The report came in at 10:57 p.m. on Dec. 1: Large fight at Walmart. Turned out it wasn’t large; instead, it involved only two men. But one of them ended up in the hospital; the other, in the Hudson County Jail.
When Capt. David Feldhan and Officers Rich Pawlowski, Jonathan Dowie and Jason Rodrigues arrived at the store parking lot, they found a 42-year-old Sayreville man bleeding heavily from injuries to his head and face.
Police said a witness reported that a Ford pick-up truck had come up behind and then cut off a Kia driven by the victim. The truck’s operator then allegedly jumped from his vehicle and began attacking the Kia with a butcher knife.
When the other motorist exited his own vehicle, the two men reportedly launched into a fistfight. Luckily, police said, the knife had broken during the assault on the Kia, so its driver was not stabbed. However, he did require medical attention and was taken to University Hospital, Newark, by Kearny EMS.
The alleged attacker, Johnny Teran, 38, of Kearny, had remained at the scene and was arrested for aggravated assault, on weapons charges and reckless driving. He was remanded to jail on $35,000/10% bail.
The assault was not, as you might think, a case of road rage. Police said it apparently stemmed from domestic problems.
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Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
Dec. 2
Officers Pawlowski, Dowie and Andre Fernandes responded at 4:13 a.m. to a report of a fight on Johnston Ave. and found a large crowd yelling in the street. As the KPD tried to calm the situation, police said, one of the disputants began threatening both cops and civilians. Advised to cease and desist, Christopher Ochoa, 20, of Kearny, allegedly became violent and broke away from the officers. He was caught and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and making terroristic threats.
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At 9:05 p.m., the KPD — represented by Sgt. Glenn Reed and Officers Victor Girdwood and Timothy Castle — was back on Johnston, this time on the report of a domestic dispute. At the scene, police said, they found “numerous articles of clothing strewn about the area” and a 49-year-old Kearny woman holding a “mini-sword.” Advised to drop it, she did, and was arrested for possession of a weapon. Police said the clothing belonged to the male half of the dispute and had been thrown out by the woman.
Dec. 5
At 10:15 a.m., Officer Jordenson Jean stopped an Acura for an equipment violation on Rts. 1/9 and ended up arresting driver Terrence Glover, 33, of Jersey City, on a $354 MV warrant from Bordentown. Glover was also issued summonses for driving with a suspended license, operating an unregistered vehicle and one with an obstructed view.
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Sgt. Charles Smith and Officers John Donovan and Alan Stickno were called to Walmart at 3:50 p.m. on a report of a shoplifter with a knife. Police said there was no knife but that suspect William Vega, 40, of Newark, did have a quantity of stolen razor blades — along with a hypodermic needle. He was charged with shoplifting, possession of the syringe and on three warrants: Newark, CDS-related, $10,000; Belleville, shoplifting, $1,000, and Bloomfield, shoplifting, $150.
At KPD headquarters, Vega reportedly complained of withdrawal symptoms and was taken to Clara Maass Medical Center for treatment. He was later sent to the county jail on Kearny bail of $1,000 (full).
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At 5:42 p.m., the KPD was alerted that Walmart security had been following a shoplifter who was now leaving the property in a white van. Officer Jean, with Officer Ben Wuelfing as back-up, stopped the eastbound vehicle on Harrison Ave. and reportedly found the driver in possession of stolen car speakers valued at $79.88. Police said Curtis D. Grimsley, 49, of Newark, was identified by store security and was charged with shoplifting and summonsed for a vehicle lighting violation, failure to use the turn signal and failure to produce an insurance card.
Dec. 6
This week’s blotter ends with yet more Walmart thefts, these allegedly by two store employees. At 1:33 p.m. on this date, the KPD was alerted that, after an internal investigation into property missing from the layaway program, Walmart security had taken into custody Shanece Solomon-Tucker, 31, and Tujuana Patton, 25, both of Newark and both staffers in the layaway department.
According to Walmart, items would be entered into layaway and then deleted from the records so there would be no account of the merchandise in the inventory.
Surveillance footage reportedly showed Solomon-Tucker putting a TV, two iPhones and a PlayStation 4 into a cart and then leaving the store with the goods, which had a total value of $2,277. Patton allegedly stole two TVs, two iPhones, one iPad, one PlayStation 4, and a Hoverboard. Total value: $4,101.
Officers Stickno and Donovan responded to the store to arrest the suspects, both of whom were charged with theft of property.
– Karen Zautyk
