Another “routine” traffic stop led to the arrest Nov. 26 of a motorist with a car containing drugs and a trunkload of stolen merchandise, Kearny police reported.
Police said that at 8:30 p.m., Officer Jonathan Dowie saw a 2008 Nissan speed through the crowded Wawa lot, disregard a stop sign and turn onto Harrison Ave. without signaling. When he and backup Officer David Bush stopped the vehicle and asked driver Alpha Jalloh, 21, of Newark, for his credentials, the man reportedly was hesitant to open the center console and, when he finally did, threw his body sideways over it to block the officers’ view. This did not work.
Visible inside, police said, were a large quantity of baggies, one containing OxyContin. A search of the vehicle also reportedly produced a marijuana blunt, a digital scale with pot residue, a defaced pill bottle holding methocarbamol [Google says that’s a muscle relaxant], and another cache of empty baggies.
In the trunk, police said, were eight North Face jackets, three pairs of Timberland boots, three single (?) Timberland boots, one pair of Polo boots and one pair of UGGs — the merchandise still bearing price and security tags and having a total value of at least $700. Many of the items appear to have come from Marshalls, but the KPD is trying to track it all down.
Jalloh was arrested on drug/paraphernalia charges and for receiving stolen property worth more than $500.
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Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
Nov. 23
At 5 a.m., two residents of a home on the 100 block of Windsor St. reported that they had awakened to find a stranger sleeping on their living room couch. Officer Chris Manolis responded and roused an apparently highly intoxicated Michael Handlin, 25, of Kearny, who police said had no idea of where he was.
(Manolis reportedly also found an open door at the residence, which could be how the sleepyhead gained entry.) Handlin was arrested for criminal trespass and criminal mischief — the latter charge linked to bodily fluids having been discharged on the sofa (perhaps unintentionally, but that is not known).
Nov. 24
Officers Jose Castillo and Jason Rodrigues responded to a 2 a.m. accident on the 100 block of Brighton Ave. and arrived to find a 2009 Toyota RAV4 overturned in the street, its “very shaken” driver — Anil Ramai, 47, of Kearny — standing nearby. Concerned about possible injuries, the cops summoned EMS, who transported Ramai to St. Michael’s Hospital, Newark. However, he was also charged, with DWI, reckless driving, driving the wrong way on a one-way street and operating an uninsured vehicle.
Nov. 27
At 4:15 a.m., Officer Mina Ekladious pulled over a 2014 Nissan he reported speeding, and swerving, northbound on Kearny Ave. near Laurel Ave. Police said driver Harvi Fajardo, 26, of Linden, was unable to produce a license and there was the odor of burning pot in the vehicle. Ekladious, with backup Officer Dominic Dominguez, reportedly found a large plastic bag of the drug and a partially smoked joint in the auto.
Both Fajardo and his passenger, Angela Bracamonte, 31, of Elizabeth, were arrested for possession of pot and paraphernalia. He was additionally given summonses for careless driving, being an unlicensed driver and possession of a CDS in a motor vehicle. Police said Bracamonte had a contempt-of-court warrant from the Sacramento, Calif., Sheriff’s Office, which was notified but declined to extradite.
Nov. 30
The investigation into this case began after three Kearny youths — aged 14, 15, and 16 — were confronted at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 19, at Veterans Field by two older males who reportedly threatened them and took their phones and $20. Officer Jose Resua took the initial report, and Det. John Fabula conducted the follow-up investigation using phone apps to track the stolen devices, one of which was found possibly being used in Irvington.
With the help of Irvington police, the KPD developed as a suspect a 17-year-old Newark male who allegedly had tried to sell one of the phones. The Essex County Sheriff’s Office helped narrow the search even further, locating the suspect’s address.
At about 9:30 p.m. on the 30th, Fabula, Det. Sgt. Michael Gonzalez and Officer Daniel Esteves went to the residence on S. 20th St. in Newark and arrested the teen on three counts of robbery and one of conspiracy. He was subsequently remanded to the Juvenile Correctional Facility.
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Editor’s note: At 10:30 a.m., last Tuesday, Nov. 29, a lone robber held up the Provident Bank at 249 Kearny Ave. and escaped with an undetermined amount of money. Last Wednesday, a suspect was reportedly arrested in Jersey City. We called the FBI, which said that since the man had not yet been charged federally, it could release no information and referred us to Jersey City authorities. We then called the JCPD, which referred us to a media officer for the city, whom we tried to contact by phone and email. As of press time, there had been no response. If we ever find out the details, we will report them.
– Karen Zautyk
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