A 44-year-old man was arrested last week for the theft of not one, but two, bicycles in Kearny, the KPD reported.
Shortly before noon on Sunday, July 5, headquarters received a report that a man had entered a Windsor St. backyard and made off with a silver bike. A relative of the theft victim chased the perp as far as Garfield School, where, realizing he was being followed, the man jumped off the cycle and fled on foot, police said.
Shortly thereafter, cops received a call that a blue and purple mountain bike had been stolen near Town Hall. The thief, they said, fit the description of the original culprit.
Officer Steve Hroncich, who had seen the bike being ridden south on Windsor St. near Liberty St., issued a BOLO, and Det. Michael Gonzalez spotted and detained the suspect near Tops Diner in East Newark. Hroncich brought the Windsor St. victim to the scene, and the thief was ID’d, police said.
Arrested on charges of trespass and theft was Diego Rodriguez, 44, of Newark, who reportedly was also wanted on a criminal warrant from Bloomfield.
Both bicycles were recovered and returned to the rightful owners.
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Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
July 3
At 8:10 p.m., Officer Kevin Arnesman responded to a report of a dispute at a Schuyler Ave. service station. There, he found a Kearny woman who said she had lost her cell phone in a nearby supermarket, dialed her number from another phone and spoke to a man who said he had the missing cell and arranged to meet her at the station to return it. Once there, the man reportedly demanded a “finder’s fee.” Arnesman confronted the man, Michael Alfonso, 32, of Kearny, and determined he was the subject of two Newark warrants. Alfonso was arrested on those, and the phone was returned to its owner.
July 7
Officers Hroncich and Cesar Negron responded to the parking garage at Bergen Ave. and Elm St. at 11 a.m. on a report of suspicious persons in a car.
Locating the vehicle, they reportedly found the back seat passenger, Thomas Valentin, 19, of the Bronx, sitting amidst remnants of a hollowed-out cigar, marijuana residue and a tobacco grinder. When he produced his ID, police said, his wallet was found to contain a small plastic bag of pot. He was charged with possession of the drug and drug paraphernalia. Two other individuals in the car were apparently not involved in the drug activity and were released at the scene.
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At 6 p.m, after spotting a 1998 Chevy parked illegally on the 800 block of Kearny Ave., Officer Daniel Esteves checked his onboard computer and found that the registered owner had a traffic warrant from Newark and a criminal warrant from Elizabeth. When he confronted Medinah Hall, 20, of Paterson, and asked her to empty her pockets, she was allegedly found to have a plastic bag of marijuana. She was arrested on the warrants and for possession of pot and paraphernalia.
July 8
At 12:30 p.m., Vice detectives confronted Sergey Soytu, 25, of Kearny, and Kevin Callery, 29, of Bloomfield, in a car at Grant and Johnston Aves. for questioning about a suspected drug transaction. Both men reportedly admitted to same, and the officers confiscated 15 wax folds of “Blue Thunder” heroin and three vials of cocaine from Soytu, police said. Callery was allegedly found to be in possession of a credit card in someone else’s name. Both men were charged with possession of heroin and coke and paraphernalia. In addition, Soytu was charged with possession of a CDS while operating a motor vehicle; Callery, with credit card theft.
– Karen Zautyk
