KEARNY —
Two men, ostensibly friends, reportedly turned Kearny police headquarters into a boxing ring recently, resulting in the immediate arrest of one. The co-combatant was subsequently also being sought. And the entire saga is bizarre.
Read on.
At 1:40 p.m., May 25, Anthony Joana, 43, of Kearny, accompanied by 45-year-old Robert Matay of Newark, arrived at HQ to retrieve some property from Joana’s car, which police said had previously been impounded.
Apparently, the men had been arguing with each other during the ride to Laurel Ave. in Matay’s auto, and as they waited outside the Records Bureau, the dispute escalated.
In full view of officers, fists started flying, and Matay got the better of Joana, knocking him to the floor, police said. Lt. Michael Ryan, Sgt. Adriano Marques and Officers Jose Canela and Richard Poplaski broke up the battle, but Joana, who was bleeding, reportedly refused medical assistance.
Police said he also did not want to sign a complaint — and he left.
Matay, who was judged to have been the aggressor, was arrested for simple assault.
While being booked, he asked if the cops could fetch his jacket, which he had left in his car. Marques and Sgt. Jay Balogh kindly obliged and went to the vehicle. In which, in plain view, police said were: a knife, a hypodermic needle, a pipe, three bags of suspected crack cocaine and “multiple” folds of suspected heroin.
Since Joana had also been in the reputedly drug-laden auto en route to HQ, both he and Matay were charged with possession of CDS and drug paraphernalia.
Complaints were drawn for Joana’s arrest. [As of press time, we do not know if he had been apprehended.]
Matay was remanded to the Hudson County Jail.
P.S.: Police said the initial argument that sparked all this had been Matay’s objections to Joana’s handling the knife while they were driving to HQ.
