KPD: Couple ‘carjacked’

On Nov. 23, at 10:20 p.m., Officer Ryan Stickno responded to 12 Kearny Ave. on a report of a carjacking. He was met by a Kearny couple who said they had left their Nissan SUV running while they went into a nearby store and, when they looked out moments later, they saw a man in the driver’s seat.

According to the police report, this is what transpired:

The couple came out and opened the passenger-door, and a struggle ensued. The carjacker lurched the SUV forward, hitting the parked car in front of him, and then drove in reverse, dragging the female victim for a few feet. He then put the car in park and fled on foot with another male who had been standing on the corner as an apparent lookout.

Police said the woman sustained a knee injury but refused EMS attention.

A short time later, at Lincoln Avenue and Belgrove Drive, Officer Matt Lopez stopped a 17-year-old male who matched the description given by one of the victims. However, police said, the victim could not positively identify him, so he was released.

Det. Dan Esteves and Sgt. Mike Gonzalez took over the investigation, retrieving video surveillance footage from locations near the crime scene. Using that, police said, they were able to identify the aforementioned 17-year-old as the carjacker.

On Dec. 6, detectives arrested the boy, a Newark resident, at a charter school in that city where he is a student. He was charged with carjacking, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon (the SUV) for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon (SUV). The boy was held at the Union County Juvenile Detention Center. (Union County provides this service through an arrangement with Hudson County).

Other recent reports from the Kearny police blotter included the following:

At 10:30 a.m., Officers Alan Stickno and Kyle Plaugic responded to ShopRite, where the store manager reported having watched Shaniquah Holman, 38, of Irvington, order lobster tails from the seafood department and then conceal them in a large purple purse. She then allegedly selected a few other items from the store shelves and attempted to leave without paying any of the $286.11 value.

Holman was held at the Hudson County Jail on a warrant charging shoplifting and on a $150 Elizabeth warrant for loitering to engage in prostitution.

At 1:30 p.m., police said, Det. Ramon Lopez  observed Edward Boyarko, 34, of Kearny outside a Schuyler Ave. auto-body shop stealing scrap metal and placing it into a book bag. According to the KPD, Boyarko was a suspect in numerous other recent  incidents, including a Nov. 29 burglary to sheds and a garage at a Forest St. residence, where $1,200-1,500 worth of tools were stolen; a Nov. 30 theft of 25 feet of aluminum wire from a yard on Forest St.;  the Dec. 3 theft of about $100 worth of metal wire from another Forest St. home, and the theft of a $90 package from the stoop of a Brighton Ave. house on Dec. 5.

After a detailed investigation, Lopez charged Boyarko with five counts of theft and one count of burglary, and the suspect was transferred to the county jail.

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At 3:27 p.m., Officers Ryan Brady and Alan Stickno responded to Walmart, where security said they had observed Joice Lourenco-Matias, 19, and Elisangel Abrantes-Darcy, 41, both of Harrison, under-ring merchandise (e.g., school supplies, personal-care items) at the self-checkout station to the tune of a $338.15 loss to the store. Both were charged on summonses with shoplifting and later released.

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Officer Nick Funk was standing on Harrison Ave. at 5:21 p.m. investigating a traffic accident when his unoccupied police car was struck from behind by another vehicle, reportedly operated by Lissa Fruscella, 60, of Mont Clare, Pennsylvania. Police said Officer Ben Wuelfing, responding to investigate the second crash, found Fruscella nodding off behind the wheel and unable to put her car into park. Inside the auto, Wuelfing reportedly found an open bottle of Mike’s Hard Lemonade, a mixture of pills, THC liquid and a bottle of Tylenol with codeine.

Fruscella was charged with DWI, reckless driving and having an open container of alcohol in an MV. She was later released on a summons.

At 4:01 p.m., Officers Jonathan Dowie and Dave Bush and Dets. Cesar Negron and Mike Andrews stopped a Nissan Altima on Chestnut St. because the driver’s vision was obstructed by a large stuffed animal (a pink monkey)  on the dashboard. When the driver rolled down her window, police said, the officers smelled pot and subsequently recovered a marijuana cigar and a package of rolling papers from the center console.

Passenger Mark Treiber, 30, of Newark, reportedly claimed the marijuana as his and was charged accordingly on a summons. The driver, Nikia Gonzalez, 33, of Newark, was issued a traffic summons for obstruction of the windshield. The monkey was not taken into custody.

Officer Mike Santucci responded to a Chestnut Street house at 12:48 a.m. on a report that someone had broken one of the windows. There, police said, the officer encountered Joseph Martinez, 29, of Kearny, who reportedly claimed that he had met with two other fellows nearby to purchase marijuana but they pulled a handgun on him and robbed him of $120. According to police, Martinez said he believed the gun was fake, chased the two men, lost sight of them near the driveway of this house, and, when they did not come back with his money,  he threw a rock through the window.

Santucci arrested Martinez on a criminal mischief summons. The circumstances of the alleged drug deal/robbery are under investigation.