous afternoon and was nabbed by security when she returned to the store this day.
Feb. 15
Officer Dean Gasser, responding to a 2:50 a.m. report of an accident on Harrison Ave., arrived to find that a 1999 Honda Accord had crashed into a concrete divider near the Turnpike entrance. Limping along the roadway was a man clad in a flourescent green jacket, who was identified as the driver, Derick Mejianovoa, 28, of Harrison. Police said he complained of leg pain, but after an ambulance was summoned, refused medical attention. He also allegedly refused to take an Alcotest. He was charged with that offense and with DWI.
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At 6:29 p.m., Officer Wisely was on patrol on Passaic Ave. when he spotted a 1995 Honda parked near the loading dock at the vacant Pathmark building. Approaching the car, he reportedly detected the odor of pot and saw the passenger attempting to conceal something. Questioned, the passenger, Jaycee Louis, 23, of East Orange, turned over a handrolled lit cigar containing the drug, police said. As the driver, Norberto Lopez, 20, of Belleville, exited the vehicle, a container of pot-filled baggies, fell out, police said. Both men were charged with possession of the drug and paraphernalia; the driver, was also charged with possession of a CDS in a motor vehicle.
Feb. 16
At 1:30 a.m., Wisely responded to a report of a homeless person in an empty building on the 500 block of Kearny Ave. Peering through a window, the officer saw, and recognized, 34-year-old Eric Tobin sleeping in the basement. Tobin, of no known address, was allegedly in possession of marijuana, and was charged with that, possession of drug paraphernalia, and trespassing. Police said he also had two outstanding Kearny warrants. He was taken to the Hudson County Jail, where, your correspondent notes, at least he had a warm place to snooze.
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Officer Jordenson Jean, on patrol at Johnston and Kearny Aves. at 2:40 p.m. stopped a 2011 Infiniti for having illegally tinted windows. Police said the driver, Carnell Wright, 25, of Kearny, was found to have a suspended license. He was charged with the equipment violation, driving while suspended and being unlicensed. (To alert Observer readers who recognize the name: Yes, he was arrested in Kearny last week on a warrant from Newark and at that time was said to have a Newark address.)
– Karen Zautyk
