Oh, sweet child of mine, this one was something.
On Aug. 16, the Kearny Police Department received a call of an intoxicated man who was trying to start his car on the 500 block of Kearny Avenue. As units were driving to the scene, police got a second call noting the same driver now reportedly got the car started, drove off and struck a tree.
Officer Bryan San Martin & Tom Collins arrived and said they observed a red Mazda that crashed into a tree and a school crossing sign.
They approached and the driver, Sergio M. Torres, 38, of Kearny, who was standing outside his vehicle, unsolicited, advised Officer Collins, “there’s beer in the car, but I didn’t drink.” Outside the vehicle, meanwhile, officers say they observed a broken Miller Lite bottle.
Officers said Torres reeked of alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot and watery and he then changed his story, this time saying he consumed “not many” alcoholic beverages. He reportedly spoke in a slurred and incoherent manner and swayed while standing.
Officer San Martin conducted field-sobriety tests and Torres didn’t do so well.
Torres was arrested, taken to KPD HQ and while being transported, he reportedly told the officers he had earlier been at a Guns N’ Roses concert at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford.
Officer Jose Perez-Fonseca administered an Alcotest and Torres reportedly blew .21% BAC, nearly triple the legal limit. He was charged with drunken and reckless driving and was later released to responsible party.
On Aug. 10, Officers Andre Fernandes and John Fearon were sent to the Marshalls store on a shoplifting. There, loss prevention detained Lizeth Moreno, 22, of Brooklyn, after she attempted to walk out without paying for $168.93 worth of items. She was taken to KPD HQ, processed, released on summons with a shoplifting charge and court scheduled.
On Aug. 10 at around 1 p.m., Officer Ellesse Ogando responded to the area of Harrison and Sanford avenues on a report of crash. On arrival, Ogando says one of the drivers appeared impaired and could not provide a cohesive story of what led to the crash.
Swaying back and forth, slurring words, the man, Felix Y. Yung, 34, of Kearny, reportedly had drooping and glossy eyes. Sgt. Phil Finch arrived as backup and the two officers administered field-sobriety test. Yung reportedly performed poorly, was arrested and his vehicle was impounded.
At KPD Headquarters, Officer Andre Fernandes administered an Alcotest, which registered a result over three times the legal limit of .08% BAC.
Yung was charged with drunken and reckless driving and disregard of a stop or yield sign. He was later released to responsible party.
On Aug. 11, Officers Ruben Rivera and Kevin Matos were sent to the Target store on a shoplifting call. There, loss-prevention staff say they observed Matheus O. Ferreira, 20, of Kearny, under-ringing items and wished to pursue a complaint.
He was arrested and charged with shoplifting, was processed at KPD HQ and released with a summons and a court date.
On Aug. 12, Officer Jordan Anders and Jean-Paul Duran responded to a Kearny residence on a domestic-dispute call. Officers say a verbal altercation led to a man reportedly striking a woman in the face and she had a visible injury .
Anthony Lane Jr., 22, of Kearny, was arrested and charged with assault. He also had a $500 warrant out of Belleville and was later remanded to the Hudson County Jail in South Kearny.
On Aug. 12, loss prevention officers at the Target store told police they observed Vanessa H. Rodriguez, 24 and Richelly Osoria, 21, both of Yonkers, shoplifting by under ringing merchandise. They nearly made off with $980.94 worth of merchandise but loss prevention caught the two (one other person got away).
Officers Travis Witt, Michael Ore and Bismark Karikari responded and the two shoplifters were arrested, taken to KPD HQ, charged with shoplifting, conspiracy and receiving stolen property. Both released with summonses and court dates.
The third shoplifter was tentatively identified, with charges pending further investigation.
On Aug. 13, Officers Michael Ore and Travis Witt and Sgt. Tim Castle responded to a Kearny residence where they met a woman who said she had had an argument with her roommate, who punched her in the face and broke her cell phone.
That man, Ciro Omar C. Melo Romero, 35, of Kearny, then allegedly fled the scene.
Later that night, officers returned to the home and found Melo Romero there and arrested him. He was charged with assault and criminal mischief, then released with a summons and a court date.
Learn more about the writer ...
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.
