A Freehold man is behind bars after he reportedly shot someone in Kearny on Tuesday, July 18, near Quincy Avenue and Trinity Place, the Kearny Police Department says.
That day, at around at 11 p.m., Kearny units were dispatched to that area after reports of shots being fired. At the scene, officers found a gunshot victim who was reportedly being carried away from the scene.
Officers also found a crashed vehicle with airbags deployed. Most had fled from the scene at this point.
Capt. Tim Wagner, Sgts. Michael Gonzalez and Dean Gasser, Dets. Jordenson Jean, John Fabula and Mike Andrews, and Officers Anthony Oliveira, Taylor Latka, Bryan San Martin, Jose Castillo, Matthew Knighton and Tom Collins quickly secured the scene and began searching for camera footage of the incident.
That footage assisted detectives in identifying the shooter as Pool Brayan Mendoza Cruces, 28, of Freehold — and he was arrested shortly thereafter.
Detectives learned the shooting victim had arrived at a local area hospital. Two detectives responded there to speak with him and confirmed he was the victim. The victim was taken in for emergency surgery, but is expected to survive the injuries.
Mendoza Cruces was transported to KPD HQ and charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and unlawful possession of a weapon and also had an outstanding $1,000 warrant out of Milltown.
He was taken to Hudson County Jail, where he remains as of July 21, and the investigation into the matter is continuing.
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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.
