On Aug. 31 at around 2 p.m., Lt. Brian Wisely, Sgt. Mike Farinola, Officer Damian Kolodziej and other KPD units were dispatched to a residence on the 100 block of Belgrove Drive (residents may have noticed a larger-than-usual police presence that day in the area) where it was reported multiple men were in someone’s apartment, armed with guns.
On arrival, police formed a perimeter and, after over an hour of negotiating with the men inside, got them to surrender peacefully.
Police later learned the original information they were given was somewhat miscommunicated.
This was not a home invasion, but instead, it was an argument between roommates, resulting in one of them bringing over armed friends.
The caller’s roommate allegedly asked for his portion of the rent money back at some point earlier in that month and he threatened the roommate if he didn’t return it.
When he left the residence to go to work and later contacted the police, the firearms were no longer there
The suspect, Ibn Buie, 24, of Kearny was arrested and charged with criminal attempted threat by extortion and remanded to the Hudson County Jail, South Kearny. His “friends,” both of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, were asked to leave the residence.
On Aug. 31, Officer Derek Hemphill responded to Target, where loss prevention detained Yvanna I. Cabrera, 28, of West Orange, for reportedly shoplifting $381.78 worth of merchandise. The suspect had concealed the merchandise in foil-lined bags, so as to defeat security devices when exiting the store.
She was arrested, processed at police headquarters and released with summonses, pending court.
On Aug. 31, at 10:30 p.m., police received multiple 911 calls regarding a multi-vehicle crash on Route 7 west on the Viaduct with injuries.
Kearny units were dispatched to what amounted to a six-car crash with Sgt. Mike Andrews, Officers Pete Jahera, Derek Hemphill, Cort Montanino, Chris Montes and Ryan Wilson responded.
An investigation on scene revealed there was a single vehicle crash first (a car into a divider, overturned).
In an attempt to avoid the now-disabled and heavily damaged car from the first crash, a second five car collision resulted with multiple injuries. The crash was made worse by a long fluid trail from the overturned vehicle which made the viaduct extremely slippery.
The driver of the vehicle involved in the single car crash, Hector Rivera, 45, of Belleville, was found to be intoxicated and was placed under arrest for DWI. He was not able to provide samples of his breath, thus, he was taken to a hospital, where a blood draw was done.
Rivera was charged with reckless driving and driving while impaired. However, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office recommended the Kearny PD not charge him criminally, despite the injuries to others. Rivera was released to a friend, with a pending court date for the traffic offenses.
On Sept. 3 at around 11 p.m., Sgt. Sean Kelly, along with Officers Taylor Latka, Mike Santucci, Bryan San Martin and Tom Collins responded to a Devon Terrace address on reports of a large fight. A large group of people there were frantic after a big skirmish.
It was determined during a scuffle, Jonathan Frias-Rivas, 44, of Kearny, retrieved two wine bottles and began to swing them at one or more people. Multiple people worked together to disarm Frias-Rivas until police arrived and ultimately subdued and arrested him.
He was taken to a medical facility after which he was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon before being released with summonses, pending court.
Just before 7 a.m., Sept. 4, Officers Jean Paul Duran and Jordan Anders responded to a Kearny residence, fielding a report of a motor-vehicle theft. Police learned a Honda Accord was stolen (the keys were with owner, and the car was not left running.)
The owner used GPS and tracked his own vehicle. At about 7:40 a.m., the GPS showed the vehicle to be near the Kearny Wawa on Harrison Avenue. Sgt. Ryan Stickno and other units responded there.
The owner, who had been tracking his vehicle since the theft, was already at Wawa, and found a man driving, parking and alighting from it.
As police arrived, the owner pointed out the man. A show-up procedure was conducted and Christian X. Otero, 29, of Harrison, was arrested. He was also found to have a $5,000 Newark warrant.
Otero was charged with receiving stolen property at KPD HQ and then taken to the county.
On Sept. 4, officers were dispatched to a Kearny residence on a report of a family having trouble with a neighbor. Residents told police they’d been having ongoing issues with Michael Bello, 31, of Kearny, who was allegedly shouting obscenities at them, causing criminal mischief to their vehicles, etc. These issues have been documented by the KPD, but had only resulted in either court referrals or being unable to identify him as the actor.
This time, however, neighbors showed police Ring doorbell footage of Bello, acting in an aggressive manner, approaching their front door, shouting obscenities, attempting to open the front door by turning the knob and pushing on it with his shoulder — and then spitting on the floor when he realized it was locked.
The entire family was fearful of Bello and filed complaints against him.
Bello was not home when officers attempted to make contact at his residence and a warrant for attempted burglary was issued.
On Sept. 6, Officer Ryan Wilson arrested Bello at his residence. He was processed and remanded to the county.
On Aug. 31, Sgt. Mike Farinola and Officers Sean King and Nick Funk responded to America’s Best Glasses on Passaic Avenue, where a pregnant employee was reportedly robbed by a customer. They were familiar with the customer and knew his pedigree.
The customer had become upset over a clerical issue, shoved the employee and took her iPhone.
He walked out of the store with her phone and attempted to smash it on the ground, causing damage to the glass housing.
When the employee ran outside to get her phone back, Rodney E. Hillsman, 60, of Jersey City, began to assault her until fellow employees came to her aid.
The man was later identified and a warrant for his arrest was generated for robbery and criminal mischief.
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.
