Editor’s note: The Kearny Police Department made 27 arrests between Jan. 18 and Jan. 25. What follows is a sample of said incidents.
On Jan. 18, Kearny Officer Christos Manolis, along with the US Marshals New York/New Jersey Fugitive Task Force, where he is on loan, executed a warrant operation at a Beech Street residence. The target of said operation was Brian Taylor, 22, of Kearny.
Upon entry to the residence, Christina Greco, also 22, of Kearny, reportedly lied to task force members, covering for Taylor by telling them he was not home, and attempting to interfere with their search and arrest of Taylor.
Ultimately, Taylor was discovered hiding in the crawl space-sized attic and was taken into custody by the marshals. Officer Manolis also arrested and processed Greco for obstruction the administration of law. She was charged on a summons and released with a court date.
Taylor was transported to the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office by the marshals.
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On Jan. 14, Officers Darwin Paulino and Sean Wilson were dispatched to a reported robbery on South Hackensack Avenue. There, a victim reported the actor robbed him of his cell phone and was now fleeing toward the intersection of Routes 1&9 and Hackensack Avenue. Specifically, the victim said he had been sitting in a chair when the actor pulled the chair from under him, smashed his head into the floor until the victim lost consciousness, then (according to witnesses) continued to stomp on the victim, before taking his cell phone and headphones.
The suspect was reported to be a tall Latino man, wearing a maroon jacket and black pants.
Officer Paulino quickly found the suspect — Glendell D. Murray, 29, of Jersey City, and detained him. Upon questioning, the suspect turned over the victim’s cell phone and headphones, then broke into a sprint away from police.
But that didn’t last too long as Officer Paulino was able to catch the fleeing man and bring him down to the ground and then arrest him.
A search incident to arrest yielded ecstasy.
Detectives obtained statements from those on scene.
The victim was taken to the hospital for his injuries, while Murray was charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, obstruction and possession of CDS at Kearny police headquarters and later remanded to the Hudson County Jail, not too far away from the incident.
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On Jan. 21, at 2 a.m., Sgt. Dean Gasser and Officers Thomas Collins and Anthony Oliveira responded to 7-Eleven on Schuyler Avenue on a report of disorderly person.
Store employees directed officers to man who said he was trying to get home from a party with a “female” who was nowhere to be found. The man appeared to be intoxicated, paranoid and aggravated.
Store employees noted the man arrived in an Uber wearing nothing but a T shirt and sweats, despite 10º degree weather outside, after which time he became aggressive to customers and harassed a woman inside of the store, prompting them to call the police.
As officers attempted to arrange for the man to get help or home, he reportedly smacked a 7-Eleven customer in the hand, at which point officers decided to restrain him. The man then began to yell and resist, swung his elbows and flailed his arms at officers, until they fully restrained him. In the process, he assaulted officers multiple times by kicking them and he elbowed an officer, lacerating the officer’s head. He was then arrested and taken to KPD HQ.
EMS was summoned to HQ where Kenneth J. Jaramillo, 18, of North Arlington, was evaluated; however, Jaramillo refused medical attention. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, one count each of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct and then released into the custody of his father.
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On. Jan. 20, shortly after midnight, Officer Angel Baez reportedly found a man sleeping in his vehicle at the intersection of Windsor Street and Bergen Avenue.
Upon waking the driver, the man was reportedly stumbling, with bloodshot, watery eyes and slurred speech. After attempting sobriety tests, the man decided to stop, stating he had been drinking (implying he was caught and concedes that he was wasted).
He was arrested and his vehicle was impounded, per John’s Law.
At KPD HQ he was charged with drunken and reckless driving after a BAC of nearly double the legal limit was registered. He was later released to responsible party.
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On Jan. 20 at 4 past midnight, units were advised of an erratic driver on Passaic Avenue. A caller reported a specific vehicle and its license plate. Officer Brad Salinas reportedly observed the vehicle driving dangerously near the Marshall’s store and initiated a motor-vehicle stop. As he pulled the vehicle over, it almost crashed into another vehicle.
The driver stopped haphazardly in the middle of the parking lot, but was not cooperative and would not lower his windows. Back up officers arrived.
Ultimately, the driver was ordered to exit the vehicle, after which time officers observed signs of impairment, including leaning on his vehicle for support, slurred slow speech, slow hand movement and bloodshot eyes and the odor of alcohol.
At KPD HQ, Franklin M. Pinzon Rueda, 34, of Newark refused an Alco Test and was charged with operating under the influence, possession of an open container of cannabis, careless driving and failure to submit to a breath test.
He was later released to responsible party.
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On Jan. 18, at 9:40 p.m., KPD units were dispatched to an erratic driver on Schuyler Avenue, performing donuts on private property.
Officer Derrick Hemphill found the vehicle, noted Christopher Alvarado, 20, of Newark, to be the culprit. He also noted multiple passengers inside the vehicle.
In plain view were open White Claw beverages and multiple bottles of vodka. When asked to exit the vehicle, a vodka bottle top fell from the driver’s lap. All occupants were under the age of 21 and were issued written warnings for alcohol possession.
The driver was ultimately arrested for DWI as it was determined he was impaired.
The vehicle was impounded per John’s Law.
At KPD HQ, an Alcotest registered a result of 15 times the legal limit for a person under 21 (which is 0.01%.)
Ultimately, Alvarado was charged with drunken driving, reckless driving, obstruction of a windshield, failure to possess a driver’s license and DWI under age 21 and was later released to a responsible party.
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Det. Sgt. Michal Gontarczuk | Kearny Police Department
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.