On Sept. 27, at 12:30 a.m., a citizen called police to inform them a man was exposing himself outside St. Stephen’s Catholic Church. When police arrived on the scene, the found a man who met the description and whose bare buttocks was staring at them.
When police approached Sean J. Herring, 28, of Kearny, he allegedly made sexually charged comments and then he spit on one of the officers — two times. This model citizen was arrested and taken to HQ, where police later learned Herring had two warrants out for his arrest from Jersey City.
His rear end now covered up, Herring was transferred to the county for lodging.
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Well, Sept. 26 was yet another banner day at one of the Passaic Avenue Vermella apartment complexes.
That day at around midnight, Sgt. Sean Kelly and Officers Luis Cazares, David Vazquez and Tom Collins were sent to one of them on a report of a man in wearing a jacket with a backpack who was acting up in the parking lot.
When police arrived, they said they found Salvatore A. Gonnella, 31, of Belleville, hunched over in the roadway, his eyes closed. When police spoke to him, Gonnella reportedly said he was trying to “tire himself out.”
Police said they later found a glass crack pipe and suspected CDS on Gonnella and they also learned he had warrants carrying nearly $9,000 in bail from Kearny and Rockaway.
After being charged with possession of paraphernalia and CDS possession, Gonnella was remanded to the Hudson County Jail, South Kearny.
Editor’s note: This is at least the third time Mr. Gonnella has been arrested in Kearny’s southern end in 2023.
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On Sept. 17, Officer John Fearon and Sgt. Jack Grimm were dispatched to ShopRite on a shoplifting call. Juan Gonzalez-Conde, 41, of Harrison, stood accused of stealing many packages of meat. He was arrested, processed and like most defendants these days in Jersey, released pending court.
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On Sept. 17, Officer Rich Pawlowski was on patrol when he notice a vehicle blow through a stop sign near Laurel Avenue and Argyle Place so he pulled the car over. When he did, he met Arlleri Espinoza, 21, of Leola, Pennsylvania, whose driver’s license and reg were suspended.
Espinoza was arrested and charged with driving whilst suspended and issued a ticket for the stop sign violation before being released.
But her vehicle was impounded since it wasn’t registered.
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On Sept. 18 at around 8 p.m., a woman was arriving home from work when she was confronted by a man who appeared agitated and who used physical force to reportedly steal her purse.
Daniel A. Baez Almonte, 42, of Kearny, also allegedly used a knife to then cut open the handbag. As this was happening, the victim scurried to a neighbor’s home to call 911.
Officers Michael Ore and Chris Montes, meanwhile, found Almonte, arrested him and charged him with first-degree armed robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and criminal mischief.
After being processed, Almonte was remanded to the Hudson County Jail.
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On Sept. 22, at 8:26 a.m., Officers Kevin Carvalho and Nick Funk were sent to the dead-end of Ivy Street (near Franklin School). This cul-de-sac is horsed off daily because if it wasn’t, parents would use the street to drop kids off for school.
Such was the case this day, though more parents were attempting to get down Ivy than usual. Now, because the street is blocked off, kids will often walk down the block in the street, knowing cars aren’t supposed to be there.
But this day was a bit different because Kenneth A. Ramirez, 37, of Newark, is alleged to have disregarded the wooden horses and the crossing guard’s instructions by driving his VW down Ivy Street.
When officers arrived and found Ramirez, they learnt his license was suspended and he had an 8-year-old active warrants from Union.
Ramirez was arrested and charged accordingly, but then Union released him on his own recognizance, pending court.
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On Sept. 23 at around 5:30 a.m., Officers Angel Martinez, Derek Hemphill, Ruben Rivera and Sgt. Ben Wuelfing responded to Routes 1&9 South on an extensive car crash. Police learned a Nissan merging from Central Avenue had driven northbound onto 1&9 (against the flow of traffic and head on), causing a head-on collision.
The driver of the suspected at-fault vehicle reeked of alcohol, officers said, and he exhibited signs of impairment.
Police conducted field-sobriety tests on Romel A. Gonzalez Maza, 31, of Newark, arrested him, took him to Kearny PD HQ and his vehicle was later impounded.
An alcotest reportedly registered a reading over the legal limit of .08% BAC.
Maza was charged with driving the wrong was on a one-way street, reckless driving, drunken driving and improper use of a divided highway before he was released into the custody of a friend.
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We go back in time for this one to New Year’s Day 2023 when officers responded to Oh! Calamares restaurant on Kearny avenue where a man was seen wearing a black mask while police said he kicked and damaged vehicles.
After fleeing and resisting arrest, all while damaging police equipment, the suspect was arrested ultimately and charged with criminal mischief, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstruction.
That day, Shawn J. Laroche, 30, of Kearny, was released on his own recognizance, pending court.
But the thing is, he never showed up for court over the subsequent 10-month period.
And then, the Hudson Sheriff’s Office found him Sept. 21 and arrested him on the warrants that had been issued for his arrest.
This time, however, Laroche was remanded to the County after being processed.
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On Sept. 26 at 2:30 a.m., Officer Anthony Oliveira was on patrol on the 300 block of Belgrove Drive when he spotted a man walking in the street, reportedly checking for unlocked cars. When Officer Oliveira approached Dennis L. Harper, 40, of Newark, the man said he was en route from Carlstadt to Newark at that ridiculous hour.
A warrant check revealed Harper had open warrants out of Irvington and Secaucus.
He was arrested, taken into custody and then Irvington picked him up on their warrant.
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.