Back on Sept. 2, Kearny police were called to a Bergen Ave. apartment complex on a report of a burglary into and theft from a 2014 Mitsubishi. Currency had been stolen and there was an unsuccessful attempt to disconnect a dashboard-mounted camera.
Officer Jordenson Jean took the initial report, KPD detectives did a forensics investigation, and certain items were sent to the State Police for further analysis.
Eventually, a 22-year-old Newark man, Robert Lilly, was developed as the prime suspect, police reported.
Conveniently, Lilly had been arrested in Essex County in the interim [for what, we don’t know] and was incarcerated in its correctional facility. So, on Dec. 22, Kearny police picked him up there, brought him to headquarters and booked him on the local charges of burglary and theft. As of last week, he was in the Hudson County Jail.
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Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
Dec. 22
At 7:20 p.m., Sgt Brian Wisely was travelling east on Bergen Ave. near Schuyler Ave. when he observed a heavily-damaged westbound 2003 BMW approaching on three wheels — its right front tire missing. Stopping the car, he queried driver Sohail Sharifsuliman, 31, of Kearny, who reportedly explained that he had struck a highway median on Rt. 280. Following field sobriety tests and an Alcotest, Sharifsuliman was arrested for DWI, failure to report an accident and leaving the scene of an accident.
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Officers Victor Girdwood, Jason Rodrigues and Sean Podolski responded at 11:30 p.m. to a Maple St. address where, police said, an apparently intoxicated tenant had broken the door of another resident’s apartment. Alleged culprit James Vandyk, 51, was arrested without incident in his own flat, charged with criminal mischief and taken to the county jail.
Dec. 23
On patrol at 7 p.m., Officer Tim Castle spotted a 2008 Saturn parked on Bergen Ave., just outside the Modell’s lot, with its brake lights on and its driver apparently asleep at the wheel. When Castle parked behind the auto and exited his patrol car, police said, the brake lights went off and the Saturn rolled backward. Castle was not hit, but the patrol car was.
To make matters messier, the Saturn driver then leaned out the window and upchucked. The kind officer called Kearny EMS to evaluate the man, who was interviewed by back-up Officers Ben Wuelfing and Chris Manolis. After an Alcotest, Richard Garcia Sotomayor, 33, of Kearny, was charged with DWI and careless driving.
Dec. 24
What would Christmas Eve be without a shoplifting?
Shortly before 9:30 p.m., Officers Rodrigues, Manolis, Jonathan Dowie and David Bush were called to Kmart on a report that four female shoplifters had just fled across Passaic Ave. after one of them assaulted a security guard.
Despite their flight, the quartet, who allegedly had stolen clothing, were rounded up by the cops and ID’d by security, police said.
Arrested were: 1) Mercy Adofo, 27, of Newark, charged with conspiracy, shoplifting, receiving stolen property, and possession of an anti-shoplifting/inventory control device (a foil-lined shopping bag designed to circumvent security devices). 2) Kamillyah Fleary, 25, of Morristown: conspiracy, receiving stolen property, and robbery (she was the one who allegedly hit the guard). 3) Tierra Lagland, 25, of Newark: conspiracy, shoplifting, receiving stolen property and on a $250 Newark MV warrant. 4) Shonique Johnson, 25, of Newark: conspiracy, shoplifting, receiving stolen property, hindering (for allegedly giving a false name) and on two Newark MV warrants, $550 and $350.
Adofo was released on a summons. The others were released after posting various amounts of bail.
Dec. 28
Sgt. Charles Smith and Officers Rodrigues, Manolis and Richard Poplaski, responding to a 10 p.m. report of a dispute on Franklin Place, encountered Noel Wessigk, 29, of Kearny, and arrested him on three warrants: Newark, resisting arrest, $1,000; Newark, MV, $1,000; Metuchen, MV, $500. The two jurisdictions were notified.
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Officers Bush and Dowie, on South Kearny patrol at 11:30 p.m., conducted an MV stop on Rt. 1/9 and reportedly saw marijuana residue strewn throughout the 2003 Nissan, along with a plastic bag of the drug on the driver’s seat. Driver Nelson Valentin, 30, of Elizabeth, was charged with possession of pot/paraphernalia, driving while suspended, careless driving and operating an MV in possession of a CDS.
– Karen Zautyk
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