A QuickChek customer who suspected that the ATM at the store “had been manipulated” alerted police, who subsequently arrested two men for allegedly placing a skimming device on the machine last week, the KPD reports.
Upon receipt of the complaint, Det. Lt. Paul Bershefski, Det. Sgt. Michael Gonzalez, Det. Ramon Lopez and members of the Vice Unit responded to the store at Kearny and Bergen Aves. at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10, and verified that a skimmer had been installed. Officers reviewed the security videos and noted two individuals who “had spent an inordinate amount of time” around the ATM, police said.
In hopes that the suspects might soon return, surveillance was set up inside and outside QuickChek. Shortly thereafter, police said, two men matching the description entered the store, went immediately to the ATM and began to remove the device. The officers confronted and arrested David Herrera-Rodas, 24, of Newark, and Alejandro Gonzalez-Scott, 34, of Lyndhurst.
Both were charged with computer-related criminal activity, use of a scanning device, possession of a forgery device and conspiracy.
The KPD said the skimmer had apparently had been installed earlier that day. Customers who used the QuickChek machine on the date in question are advised to contact their bank to see if their card has been compromised.
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Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
Aug. 4
At 11:30 a.m., Vice officers stopped a 2003 Nissan near the Belleville Pike and Passaic Ave. and reportedly observed driver Soscia Salo, 42, of Lyndhurst holding a wax fold stamped “Angry Birds.” She was also allegedly found to have a cut straw and eight more folds, all with a “brand-name” indicating irate warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers, beaks and forelimbs modified as wings. She was charged with possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia.
Aug. 5
At 9:15 p.m., the attention of Officers Jason Rodrigues and Jonathan Dowie was drawn to a Nissan parked at the dead-end of Hoyt St. off Schuyler Ave. and reportedly emitting puffs of smoke. Approaching on foot, police said, they detected the usual odor and arrested Julian Shipman, 22, of Newark, after he handed over one burnt hand-rolled cigar. He was charged with possession of pot and paraphernalia and on a $50 theft warrant from Newark, and the Newark PD was advised he was in custody.
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Units responded to a 10:20 p.m. report of a fight in progress at Kearny and Midland Aves. Police said Officer Sean Podolski, first on the scene, was advised by witnesses that a man sitting in a parked Honda had been the aggressor and had struck a 28-year-old East Orange man multiple times in the neck and legs with a “black, club-like object.” Honda occupant Alvin Marrero-Fernandez, 24, of Belleville, was charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon — a black expandable baton reportedly found in the car — and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes. The cause of the dispute is not known.
Aug. 6
At 9:15 a.m., on Hackensack Ave., Officer Jordenson Jean stopped at 2006 Nissan for a lighting violation and reportedly found that driver Adriana Cordova, 30, of Elizabeth, had a suspended license and two motor vehicle warrants: $750, from East Greenwich, N.J., and $500, Passaic. She was charged on everything and turned over to Passaic authorities.
Aug. 8
Officer Dowie, on patrol at 1 a.m., reported a 2003 Honda speeding north on Kearny Ave. at Woodland Ave. and followed it to Maple St. and then down Bergen Ave. into the Applebee’s lot. Following field sobriety tests, the 17-year-old male (probationary) driver from Hampton, N.J., was arrested for DWI, careless driving, DWI in a school zone and violation of probationary-license regulations: driving after hours and with too many occupants in the car. The Honda was impounded, and the driver was later released to the custody of his father.
Aug. 9
Officers Daniel Esteves and Daniel Lopez were advised by a concerned citizen at 5:30 p.m. that the occupants of a gray Hyundai travelling south on Passaic Ave. had been throwing objects from the car. After the officers stopped it on Passaic in East Newark, police said, they found that driver Lisetta Sindab, 28, of Union, had both a suspended license and a $500 MV warrant from Sparta. She was arrested and Sparta was notified. Because Sindab’s passenger was unlicensed, the Hyundai was towed to impound.
— Karen Zautyk
