We start this week’s Kearny blotter with an incident that occurred in another town. According to authorities, on May 12, the young man in the photo — Brandon Ryan, 22, of Kearny — assaulted an Uber driver during a ride from Wayne to Carlstadt.
Ryan and an unidentified companion then fled the car, but, according to published reports quoting Carlstadt police, Ryan saw the driver trying to use a cellphone to call 911, beat him again and took the phone and the victim’s driver’s license “before fleeing the area for good.”
Screen grabs from the Uber’s surveillance video were posted on the Carlstadt PD’s Facebook page and in a local newspaper, the Ridgewood Daily Voice, leading to “numerous tips from citizens,” police said. Ryan was developed as the suspect and a warrant was issued for his arrest, as was a BOLO from Carlstadt cops.
At 7 p.m., May 18, KPD Officer Jonathan Dowie spotted Ryan walking near the Belleville Pike and Beech St., confirmed the warrant and arrested him pursuant to same. After processing at headquarters, he was turned over to Carlstadt police, who have reportedly charged him with robbery, aggravated assault, endangering an injured victim and criminal mischief (he allegedly also damaged the Uber car).
But … he was later released. Thanks to the state’s new bail reform law.
[Editor’s note: We are able to provide Ryan’s mugshot since Carlstadt is in Bergen County where police are not bound by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office restrictions on public dissemination of such images.]
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Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
May 18
At 9:30 p.m., Officer Michael Gontarczuk stopped a 2001 Volvo near Midland Ave. and Terrace Place after he reportedly saw the driver yapping on a cellphone. As he was waiting for the 23-year-old Nutley man’s credentials, he noticed that the passenger — Linda Aquino, 54, of Harrison — appeared to be trying to conceal a purse on the floor.
According to police, the driver said he did not know the woman but had picked her up outside QuickChek in Harrison because he “felt bad for her.” The reputed Good Samaritan got a summons for the cellphone violation “and was sent on his way”; Aquino was not as lucky. She was arrested on charges of possession of an Rx drug without an Rx, and possession of drug paraphernalia after a plastic bag containing crushed Suboxone, a glass pipe and two pieces of cut straws were allegedly found in and about the purse.
May 20
At 11 a.m., Det. John Fabula was alerted by Walmart security that an individual they thought might have been a shoplifter was in the area. Fabula confronted the man — who was not charged with shoplifting but ended up in cuffs anyway on a no-bail Essex County Sheriff’s/NCIC failure-to-appear warrant. Shaun Arban, 37, of Colts Neck, was later turned over to Essex authorities.
May 23
Officers Dowie and David Bush spotted a 2002 Nissan occupied by two people and parked in a secluded area of the Walmart lot at 12:30 a.m., checked its registration on their MDC and found that the registered owner had warrants and a suspended license, police said.
Kiera Docherty, 29, of Kearny, who was in the driver’s seat, and back-seat passenger, Robert Rodriguez, 36, of Passaic, were both charged with possession of CDS and drug paraphernalia. Police said a cut straw and a glass pipe were on the ground outside the driver’s door, a plastic bag of marijuana was in the driver’s door panel, two more straws and a pipe were on the floor, and 29 Flexeril pills and one wax fold of “Shark Tank” heroin were in Docherty’s purse.
Rodriguez allegedly had a strip of Suboxone in his pocket.
Both were also arrested on warrants. Docherty: $2,500, drug-related, and $500 MV offense, each from Hackensack. Rodriguez: a no-bail, failure-to-appear warrant, Passaic County; $2,500, harassment, and $797, hindering apprehension, both from the City of Passaic; and $500, driving while suspended, Lodi.
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At 1:30 p.m., units were alerted that two shoplifters had just fled Marshalls on Passaic Ave. Officer Alan Stickno spotted two men scaling the fence near the ballfield at Belgrove Drive and Bergen Ave., radioed for back-up and confronted the pair. Police said Ahmari Gilmore-Tate, 21, of Newark, complied with orders to halt and sit on the ground. The other suspect, Rasul Elliott, 22, of Newark, was stopped by Officer Ben Wuelfing, and another back-up officer, Det. Mike Andrews, saw the suspect discard five wax folds of “PNC” heroin, police said.
The two were identified by store personnel, who reportedly informed police that both had stolen clothing: Elliott, $146.91 worth; Tate, $304.44. Both were charged with shoplifting and conspiracy. Elliott was also charged with possession of heroin and paraphernalia, and on a $10,000/10% Newark contempt-of-court warrant; Tate, on a $250 Bloomfield contempt warrant.
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Officer Bush, at Chestnut St and Oakwood Ave. at 10:30 p.m., stopped a 2010 BMW for failure to signal a turn, detected the odor of pot, and found under the passenger seat a digital scale and a bag of the drug, police said. Driver Brucy Dorjo, 20, of Kearny, was charged with possession of pot/paraphernalia and a CDS in a MV.
May 24
At 4 a.m., Officer Gontarczuk saw Carlos Johngalvez, 37, of Kearny, “wandering” in the area of Johnston and Kearny Aves., conducted a field inquiry and warrant check and arrested him on a no-bail Kearny warrant for assault.
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Officer Sean Kelly responded to a 4 p.m. report of a two-car accident on the 300 block of Schuyler Ave. and found that one vehicle had fled the scene. However, a concerned citizen provided him with its description and plate number, and Det. Ray Lopez found the 2007 Mazda parked near Kearny and Johnston Aves.
At a Kearny Ave. address, Kelly located and arrested driver Ralph Angeles, 20, of Kearny, on charges of driving while suspended, leaving the scene of an accident, failing to report an accident, failure to return a suspended license, and reckless driving. Police said he also had three warrants: $402, West Milford, town ordinance; and $215 and $195, MV violations, Budd Lake.
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At 5:30 p.m., Officers Richard Poplaski, Jose Resua and John Donovan responded to Washington Ave. and Hillcrest Road, where a 2009 Toyota reportedly had left the roadway, mounted the sidewalk and a lawn, returned to the street and hit a parked car. Police said they detected a certain scent and recovered a bag of weed from driver Raymond Rodriguez, 44, of Belleville, who was charged with possession of pot/paraphernalia.
— Karen Zautyk
