A Pennsylvania man finds himself in hot water following an incident where he allegedly flashed a fake gun while he was engaged in a dispute, Det. Sgt. Michael Gontarczuk, the Kearny Police Department’s public information officer said.
On Oct. 12 at 1:21 a.m., Officer Travis Witt and other units responded to a report of a fight at a truck stop in South Kearny, with an additional report of a possible handgun being involved. The reported handgun brandisher reportedly refused to exit his truck when police arrived and after multiple attempts were made to get him to exit, he had to be removed from the vehicle by officers, during which he sustained minor injuries.
Officers then searched the area of the truck where the handgun reportedly was and they found a black CO2 powered airsoft gun, a magazine for it, a hunter’s knife and other items.
Onlookers at the scene provided statements to the police.
Aleksandrs Curikovs, 71, of Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, reportedly parked on private property and the owner asked him to move his truck, which led to a verbal argument. Curikovs then allegedly pulled the fake gun on the property owner and pointed it at him.
A witness, meanwhile, was able to identify Curikovs as the gun flasher.
While at Kearny Police Headquarters, officers say they noticed Curikovs was also impaired and conducted FSTs (since he was in control of and technically operating his truck). Ultimately, the DWI / operating a commercial behicle while drunk charges were added on, after an alco test showed BAC over both the legal limits of .08 (for all drivers) and .04 (for commercial vehicles).
Curikovs was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm to use it unlawfully, resisting arrest, possession of a weapon (knife), unlawful of a weapon (knife) and obstruction.
Curikovs was later remanded to the Hudson County Jail in South Kearny.
On Oct. 5 at 6:40 p.m., Officers Luis Cazares and Bryan San Martin respond to Dollar Tree on Passaic Avenue after a staff member reported a shoplifter from the previous day returned for more action. When confronted, Jerry L. Vandermark, 43, of Newark, had filled his bag with merchandise, which was returned to the store. He was also found to have two warrants — one out of Kearny, another from Roxbury.
A search incident to arrest uncovered multiple crack pipes and other unpaid merchandise, including from Dollar Tree.
Vandermark was processed, charged with drug paraphernalia possession and then taken to the county jail.
On Oct. 7 at 10:40 p.m., Officers Derrick Hemphill and Michael Ore were dispatched to a car crash at Central Avenue and Third Street in South Kearny. One of the drivers has never had a license, but instead was driving on a learners permit from New York, the driving privileges of which were suspended
He could not provide insurance information for his vehicle, either.
Samuel I. Vegatigse, 31, of Brooklyn, was arrested, issue summonses for driving while suspended, unlicensed driving, careless driving and failure to possess insurance and was later released on summonses.
At around 10:50 p.m., Oct. 7, Sgt. Tim Castle and Officers Kevin Matos and Andy Soto responded to a dispute at a Kearny address. There, they determined Ashlee A. Callaghan, 26, of Kearny, allegedly used a frying pan to strike another resident of the home, causing multiple visible injuries. EMS was summoned to render aid to the injured party and Callaghan was arrested, charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and unlawful possession of a weapon and was later remanded to the county.
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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.
