On Feb. 8, KPD detectives from the Vice/Alcoholic Beverage Control unit paid a visit to the Donegal Saloon on Kearny Ave. to conduct a regulatory inspection, during the course of which they had occasion to interview the manager, Kevin Wallace, 43, of Newark. On his desk, police said, they noticed a plastic bag containing what appeared to be marijuana, rolling papers and a folded $5 bill, in which was found suspected cocaine. Also in plain view, police said, was a jar with another bag of suspected pot.
In a search incident to arrest, the detectives reportedly found a bag of cocaine on his person and, in a satchel belonging to him, a folded $20 bill containing yet more of that drug.
Wallace was charged with possession of marijuana and cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
The KPD said that “in all probability, additional administrative charges would be lodged against the licensed premises for a regulatory violation” — serving an intoxicated person. Said person was an unnamed patron the detectives encountered upon entering the saloon.
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Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
Feb. 19
At 3 p.m., Officer Jordenson Jean and Alan Stickno stopped Alex Lado, 20, of Kearny for a field inquiry and warrant check on Devon St. Police said he was found to have no warrants but did have a hypodermic needle. He was charged with that offense and was released on a summons.
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Shortly before 5 p.m., Officers Chris Levchak and Michael Alvarez responded to a two-car accident on N. Hackensack Ave. in South Kearny and reportedly detected the odor of alcohol on one of the drivers. Following field sobriety tests and an Alcotest at headquarters, Shantaine Williams, 46, of Jersey City was charged with DWI, careless driving and failure to exhibit proof of insurance.
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Officer Chris Manolis stopped a car with heavily tinted windows at Midland Ave. near Belgrove Drive at 9:30 p.m. and reportedly detected the odor of raw marijuana. Police said driver Roger Siguenzamenendez, 22, of Kearny turned over a bag of pot and, in a search incident to arrest, was found to have a marijuana grinder in his pocket. He was charged with possession of pot and paraphernalia.
Feb. 20
Officer Jon Dowie, on patrol at 4 a.m., reported a 2009 Toyota speeding eastbound on the Belleville Pike and apparently having difficulty maintaining its lane. Police said Dowie followed it for about a mile, during which time it continually crossed the double-yellow line, and stopped it at Sellers St. When the driver rolled down the window, only a little bit, the odor of pot reportedly wafted from the car. Police said Jaden Williams, 21, of Jersey City, admitted having had a smoke and when he stepped from the vehicle loose pieces of marijuana and the remnants of hand-rolled cigarettes were observed. After FSTs, he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, careless driving, operating a MV while in possession of a CDS, possession of pot and paraphernalia.
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Shortly after 8 a.m., at Harrison and Ogden Aves., Officer Ben Wuelfing spotted a parked 2008 Toyota with a man apparently asleep in the driver’s seat. Closer inspection revealed a bootlace tied around his arm. “An additional clue,” police said, was the “hypodermic needle in his lap.” Marc Miller, 41, of no fixed address, was awakened and reportedly found to have three additional syringes. He was also found to have a $10,000 defiant-trespass warrant out of Newark. He was charged with possession of the needles, and the Newark PD was notified that he was in custody.
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Officers Andre Fernandes and John Fabula, on the 200 block of Beech St. at 1 p.m., were alerted by their license plate reader that the plate on a parked 1993 Honda was stolen. Carlos Contreras, 32, of Kearny, who police said was working on the car at the time, was charged with receiving stolen property and having an unregistered/uninsured MV.
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Fernandes and Fabula, on radar patrol at 5:30 p.m., reported a 2016 Ford with N.Y. plates doing 65 in a 45 mph zone. When they stopped it, driver Michael Marengo, 51, of Huntington Station, L.I., was unable to produce his license or any vehicle paperwork, police said.
The officers allowed him to exit the car and then search it for the documents, but they noticed he did not open the glove box. They suggested he do so. Lo and behold, therein were reportedly found two “very large” vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana, one stamped “Girl Scout Blackberry,” one stamped “Sour Diesel.” [Editor’ note: Along with heroin, pot apparently is now getting brand names.]
Marengo was charged with possession of pot and paraphernalia, possession of a CDS in a MV, and speeding.
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Shortly after 7 p.m., Officers Chris Medina and Sean Wilson spotted a 1997 Ford, its motor running, parked in a crosswalk at Bergen Ave. and Forest St. When they asked the occupant, Marcio Olicshevis, 54, of Kearny, for his credentials, he opened the door and the car lurched forward because it was still in drive, police said. He then reportedly produced an expired license and an expired insurance card.
Police said Olicshevis was disheveled and, on the passenger seat, there was a half-empty (or half-full) bottle of Dewar’s White Label. The officers attempted to conduct FSTs but these were halted because he was so unsteady on his feet, police said. An ambulance was summoned and Olicshevis was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center. Police said it was suspected that he was under the influence of both alcohol and drugs, possibly a sleep aid. He was charged with DWI, DWI in a school zone, failure to exhibit a valid license and proof of insurance, having an open container of alcohol in a MV, and blocking the crosswalk.
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Officers Rich Pawlowski and Kyle Plaugic, on radar patrol at 9:30 p.m., stopped a 1990 N.Y.-registered Toyota for traveling 43 mph in a 25-mph zone on Central Ave. in South Kearny. Police said the odor of marijuana was detected and driver Asif Mahmood, 37, of Newark, was found to be in possession of a hand-rolled marijuana cigar, a large vacuum-sealed bag of the drug, a smaller bag on his person, and a bookbag containing a prescription vial with more pot.
During processing at HQ, he was reportedly found to have three warrants: a drug-related one from Scotch Plains with $876 bail; a $539 criminal warrant from North Arlington, and a $400 MV warrant from Jersey City. He was charged on those and also with speeding, driving while suspended, possession of a CDS in a MV, possession of pot and paraphernalia, and the various jurisdictions were notified.
Feb. 21
At 2:30 a.m., Officer Jason Rodrigues stopped a 2006 Honda for making an illegal turn at Kearny and Bergen Aves. and found that driver Rosa Santiago, 22, of Newark, had a suspended license, police said. She was charged with both offenses and held for bail on two outstanding warrants: one from Kearny for $250 for a prior suspended-driving collar and a $500 Lyndhurst MV offense.
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Officer Dowie, conducting random MV checks at Beech St. and the Pike at 10:30 p.m., stopped a 2008 BMW whose driver, Omar Castillo, 22, of Belleville, reportedly had a suspended license and a $150 Belleville warrant (also for driving while suspended). He was charged with that offense, again, and failure to surrender a suspended license and later was released when he posted the $150 bail.
Feb. 25
At 8:30 a.m., Officers Jordenson Jean and Jose Castillo observed William Carter, 52, of Kearny, walking near Johnston and Highland Aves. and arrested him after confirming that he was wanted. Police said his warrants included two from Camden, $300 and $200, for ordinance violations; a South Brunswick shoplifting charge, $500; municipal code violation, Pennsauken, $100; and two from Union Township — $1,000, drug-related, and $500, ordinance violation. The various jurisdictions were notified.
