On July 13 at 1:27 a.m., Officers Mariana Figueiredo and Bismark Karikari were dispatched to a private home for a domestic violence incident. The officers learned that a girlfriend and boyfriend were partying in the girlfriend’s attic but got into a fight over the “Zelle-ing” of an improper amount of money for a beer purchase. The fight escalated when the woman allegedly struck the man with one of the beer bottles causing a cut near his left eye.
Officers arrested the 31-year-old Kearny woman for aggravated assault and weapon possession charges.
She was later released with a summons.
On July 12 at 12:32 p.m., Officers Nick Funk and Kevin Carvalho investigated a shoplifting complaint at ShopRite. Store management accused Tion B. Tejada, 22, of New York, of trying to leave the store with $292 of unpaid-for groceries, wine and tequila.
When officers tried to arrest Tejada in the second-floor security office, she allegedly refused to give them her hands and attempted to pull away and jump down to the sales floor below. Officer Harold Azurdia joined to assist and the three officers eventually got Tejada handcuffed.
Tejada was brought to police headquarters and charged with shoplifting and resisting arrest.
She was later released with a summons.
On July 13 at 12:57 p.m., Officers Tom Collins and John Donovan responded to an initial report of a robbery-in-progress at the LA Fitness on Passaic Avenue. The officers learned two 20-year-old women entered the locker room after completing their workout and allegedly saw Gabriela A. Villavilla, 32, of Belleville, rifling through the purse of one of the younger ladies. The purse had been inside a locker.
The two women reportedly confronted the suspect as she began to walk out with the purse and the police were called. After further investigation, officers arrested Villavilla on charges of burglary and theft.
Villavilla was later released with a summons.
At the start of their tour on July 13, officers were briefed to be on the lookout for Brett A. Williams, 20, of Yonkers, New York, for whom Harrison Court had issued a no-bail arrest warrant for a criminal coercion charge. Officer Bryan San Martin set out to find Williams and succeeded just before 8:30 p.m. The officer located Williams standing in front of the Kearny Avenue Dunkin’ Donuts flanked by his distinguished confederates.
Officer San Martin arrested Williams and later turned him over to the Harrison Police Department.
On July 14 at 2:56 a.m., Officer Kevin Matos responded to a concerned citizen’s call of a possible intoxicated driver near Seeley and Kearny avenues. Officer Matos found the described vehicle parked blocking a driveway on Van Cortland Place with one of its tires on the curb.
The officer detected signs of impairment in driver Diego P. Borges, 35, of Kearny, and ran him through a battery of field sobriety tests. Borges was arrested after he did not pass the tests. Following an alcohol breath test at the police station, Borges was charged with DWI, unlicensed driver, and careless driving. He was later released with his summonses.
On July 14 at 2:10 p.m., Officers Collins, Donovan and Chris Medina were sent to ShopRite for a shoplifting complaint. A store manager accused Amanda M. Soto, 32, of Newark, of filling bags with meat and soap and trying to leave without paying the $429.60 value. Officers charged Soto with shoplifting. She was later released with a summons – meatless and soapless.
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Capt. Timothy Wagner | Kearny Police Department
Capt. Timothy Wagner is the Kearny Police Department's public-information officer and the commander of the department's Internal Affairs Unit. He contributes the KPD Blotter weekly and writes it completely.