A 30-year-old Kearny man was remanded to the Hudson County Jail following his arrest in connection with two commercial burglaries in the town, Kearny police reported.
Police said Miguel Ortiz, who had been developed as a suspect in the crimes, was spotted, recognized and taken into custody by Det. Michael Andrews at 2 p.m., March 31, in the area of the Belleville Pike and Passaic Ave.
According to the KPD, the overnight burglaries occurred Feb. 20 at a business on the 100 block of Midland Ave. — where the perpetrator gained entry by smashing the front door — and March 23 at a Kearny Ave. liquor store. In both instances, cash and cartons of cigarettes were taken.
Ortiz was charged with two counts each of burglary, theft, criminal mischief and possession of burglar tools.
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Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
March 31
At noon, Det. John Fabula observed Kysean Price, 18, of Kearny, riding a bicycle in the area of Halstead and Chestnut Sts. and arrested him on an outstanding Kearny warrant on the charge of making terroristic threats. Price was sent to the county jail on $10,000 bail, with a 10% option.
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At 3:15 p.m., units were advised that a shoplifter has just fled Walmart in a 2008 Dodge pickup. Officers Malinda Esposito and Jose Resua were in the area, spotted the truck exiting the store lot and stopped it. Police said the driver, Jarrett Nelson, 40, of East Orange, was found to have a suspended license and a $500 motor-vehicle warrant from Newark.
Walmart security was brought to the scene and reportedly identified Nelson’s passenger, Ebony Walker, 30, of Newark, as the person who had shoplifted $51 worth of meat and clothing. The goods were recovered from the truck, police said.
Walker was charged with shoplifting; Nelson, with driving while suspended, failure to surrender a suspended license, and on the warrant, and the Newark PD was notified that he was in custody.
April 1
Vice detectives, at Johnston Ave. and Maple St. at 10 a.m., detained and questioned Nicole Docatis, 36, of Kearny, with whom they reportedly were familiar, and found her to be in possession of two vials of cocaine and two wax folds of heroin, stamped “Total Control,” police said. She was charged with possession of the drugs and drug paraphernalia.
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Pursuant to a no-bail, theft-related warrant from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, detectives and patrol officers went to a Howell Place residence at 11:30 a.m. and located suspect Marcos Mendez, 38, of Kearny. Police said he was initially cooperative but began to resist as he was being led outside, where he caused a disturbance, to the point that OC spray had to be deployed.
Mendez was taken to headquarters, where Kearny EMS treated him for exposure to the spray, and was charged on the warrant and with resisting arrest. He was subsequently transferred to the county jail, with an additional $5,000/10% bail set by Kearny Municipal Court Judge Thomas D. McKeon.
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Officer Sean Wilson responded at noon to a report of a suspicious person at CVS at Bergen and Schuyler Aves. Searching the area, he encountered Paul Spana, 50, of Kearny, who police said fit the description from the store. A warrant check showed that Spana had a $2,000 Kearny warrant stemming from an earlier shoplifting incident at CVS, police said. He was arrested on that and ended up in the county jail.
April 2
At 1 a.m., while assigned to a distracted-driving patrol, Officer Jon Dowie saw a motorist speaking on a cell phone in the area of Beech St. and the Pike. When the officer stopped the ’99 Chrysler, driver Damont Jeter, 38, of Newark, produced an expired license, which turned out to be suspended, police said, while Jeter himself turned out to have a $100 Jersey City traffic warrant. He was charged with the license and cell-phone offenses and later bailed himself out on the warrant.
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Shortly before midnight, Officer Derek Hemphill reported, a vehicle ran a red light at Kearny and Quincy Aves. and continued north on Kearny Ave. As he followed the car, which then headed east on Oakwood, its driver turned off the headlights, police said. Hemphill found it parked at Oakwood and Elm St., asked the driver, Treyvon Blunt, 27, of Kearny, for his credentials and learned that his driving privileges were suspended, police said. Blunt was charged with the license offense and disregarding a traffic signal.
April 3
Officer Dowie, in the area of 1200 Harrison Ave. at 3 a.m., was alerted by his mobile data computer that the registered owner of a passing 2001 Ford had a suspended license and a $500 traffic warrant from Elizabeth. Stopping the car, he found it operated by owner Troy Frye, 27, of Jersey City, whom he arrested pursuant to the warrant and the license offense. The Elizabeth PD was notified.
April 4
At 2 a.m., Officer Michael Gontarczuk was alerted that the registered owner of a 2005 Honda, travelling in the area of Schuyler and John Hay Aves., had a suspended license and a $100 Jersey City warrant. He stopped the car and arrested owner/driver Amanda Benthall, 23, of Jersey City, on those charges. She later posted bail.
April 5
At 2:30 a.m., Sgt. Glenn Reed and Officers Darwin Paulino and Mina Ekladious responded to the 400 block of Kearny Ave., where a man was reportedly trying to kick down a door. Angel Perez, 31, of Kearny, was arrested on a charge of making terroristic threats. He was processed at headquarters and taken to the county jail.
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Officers Tim Castle and Richard Poplaski, on the 300 block of Maple St. at 6:30 p.m., observed William Conklin, 35, of Kearny, confirmed that he had warrants and arrested him on same. Police said these included two Newark motor vehicle warrants, $500 each; a $500 Kearny motor vehicle warrant, and a no-bail warrant, also out of Kearny, for simple assault. He was booked at HQ and taken to the county jail.
