Two shoplifting suspects who fled Walmart by car were arrested Jan. 10 after being nabbed on the Newark side of the Clay St. Bridge, Kearny police reported.
At about 4:30 p.m., Officers Jay Ward and John Donovan responded to the store, where security reported that two women had sped away in a black Toyota Camry after attempting to steal soap, deodorant and body wash. Shortly thereafter, Officer Chris Manolis spotted the vehicle southbound on Belgrove Drive and attempted to stop it near Johnston Ave. Police said the driver would not stop and continued west on Johnston to Passaic Ave., south on Passaic and then across the bridge.
Manolis brought the vehicle to a halt at the Rt. 21 intersection and found it operated by Shaquana Warren, 33, of Newark, police said. Her passenger was identified as Cecilia McGhee-Whyte, 27, also of Newark.
Police said both women were found to have warrants: Warren, a $250 municipal ordinance violation from Newark; McGhee-Whyte, a $7,500 assault warrant from Newark, a $314 criminal warrant out of Ridgefield, and a $250 shoplifting warrant from Elizabeth.
Both were arrested on the warrants and also charged with shoplifting. In addition, Warren was charged criminally with eluding and was issued summonses for careless driving, running two stop signs and misuse of dealer plates.
The women were remanded to the Hudson County Jail.
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Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
Jan. 7
Two Harrison men got an object lesson about littering after police reportedly saw one of them empty the contents of a cigar onto the street.
Police said that, at 2:30 p.m., Mateusz Muchowski, 22, caught the attention of Officers Daniel Esteves and Andre Fernandes when he dumped the stogie’s innards from the driver’s side door of a doubleparked Honda at Schuyler Ave. and Hoyt St. Approaching the car, the cops reportedly detected the odor of marijuana, saw bits of pot on Muchowski’s lap and a baggie containing the drug in the center console.
Both he and his passenger, Kenneth Garcia-Arcos, 21, were charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. In addition, Muchowski was charged with operating a motor vehicle while in possession of a CDS.
Jan. 8
At 11:45 a.m., Vice officers, armed with information about an earlier drug transaction, stopped a 2011 GMC van near Passaic and Bergen Aves. Police said the driver, Sean Reilly, 23, of Harrison, was found to be in possession of two wax folds of heroin, stamped “Shop Rite.” (No, they were not purchased at the supermarket.) Reilly was charged with possession of the drug and drug paraphernalia. Jan. 9 At 8 p.m., Esteves and Fernandes stopped a 2014 Kia for disregarding a traffic signal at Passaic and Bergen. When it was pulled over, police said, the car hit the curb and kept rolling until they reached in and put it in park. They said the driver’s speech was slurred and inside the vehicle there was an empty bottle of Bacardi. Following field sobriety tests, and an Alcotest at headquarters, Macario Orosco-Coser, 48, of Belleville, was charged with DWI, reckless driving, failure to obey a traffic signal and having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle.
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Officers Derek Hemphill and Chris Medina responded to a 10 p.m. report of an accident at Bergen Ave. and Elm St., where a 1999 Ford van apparently ran a stop sign, collided with a 2004 Honda that was westbound on Bergen, and hit a utility pole. Following FSTs and an Alcotest, Oscar Valderrma, 52, of North Arlington, was charged with DWI and disregarding the sign. Police said there were no injuries.
Jan. 11
At 12:30 p.m., Sgt. Patrick Sawyer pulled over a 2003 BMW for failing to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk at Chestnut St. and Bergen Ave. Police said driver Nicholas Kaadan, 34, of East Rutherford, could not produce a driver’s license and was found to have three warrants: $500 from Lincoln Park for an MV violation; $535 for a Totowa ordinance violation, and a $450 one from the State Police for an MV offense in Woodbridge. Kaadan was arrested on those and for driving while suspended and was issued summonses for failure to produce a license and for the crosswalk violation.
Jan. 13
Officers Cesar Negron and Jose Perez Fonseca responded to Walmart at 10:20 a.m. on a report of an attempted shoplifting. Store security said Jacklyn Barretto, 30, of Franklin, had tried to steal speakers and a phone, worth a total of $400, and when they detained her, her husband, David Barretto, 32, of Newark, grabbed one of the guards by the arm, demanding she be released. The husband was not present when police arrived, but he eventually returned. Both Barrettos were arrested on charges of robbery and conspiracy.
– Karen Zautyk
