KEARNY —
A man and a woman, arrested here last week on marijuana-possession charges, may have set a record of sorts — ending up in police custody twice within eight hours. The story:
At about 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 9, Kearny Officers Kyle Plaugic and Cesar Negron responded to a report of a dispute in the area of Stewart Ave. and Grand Place. When they arrived, the altercation was over, police said, but a BOLO was issued for a 2015 Dodge that had left the scene. A short time later, Officers Pat Becker and John Donovan stopped the vehicle on Passaic Ave near Johnston Ave. and found it operated by Andersson Lazarte, 19, of Kearny.
While the two cops, with Officer Steven Hroncich as back-up, were making inquiries, they detected the odor of marijuana in and about the car and saw within it a marijuana cigar, a small mesh pouch, a silver grinder and an envelope found to contain pot, police said.
Lazarte and his two passengers — Ruth Serverino-Pesante, 20, of Newark, and Luinov Benito, 21, of Kearny — were all arrested and charged with possession of the drug and drug paraphernalia. Lazarte was also charged with possession of a CDS in a motor vehicle.
After being booked at headquarters, the three were released on summonses.
Fast forward to 5 p.m. the same day:
Officer Ben Wuelfing, called to a two-car accident on the 100 block of Laurel Ave., arrived to find that one of the vehicles was a 2015 Dodge, operated by Andersson Lazarte. Police said he had apparently been traveling west on Laurel when he collided with a 2015 Jeep.
Due to the severity of the crash, police said, an ambulance was summoned to the scene to assist a passenger in the Jeep, a 33-year-old Kearny woman who was complaining of pain.
Police said Lazarte was staggering and had the odor of marijuana on his breath. After conducting field sobriety tests, Wuelfing formed the opinion that he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
Officers Plaugic and Negron, who were still on duty, had gone to the scene to help with traffic control and while there Plaugic observed Lazarte’s passenger — Ruth Serverino-Pesante — reportedly trying to hide something in her shirt.
Police said this turned out to be a plastic bag of suspected pot.
Lazarte and Serverino-Pesante were both taken to KPD headquarters, where a search of the latter by a female officer produced two small buds of marijuana concealed on the suspect’s person, police said. For the second time that day, Serverino-Pesante was charged with possession of pot and paraphernalia.
Police said a urine sample was taken from Lazarte and a certified drug-recognition expert, summoned to HQ from the Jersey City PD, deemed him to be under the influence of a CDS. He was again charged with possession of pot — along with the added counts of DUI, reckless driving and assault by auto.
Serverino-Pesante was again released on a summons. Lazarte was released at 10 p.m. after posting bail ($2,500 or 10%).
