On Sept. 21 at 10:51 p.m., a 23-year-old town resident walked in to police headquarters to report an incident of domestic violence. The woman reported to Officer Josh Lopez that she and her 23-year-old boyfriend, a Jersey City man, had argument at around 2:40 a.m. about his Instagram usage. The boyfriend allegedly became agitated and grabbed the complainant’s arm forcefully enough to bruise it.
The victim later left for work, but upon returning to her apartment afterward, she found almost $2,000 in damage to her apartment and belongings — including apparent urination on her clothing.
Officer Lopez filed charges of simple assault and criminal mischief against the boyfriend. While completing the paperwork, Officer Lopez learned the boyfriend was waiting outside the victim’s apartment. He and Officer Taylor Latka found the suspect there and arrested him.
The man was processed and held at the Hudson County Jail, South Kearny.
On Sept. 24 at 3:06 p.m., Officers Ryan Stickno, Mat Lopez and Sgt. Pat Becker responded to Walmart for a report of an employee theft. A loss-prevention associate reported Walmart had video evidence of a cashier stealing $100 from cash registers on 14 occasions between Aug. 27 and Sept. 23 ($1,400 total loss).
Officers arrested the employee, Amoni T. McDougle, 20, of Jersey City, charging her with theft. She was later transferred to the county jail.
On Sept. 25 at 10:29 a.m., Officers Nicole Cain, Ryan Stickno, Jason Rodrigues and Sgt. Angelo Palagano were dispatched to a report of a man trespassing at the PSE&G Kearny Generating Station on North Hackensack Avenue in South Kearny. An employee watching video surveillance had seen the backpack-wearing man walking on the property. Officer Cain then saw the man behind the window of an abandoned building on the property.
Officers used a public-address speaker to call the man out after being informed by employees the abandoned building was unsafe to enter due to interior health hazards. The man emerged without incident. Officers learned he is a photographer and self-described “urban explorer” who allegedly entered the property through a hole in the fence. The photographer was identified as Jesse T. Kilmon, 26, of Blaine, Washington. Kilmon was arrested on a burglary charge, but later released with a summons.
On Sept. 26 at 11:09 a.m., Officers Esteban Gonzalez, Andre Fernandes, John Donovan Jr., and Sgt. Jay Ward responded to a report of three shoplifters at ShopRite. The store manager accused Chelsea B. Taylor, 21, of Parlin; and 19-year-old Newark residents Kalise Sharack and Appollonia Rodriguez-Parker, of concealing $65.45 of beef pot pies, men’s boxer shorts and other merchandise inside a bag and attempting asportation without payment.
Officers arrested all three on shoplifting charges. The 19-year-olds were released with summonses, but Taylor was held at the Hudson County Jail. Taylor was also wanted on two Old Bridge Township arrest warrants and one New Brunswick arrest warrant.
On Sept. 26 at 4:30 p.m., Dets. Jordenson Jean and Dave Bush pulled over a Honda that failed to signal a turn at Belleville Turnpike and Passaic Avenue. The driver, Miriam A. Aguirre, 44, of Kearny, was a suspect in a bad check investigation Det. Jean had been conducting since February.
It was alleged that in February, Aguirre cashed a $2,000 college tuition refund check at Anderson Check Cashing in Kearny. Anderson later learned the check had been dishonored because it had been previously cashed via the suspect’s mobile banking app.
Aguirre allegedly failed to respond to requests to make good on the $2,000 “windfall.”
Det. Jean arrested Aguirre on charges of bad checks and theft. She was also issued a traffic summons for failure to signal a turn and was later released.
On Sept. 28 at 12:14 p.m., Det Michael Andrews, while driving on Kearny Avenue near Afton Street, saw a 16- and 17-year-old boy arguing face-to-face in the street. When the detective exited his car to separate the two, they began actively fighting by mutually punching each other. One of the boys then ran when Det. Andrews advised they were under arrest. Det. Andrews caught up to the boy a short distance away and took him into custody.
The other boy returned to class at Kearny High School and was later taken into custody. Both boys were later turned over to guardians. The boy who ran was referred to the Juvenile Aid Bureau for charges of simple assault and resisting arrest. The other boy was similarly referred for the charge of simple assault.
On Sept. 28 at 9:35 p.m., Officer Chris Montes and Sgt. Tim Castle responded to a report of an injured woman on Passaic Avenue. A 27-year-old Newark woman told police her boyfriend had been intoxicated and argued with her after being denied entry to a bar in another town. Upon nearing his Kearny home, the boyfriend allegedly headbutted the woman, splitting her lip.
Officers found the suspect walking near Kearny and Columbia avenues and arrested him for simple assault. The man was later held at the county jail.
On Sept. 29 at 1:47 a.m., Officers Angel Martinez, Chris Montes and Sgt. Tim Castle responded to a suspicious incident call at a Chestnut Street residence. There, a 29-year-old woman told police she saw two men standing next to her husband’s motorcycle, which was oddly parked on the sidewalk. She had not seen the men touch the motorcycle and the two men walked away before police arrived.
Officer Montes quickly found one of the men walking alone on Devon Street. The man allegedly gave Officer Montes a false identity and claimed no involvement in the incident under investigation.
A short time later, the complainant’s home owner provided police with surveillance camera footage from his driveway. The footage showed one man dragging the motorcycle from the driveway to the sidewalk while the other man stood on the sidewalk in a lookout position.
Officer Montes worked with Perth Amboy police to learn the true identity of the man he had stopped on Devon Street, accused of being the lookout. He was identified as Luis E. Cuevas-Vicente, 26, of Perth Amboy. Cuevas-Vicente was charged by summons with conspiracy (to commit theft), criminal attempt (theft) and hindering apprehension.
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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.