William Lupkovich
Remember the man from last week’s blotter who was reportedly found sitting in one of the cinemas at the now-closed Lincoln Theater? He’s back. At 3 a.m., Dec. 5, the KPD received a report that a Buick had hit several parked vehicles on E. Midland Ave. and that the driver was walking away from the scene. Officer Ben Wuelfing and Det. Mike Andrews responded and located William Lupkovich, 24, of Jersey City, who was described as being “somewhat incoherent.” After field sobriety tests, he was arrested for allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
Following an Alcotest at headquarters, he was charged with DWI, careless driving, being an unlicensed driver and operating an unregistered vehicle.
There’s more. Police said their inquiry into the Buick’s ownership revealed it apparently had been stolen from an Elm St. auto repair center shortly before the accident. Lupkovich was additionally charged with receiving stolen property.
He was remanded to the Hudson County Jail on $25,000 bail.
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Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
Dec. 1
At 7 p.m., the Pennsylvania State Police notified the KPD that they were seeking the arrest of a Kearny woman, 21-year-old Shayna Almodovar. Sgt. Peter Gleason and Officers Rich Pawlowski and Jon Dowie took her into custody at her residence on a charge of being a fugitive from justice and she was transferred to the county jail to await pick-up by Pennsylvania authorities. She reportedly faces burglary and criminal mischief charges in that state.
Dec. 4
Sgt. Dave Rakowski was monitoring traffic at Bergen and Schuyler Aves. at 4 p.m. when he observed a woman apparently talking on a cell phone while driving. During the MV stop, the officer found that Jaclyn Figueroa, 34, of East Newark, had a suspended license, police said. She was charged with that offense, failure to surrender a suspended license and with the cell-phone violation.
Dec. 6
Officer Jason Rodrigues responded to a 3:30 a.m. report of an accident on the 600 block of Forest St., where a 2014 Hyundai had rear-ended a parked vehicle.
There, he found driver Milton Bianchi-Neto, 21, of Kearny, who allegedly had slurred speech and an odor of alcohol. Following FSTs by Officer Wuelfing, Bianchi- Neto was charged with DWI and careless driving.
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At 4 p.m., Capt. Tim Wagner observed Jose Pinedo, 50, of Kearny, operating a 2015 Ford Explorer on the 100 block of Davis Ave. and confirmed that he had a suspended license. He was taken into custody by Officer Kevin Arnesman and charged with the license offense.
Douglas Welfl
Dec. 7
If you were near Midland Ave. and Argyle Place at 11:20 a.m., you likely noticed a cops-civilian scuffle. This is the story: Officer Leroy Bibbs had responded to a report of a disorderly person at that location and found Douglas Welfl, 30, of Kearny, sitting on a stoop and “ranting incoherently” at schoolkids who were walking past, police said.
Bibbs gave him an opportunity to leave the area, but Welfl allegedly responded by clenching his fists and advancing on the officer. Police said a struggle ensued, and Bibbs took Welfl to the ground while simultaneously radioing for assistance, which quickly arrived in the persons of Sgt. Joseph Vulcano and Officers Pete Jahera and Damon Pein. Welfl reportedly refused to be cuffed and was elbowing and kicking at the cops until Vulcano employed OC spray.
Welfl was charged with disorderly conduct, aggravated assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. He was sent to the county jail on $10,000 bail.
Dec. 8
Officers Dominic Dominguez and Sean Kelly were conducting random MV checks at Kearny and Columbia Aves. at 8 p.m. when their computer hit on the license plate of a vehicle operated by Wilfredo Lopez, 43, of Newark, who had a suspended license, police said. He was issued summonses for that offense and failure to surrender a suspended license and was arrested on three outstanding warrants: two from Newark, one from East Orange.
Dec. 9
Shortly after noon, Officers Cesar Negron and Sean Podolski responded to a report of a disturbance (a male-female argument) on Midland Ave. near Belgrove Drive and while there encountered Christian Garcia, 26, of Kearny.
Police said they determined he was the subject of three outstanding warrants: two from Kearny and a no-bail warrant from the Hudson County Sheriff ’s Office. Garcia was arrested and held at headquarters for pick-up by sheriff ’s officers.
– Karen Zautyk
