On June 1 at 12:15 p.m., Det. Mike Andrews saw a Cadillac sedan with no inspection sticker speed past him near 180 Passaic Ave. After checking the Cadillac’s registration, Det. Andrews learned the vehicle’s owner was reported in a national law enforcement database as a missing person and he had an expired driver’s license.
Det. Andrews pulled over the Cadillac to find that its driver was not the missing owner, but instead was Gregory A. Badu, 31, of East Orange. Badu allegedly tossed a bag into the back seat when the detective approached.
From that bag, and other parts of the car, Det. Andrews found 115 ecstasy pills, 143 wax folds of heroin stamped “Black Mexican,” seven bags of marijuana, 152 alprazolam (Xanax) pills, 12 oxycodone pills, 56 suboxone sublingual films, five prescription bottles and $3,230 cash. Assisted by Det. Dave Bush and Officer Pedro Pina, the officers also recovered a .45 caliber handgun cartridge and a rifle cartridge, but no firearms, in the car.
Badu was arrested on several counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), several counts of possession of CDS with intent to distribute, several counts of intent to distribute CDS near a public park, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving with a suspended license, operating a vehicle while in possession of CDS and failure to inspect. Badu was held at the Hudson County Jail.
On May 22 at 7:06 p.m., Officers Kevin Matos and Bismark Karikari were sent to the East Newark Police Department where a 34-year-old Kearny man was taking refuge after reportedly having been stabbed and slashed in Kearny.
The victim reported he had an argument with a roommate who then retrieved a kitchen knife and attacked him with it. The victim received lacerations and/or puncture wounds to his hand, biceps and abdomen. He also sustained an injured lip and a bruised cheek before fleeing the apartment for the police station.
Before being transported by EMS to University Hospital, Newark, the victim told officers the alleged assailant was still in his apartment and there may also be a second man stabbed there.
Bolstered by Sgt. Ben Wuelfing and Officers Derek Hemphill and Michael Ore, the police tactically entered the apartment with a ballistic shield and took the alleged assailant under arrest. He is a 27-year-old Kearny resident. Officers located the additional victim, a 55-year-old Kearny man, who only had a minor laceration and refused further treatment from EMS.
Officers charged the alleged stabber with aggravated assault and weapon offenses. He was held at the Hudson County Jail.
On May 20, a 53-year-old Kearny woman reported to Officer Anthony Nunez she had left her pocketbook temporarily unattended while dining at a Kearny Avenue restaurant and returned to find her $850 Louis Vuitton wallet missing. Security cameras were initially inaccessible but were later reviewed providing an image of the alleged thief.
On May 23 at 3:45 p.m., the victim called police after recognizing the alleged wallet thief walking on the 300 block of Kearny Avenue. Officer John Fearon responded and, after further investigation, he arrested Migdalia Serrano, 53, of Kearny, for theft. Serrano was later released from the police station with a summons.
Officers recovered most of the contents of the victim’s wallet, but not her cash or the wallet itself, when an unidentified passerby turned the items in to a town crossing guard. The police department later received the wallet, most of the missing cash, and other contents when they were anonymously mailed to police headquarters.
On May 23 at 6:06 p.m., Officers Luis Cazares, Taylor Latka and Sgt. Dean Gasser were dispatched to a house of private nuisance where a 30-year-old woman claimed to have been stabbed in the foot and then punched by a guest. EMS also came to the scene to treat an elderly resident who had become emotionally burdened by the goings-on.
Officers arrested Stephanie M. Valentine, 30, of Kearny, on charges of aggravated assault and weapon possession. Valentine was later released with a summons.
On May 25 at 7:01 a.m., Officer Anthony Nunez was patrolling Columbia Avenue and saw Eric Perez, 55, of Kearny, drive by. Officer Nunez confirmed Perez was wanted on warrants charging criminal mischief and weapon offenses stemming from an April incident — also on Columbia Avenue — where it was alleged Perez slashed a parked vehicle’s tires.
Officer Nunez pulled over Perez, who also allegedly had a suspended driver’s license and an expired vehicle registration. Perez was charged with the foregoing offenses and placed in the county jail in South Kearny.
On May 29 at 6:43 a.m., Officer Christos Manolis and several backup officers were dispatched to the 500 block of Devon Street for a report of a car burglary-in-progress. Officers arrived to find the vehicle owner’s father holding its door open and Daniel P. McKeown, 53, of Kearny, allegedly sitting inside the car.
Officers arrested McKeown without incident. He was charged with burglary and held at the county jail.
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Capt. Timothy Wagner | Kearny Police Department
Capt. Timothy Wagner is the Kearny Police Department's public-information officer and the commander of the department's Internal Affairs Unit. He contributes the KPD Blotter weekly and writes it completely.