On Nov. 8 at 7:44 p.m., Officer Bryan San Martin was dispatched to meet a 56-year-old Kearny woman at the Exxon gas station at Kearny and Oakwood avenues who was reporting that a man threatened to kill her (to be clear, the threats had nothing to do with Exxon or its employees).
The woman reported she allows three adult men to live in her nearby house, which has no electricity. The woman recently returned home to find the television in her bedroom was missing. She suspects one of her three roomies sold it for drugs. When the victim confronted one of the roommates, a 47-year-old man, whom the victim suspects of frequent recent drug use, he allegedly became belligerent and aggressive and threatened to kill her. The victim the fled to the gas station to call police.
Officer San Martin brought the victim to the police station where they lodged a charge of terroristic threats against her roommate. The victim also applied telephonically for a temporary restraining order against the roommate, which was granted. But the victim then demanded restraining orders against her two other roommates, whom she had not accused of any offenses. When the judge found no cause for the additional orders, the victim reportedly began screaming at officers and the judge, “You failed me, Judge; this is on you. The men in blue failed me.” The victim then refused to take a copy of her restraining order, announced she was returning home and stormed out.
Armed with an arrest warrant, at 11 p.m., several officers responded to the victim’s home where yelling could be heard from outside. The front door was unsecured, having been damaged in prior incidents of lunacy. With the home in total darkness, having no electricity, officers breached with flashlights and a ballistic shield and ordered the defendant to exit the residence. He was taken into custody without further incident and later held at the county jail in South Kearny.
But it’s not over. At 2:24 a.m., officers were called back to the “victim’s” residence on a report she was threatening the remaining tenants with a knife. Upon arrival, people were scattering out of the house like cockroaches exposed to a light. After receiving several allegations that the homeowner had chased tenants around while swinging a knife and hurling insults at them, the officers placed her under arrest.
The former victim was now charged with aggravated assault and weapon possession charges. She was later released with summonses.
On Nov. 5 at 1:54 p.m., Officers Nicole Cain and Ryan Stickno were dispatched to 78 Oakwood Ave. – a home to which nary a KPD patrolman is a stranger. A 45-year-old North Arlington man, who had bedded down in the house, reported that Greg A. Golomb, 50, of North Arlington came into the bedroom and stole his wallet and its $300 cash contents. After further investigation, it was revealed that Golomb allegedly took the victim’s wallet to a mailbox with the intent that it might get mailed back to the victim’s North Arlington home, which would make the victim return there.
Officers arrested Golomb for theft. He was later turned over to the Hudson County jail.
On Nov. 5 at 4:51 p.m., Officer Nicole Cain was dispatched to ShopRite whose manager was detaining a suspected shoplifter. Officer Cain arrested Linda Talavera after the manager reported she concealed $60.10 of shrimp cocktail, cookies and maple syrup in a bag and tried to leave the store without paying.
Talavera was arrested on the shoplifting charge and also held on a wanted persons detainer from the Hudson County Sheriff and an arrest warrant from the City of Newark. She was lodged in the Hudson County jail.
On Nov. 6 at 1:57 a.m., Officer Bismark Karikari responded to Woodland Avenue and Belgrove Drive where an Audi A5 had rear-ended a Honda Pilot. The driver of the Honda was transported by EMS to Clara Maass Medical Center for a complaint of pain.
When Officer Karikari noticed signs of intoxication on Audi driver David Mejias, 33, of Kearny, he asked Officer Kevin Matos to conduct field-sobriety testing. Mejias did not pass, and he was arrested and charged Mejias with assault by auto, DWI and reckless driving. Mejias was later released with summonses.
On Nov. 6 at 3:35 a.m., Officer Christopher Montes drove up to a GMC SUV idling in the lane of travel on Passaic Avenue near South Midland Avenue. The driver of the SUV was slumped over the wheel and her passenger was likewise asleep. After shaking the truck by its roof racks for some time, Officer Montes awakened the occupants.
When the driver awoke, she allegedly placed the SUV into drive, then reverse, and began rolling toward the police vehicle prompting Officer Ruben Rivera to open her door and press the brake pedal with his hand. Driver Yaniz Y. Portela-Dasilva, 41, of Fords, failed field sobriety tests and was arrested.
Portela-Dasilva was charged with DWI, obstructing the passage of vehicles and failure to possess an insurance card. She was later released with summonses.
On Nov. 7 at 11 p.m., Officers Taylor Latka, Josh Lopez, and Luis Cazares responded to a private home where a 43-year-old man called police because his 20-year-old son was at his home. The complainant has a restraining order barring his son from the residence, but the son had yet to be served with the order. The son left before police arrived but was located nearby. Officers served the son with the restraining order.
A short time later, the complainant called police again because his son had returned and entered his apartment, causing an argument. The son again left before police arrived, but Officer Latka swore out a complaint for contempt based on the son violating his restraining order.
At 12:40 a.m. the next day, the complainant informed police his son was back at his home. Officer Danny Maganinho responded and found the son still at the apartment. Officer Maganinho arrested the son and later transferred him to the Hudson County jail.
The above charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).
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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.