KEARNY —
A 22-year-old town man was arrested earlier this month — while he was appearing in Kearny Municipal Court. Here’s the story, which dates back to spring:
On May 28, Officer Ben Wuelfing took a report of a burglary into a 2013 Dodge parked on the 200 block of Maple St. and obtained security video of a man in and about the car at 2 a.m. that day. The investigation was turned over to Det. Sgt. Michael Gonzalez and Det. Daniel Esteves, who developed as a suspect Osvaldo Alvarez of Kearny.
At 10 a.m. on Aug. 3, Alvarez was arrested at the court, where he apparently was appearing to answer charges from an incident last month. A source told The Observer that, “in all probability,” these were related to Alvarez’ arrest July 22 on charges including DWI and receiving stolen property after he allegedly crashed a stolen Hyundai into a stone wall on Belgrove Drive. (The Observer, July 26).
At court, he was taken into custody on new charges of burglary and theft in connection with the May crime. In addition, police said, questions have arisen regarding his immigration status, which ICE is now investigating. Following booking at KPD headquarters, he was held for transfer to the Hudson County Jail.
Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:
Aug. 1
Vice detectives arrested Ivan Pagan, 30, of Kearny, after they spotted him apparently rolling a marijuana cigar while walking on Kearny Ave. near Town Hall at noon. He was charged with possession of pot and drug paraphernalia.
Aug. 2
Officer John Donovan, responding to a 2:45 p.m. dispute in the area of Chestnut St. and Oakwood Ave., encountered Brandon Tice, 23, of Kearny, ran a warrant check, and arrested him on three, police said. All were for contempt of court: Kearny, $500 (full bail); Lyndhurst, $258 (full) and Seaside Heights, $397 (full). The other jurisdictions were notified he was in custody.
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Fifteen minutes later, at Oakwood and Kearny Aves., Det. Esteves spotted a bicyclist whom he recognized and confirmed the man was the subject of a $500 disorderly-conduct warrant from Kearny, police said. Jose Sanchez, 20, of Kearny, was arrested and held at HQ pending transfer to the county jail.
Aug. 3
At 11 a.m., Vice officers at Passaic and Johnston Aves. observed Nicholas Carter, 30, of Kearny, confirmed he had a $500 Kearny motor vehicle warrant and arrested him on same, police said. A search incident to arrest reportedly revealed a plastic bag containing suspected marijuana and a package of cigars, and Carter was additionally charged with possession of pot/paraphernalia.
Aug. 5
Officers Jonathan Dowie and David Bush, on South Kearny patrol at 1:30 a.m., responded to a three-car crash on Rt. 7 at Fish House Road, where, witnesses said, a 2005 Lexus had hit a 2017 Honda and a 2015 Hyundai. Police said the Lexus driver — Cannis Coffee, 40, of Jersey City — appeared to be staggering and emitted the odor, neither of cannabis nor coffee, but of alcohol. Inside his car reportedly were five unopened beer cans on the back seat and what appeared to be a beer-soaked floormat.
Following field sobriety tests, Coffee was booked at HQ for alleged DUI, careless driving and refusing to provide a breath sample.
Aug. 6
At 10:15 p.m., units were advised that there was a car stopped in traffic at Kearny and Laurel Aves., with the driver apparently asleep behind the wheel. There, police said, Officers Chris Medina and Sean Podolski found a 2015 Ford, still in drive, with its operator — Jose Pinedo, 51, of Kearny — in dreamland.
Along with Officer Andre Fernandes, the cops used their patrol cars to block the Ford so it would not move into traffic, awoke Pinedo and turned off the ignition. On the front seat, police said, was a bottle of Johnnie Walker Double Black whisky.
After FSTs and an Alcotest at HQ, Pinedo was charge with: DWI, DWI in a school zone, obstructing traffic, reckless driving, failing to observe a traffic signal and having an open container of alcohol in a MV.
Aug. 7
Officer Donovan, on patrol at 4:15 p.m., reportedly saw a westbound 2016 Nissan disregard a red light at Kearny and Bergen Aves. and pulled it over at Bergen and Passaic Aves. Police said the driver — Leidy Acevedo-Rodriguez, 35, of Newark– turned out to have a suspended license and a $350 Newark traffic warrant, She was arrested and booked on those offenses and also for the signal violation and for failure to surrender the suspended license.
Aug. 9
At 2:30, p.m., Officer Wuelfing responded to a report of a vehicle parked on the sidewalk near Devon and Boyd Sts., where police said he found a 2000 Toyota and its apparently “confusedand disoriented” driver — Judith Allende, 37, of Kearny.
FSTs were conducted and she was booked at HQ on charges of DWI, DWI in a school zone, careless driving and refusal to take an Alcotest.
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Officer Kyle Plaugic was dispatched at 4 p.m. to Beech St. and Midland Ave., where a group of juveniles alleged that $20 had been stolen from one of them. While conducting interviews, police said, Plaugic encountered Shawn Neal, 18, of Newark, and confirmed he had a $500 Kearny warrant stemming from a drug-related offense. Neal was arrested, taken to HQ and held for bail.
[We do not know what happened to the $20.]
— Karen Zautyk
