On Aug. 9 at 11:36 a.m., Officer Mat Lopez and several back-up officers (including yours truly) were dispatched to the 100 block of Devon Street after a 911 caller reported approximately five masked males forced their way into an apartment building and ran to an upstairs apartment.
Arriving officers detained a number of males on Devon Street and one male running down Wilson Avenue while they investigated. Officers heard an allegation that the males entered the building to search for a mobile phone that was lost or stolen the night before while its owner was in Hoboken. When a building tenant opened his apartment door and then tried to close it, one of the suspects allegedly wedged his foot in the door and tried to force his way into the apartment.
After further investigation, officers arrested two masked men and one masked woman, all residents of Lodi.
Tyer L. Correa, 22, and Daysha L. Murray, 21, (a woman) were both charged with burglary, conspiracy and weapon offenses (both possessed knives). Juan Dominguez, 22, was charged with burglary and conspiracy.
All three were lodged in the Hudson County Jail.
Officers also took a 17-year-old Lodi boy into temporary custody for his own welfare. He was later turned over to a parent and was not charged criminally.
The stolen mobile was not found.
Also on Aug. 9, at 10:58 p.m., Officer Angel Martinez and several backup officers responded to the 100 block of Windsor Street on a report of a man armed with an unknown sharp object he was using to try to open parked car doors and trunks. Officers located the described suspect and Highland Avenue and Liberty Street holding a Snap-on wrench key chain.
After further investigation, officers arrested Juan J. Lavarreda, 36, of Kearny and charged him with criminal attempt (burglary), criminal mischief and possession of a burglar’s tool.
He was later released with summonses.
On Aug. 10 at 12:37 a.m., Officer Michael Ore responded to a domestic dispute in a private home. A 40-year-old man told the officer his wife struck him during an argument, creating a small cut on his face. The wife, a 37-year-old Kearny woman, said she struck her husband several times.
Officers arrested the wife for simple assault.
She was later released with a summons.
On Aug. 13 at 11:37 a.m., Det. Jonathan Dowie and Officer Nick Funk went to a home in West New York after learning West New York police were detaining Erick R. Cortezzepeda, 21, of their city. Cortezzepeda was the subject of a Kearny burglary investigation that led to a warrant being issued for his arrest.
Cortezzepeda allegedly told officers they had the wrong man and that he was Erick’s brother, but fingerprint analysis refuted that tale.
The charge stemmed from a July 21 report made to Officer Christian Medina by an employee of the New Jersey Truck Stop at 1 North Hackensack Ave., who reported his car was burglarized while parked at the truck stop and that the employee’s laptop and bag containing $2,000 cash were stolen.
Det. Dowie identified the suspect as Cortezzepeda and learned that he had been released from the nearby county jail on July 21. He charged Cortezzepeda with burglary and theft. Cortezzepeda was returned to the Hudson County Jail.
On Aug. 13 at 6:17 p.m., Det. Jordenson Jean arrested Sade A. Fairley, 34, of Newark on a charge of employing a juvenile in a crime. The detective also arrested a 17-year-old Newark girl for the juvenile delinquency charge of resisting arrest.
The detective encountered the pair at ShopRite having a dispute with the liquor store manager. He learned Fairley was the un-apprehended suspect in a prior case he investigated where it was alleged she distracted the ShopRite Liquors manager and instructed two children to steal bottles of liquor.
The juvenile was charged for allegedly using force on responding police officers in an attempt to flee an investigative detention.
Both suspects were later released with summonses.
On Aug. 14 at 12:29 a.m., Officer Cort Montanino and several backup officers were dispatched to a private home on a report of a suspicious incident. Officer Montanino arrived to find Dejon A. Wilson, 36, of Kearny, allegedly urinating on the sidewalk. The officer described Wilson as irate and showing signs of intoxication.
A complainant reported to police Wilson had earlier pushed him to the ground, broke a refrigerator door handle and then threatened to shoot the complainant. Judging his reported behavior as more than a grain of mustard seed, officers arrested Wilson on charges of simple assault, criminal mischief, harassment and urinating in public. Wilson was later released with summonses.
On Aug. 14 at 3:12 p.m., a ShopRite store manager reported to Det. Jordenson Jean a woman was eating food merchandise in the store without paying for it. Both the manager and the detective recognized the woman from a prior investigation at the same store.
Det. Jean began to watch the woman and saw her conceal merchandise inside reusable shopping bags and then exit the store without paying. Store staff later totaled the stolen merchandise at $514.95.
Det. Jean arrested the woman in front of the store and found a crack pipe on her. She was identified as Lurzime Sakir, 40, of Newark, who was charged with shoplifting and possession of drug paraphernalia. Sakir was also found to have been wanted by the Hudson County Sheriff for burglary and by Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, authorities for failure to appear following a retail theft charge.
Sakir was later held at the Hudson County Jail.
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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.