The Lyndhurst Police Department had a somewhat eventful few days last week on its roadways, Det. Lt. Vincent Auteri, of the Lyndhurst PD, said.
According to Auteri:
In the first incident, Nov. 17 around 2 p.m., Officer Matthew Dudek was dispatched to Polito Avenue and Wall Street on a report of a single-car crash. When Dudek arrived, no one was with the vehicle, but a utility worker in the area told him the driver had walked away.
The vehicle was left in roadway, disabled.
Ultimately, Dudek was able to find the driver, Joseph Alvarez, 31, of West New York, and he says the man was under the influence and admitted to having snorted heroin earlier. He was placed under arrest.
When Dudek searched Alvarez’s car, he reportedly found 43 heroin wax folds and eight Xanax tabs.
Alvarez was charged with driving under the influence, possession of CDS, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident. And, bail reform be darned, he was later released on his own recognizance.
About 14 hours later, Nov. 18, Officer Mark Rivera was conducting commercial-property checks near 120 Chubb Ave., when he came across an occupied, parked VW Jetta in a no-parking anytime zone. When the driver, Maxwell Abankwah, 48, of Glastonbury, Connecticut, noticed Rivera approaching, he pulled away suddenly.
Rivera soon thereafter pulled Abankwah over and learned the Jetta had been stolen in Rochester, New York, and the plate that was on it actually belonged to a Mercedes.
Abankwah was charged with receiving stolen property and … you guessed it … was released on his own recognizance, pending court.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.