On Sunday, Sept. 20, at approximately 9:45 p.m., the proprietor of the CVS store at Schuyler and Bergen Aves. reportedly attempted to detain a suspected shoplifter. A struggle ensued in the foyer, and the suspect dropped his loot, broke free and fled on foot, east on Bergen.
KPD Officer Ben Wuelfing viewed store security videos, which showed a white male, about 6-feet tall, 40-50 years old, wearing a sweatshirt and walking hunched over.
Recovered at the scene was the stolen merchandise: eight 42-count packs of Nexium (that’s 336 pills). Now, either Nexium has become an easy-to-fence commodity or the shoplifter has a really bad acid-reflux problem. Maybe it’s the latter. He was also trying to walk out with 24 bottles of Poland Spring water.
The investigation is continuing.
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Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
Sept. 19
At 4:15 a.m., Wuelfing responded to a report of an accident at Archibald Terrace and Highland Ave. and arrived to find that a parked Camry had been struck by a 2009 BMW. Police said the Beemer’s driver, Malcolm Valles, 31, of Kearny, was falling asleep behind the wheel and, when asked for his license/registration/ insurance card, instead handed Wuelfing various credit cards and needed the officer’s help to identify his license in his wallet. Following field sobriety tests, Valles was arrested and taken to headquarters, where an Alcotest reportedly showed his alcohol level to be twice the legal limit. He was charged with DWI and careless driving.
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Bad day for little Archibald Terrace: At 6:30 p.m., at the other end of the block-long street, near Maple St., Officer Jordenson Jean, with Sgt. Pete Gleason and Det. Ray Lopez as backup, confronted an alleged backyard intruder. In a search incident to arrest, suspect Martin Sanchez, 34, of Newark, was allegedly found to be in possession of a glass crack pipe.
Police said Sanchez first gave his name as Martin Diaz, but a fingerprint check at HQ revealed his true identity, along with his $2,500 criminal warrant out of Bloomfield.
Sanchez was charged with criminal trespass, possession of drug paraphernalia, and hindering apprehension. He was remanded to the Hudson County Jail after Kearny Municipal Court Judge Thomas McKeon increased his bail by $10,000.
Sept. 20
At 10:30 p.m., Det. Michael Andrews took a report from a 17-year-old Kearny female who said a white male, 19-20 years old, had grabbed her purse while she was sitting on a bench near the Gin Mill. The victim said she followed him as he ran north on Brighton Ave. but lost sight of him when he jumped a fence. The purse was found on Halstead St., but the victim told police her wallet, driver’s license, credit cards and cash were missing. Andrews obtained a description of the perp, along with a possible nickname, and a follow-up investigation is being conducted.
Sept. 21
Officers Pat Becker and Joe Martin responded to a 4 a.m. accident at Rt. 7 and Fish House Road, where a 2014 Chevy had hit a fixed object. Police said they arrived to find an apparently intoxicated Erin Lynam, 28, of Massapequa, L.I., standing in the roadway. Taken to HQ for an Alcotest, she was charged with DWI, reckless driving and on a warrant from the Allegheny County (Pa.) Sheriff’s Office, which was notified that she was in custody.
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At 4:30 p.m., Officers Sean Kelly and Jason Rodrigues were called to ShopRite where a man had been put under surveillance after he entered the store carrying an empty ShopRite bag, which he then proceeded to fill with toilet paper, Bic razors and cereal. After the suspect, William Carter, 52, of Kearny, tried to leave without paying, he was arrested for shoplifting.
Police said they then discovered that Carter had eight warrants from seven N.J. communities: two from Burlington Township and one each from Columbus, Pennsauken, Camden, Mansfield, Union and South Brunswick. He was held by the KPD pending pick-up by one of those jurisdictions or transfer to the Hudson County Jail, “whichever comes first,” Chief John Dowie said.
Sept. 22
Officer Daniel Esteves was and Windsor Sts. when he saw a 2008 Honda with New York plates “travelling at an excessive rate of speed” near a park where children were still playing. Esteves followed it south on Windsor, west on Liberty St. and north on Brighton Ave., halting it on Trinity Place. Jose Romero, 23, of Kearny, was charged with reckless driving, being an unlicensed and uninsured driver, and driving with a suspended registration.
Police said his passenger, Steven Campos, 22, of Kearny, was found to have a town ordinance warrant from North Arlington and was arrested on that.
Sept. 23
Officers Kelly and Rodrigues arrested Kaitlin Bannon, 22, of Kearny, at 9 p.m. on the 200 block of Wilson Ave. on an outstanding warrant from Rutherford. Police said she later posted the $250 bail.
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At 11:30 p.m., Officers Kelly, Jay Balogh and Dean Gasser and Sgt. Jack Corbett were called to Walmart, where security reportedly had their hands full with an unruly shoplifting suspect, Tamika Bethea, 26, of Newark. Advised to accompany the cops to the security office, she initially complied, but then allegedly became belligerent. Police said she had to be forced to the floor before she could be cuffed and that it took two officers to get her into the patrol car. She was charged with shoplifting (an aerosol product, a scrub sponge, panties and food items) and resisting arrest.
Sept. 24
Shortly after noon, Officer Jose Canela, with Sgt. Paul Bershefski and Capt. Scott Macfie as backup, responded to the Chase Bank at Kearny and Johnston Aves. on a report of an unruly man attempting to pass a fraudulent check. Freddie Bouie, 25, of Newark, was arrested for forgery.
– Karen Zautyk
