If the man named in this story’s name sounds familiar — or his headshot is ringing a bell — it’s because he was on the wrong side of the law just a few weeks ago, featured in a police item in The Observer and he finds himself in trouble once again.
The Lyndhurst Police Department again arrested Juan Martinez, 48, of Lyndhurst — this time, April 4 at 1 p.m. — and charged him with possession possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, Det. Capt. Vincent Auteri says.
According to Auteri:
Officer Jorge Fernandez was departing from the parking lot of business on Rutherford Avenue when he observed a black colored SUV swiftly enter the lot. The vehicle immediately left the parking lot at which point Officer Fernandez noticed the vehicle did not have a visible rear license plate. Officer Fernandez proceeded to follow the vehicle and watched as the subject vehicle turned carelessly into the exit portion of the parking lot of an adjacent business on Orient Way.
The vehicle ultimately came to a stop at which point Officer Fernandez approached the driver and he immediately knew it was Martinez.
Sgt. Nicholas Abruscato and Officer Anthony Morreale arrived shortly thereafter to assist. Officer Fernandez believed Martinez was driving while impaired and and had reason to believe narcotics might still be in the vehicle. When Martinez failed to grant Officer Fernandez consent to search the vehicle, a canine unit was summoned to assist.
A canine from the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department alerted to the presence of a control dangerous substance.
A search of the vehicle then led to the discovery of several small plastic bags containing crack cocaine.
Additionally, a glass cylindrical pipe was also located inside the vehicle.
And for the second time since March 25, Martinez was remanded to the Bergen County Jail — one could only wonder how long it will take for a judge to release him this go-round.
Martinez was also issued motor vehicle summons for possession of narcotics in a motor vehicle under, careless driving and failing to utilize a right turn signal.
The Lyndhurst Police Department thanked the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department’s Canine Unit for their assistance with this incident.
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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.