On Oct. 13 at 12:13 p.m., Dets. Michael Andrews and Michael Farinola went to Walmart to assist Dets. Robert Koehler and Daniel Tirone of NYPD’s Brooklyn North Violent Felony Warrant Section. The New York detectives had surveilled Malik R. Jackson, 29, of Newark, to that location. Jackson was wanted in New York for attempted murder, but now, he was at Kearny Walmart.
Jackson exited the Walmart as detectives were confirming the arrest warrant. They arrested him without incident. Jackson was charged as a fugitive from justice and held at the Hudson County Jail pending extradition to New York.
On Oct. 8 at 5:43 a.m., Officer Ruben Rivera and Sgt. Ben Wuelfing were dispatched to the southbound lanes of the Pulaski Skyway for a one-vehicle crash. The officers found a damaged BMW whose driver had apparently lost control and crashed into the concrete road barrier. There were no injuries, but driver Zili Yin, 24, of Piscataway, showed indicators of impairment so severe that he could not even begin field sobriety testing.
The officers arrested Yin who allegedly refused to cooperate with alcohol breath testing at the police station. Yin was charged with DWI, refusal to submit to breath test, unregistered vehicle and reckless driving. Yin was later released with summons.
On Oct. 9 at 9:41 a.m., Officer Kevin Carvalho responded to ShopRite whose management was reportedly detaining an early bird shoplifter. The store manager accused Ziyuan Wang, 24, of Harrison, of concealing $78.54 of vegetables, cheese and gum inside her backpack and attempting to carry the merchandise out of the store without paying for it.
Wang was charged with shoplifting and released from police headquarters with a summons.
On Oct. 9 at 10:07 p.m., Officers Michael Ore and Ruben Rivera were dispatched to a dispute at a private residence. An apparently inebriated 45-year-old resident, a man, of the attic of this house, met the officers as they were walking up to the home (foreshadowing).
A 40-year-old who lived in the first-floor apartment told cops the incident began when she heard banging outside her apartment door and then heard the attic man state, “This is war.” The man allegedly began throwing items about the hallway and then took a baseball bat to her apartment door in an attempt to break it down. Officers saw dents in the door consistent with slugging.
Attic man was arrested for criminal attempt (burglary), weapon possession offenses, terroristic threats, criminal mischief and possession of burglar’s tools. He was later lodged in the county jail.
On Oct. 10 at 1:58 p.m., Officers Esteban Gonzalez, Rich Poplaski Jr. and Sgt. Phil Finch met a 19-year-old concerned citizen outside a local home. The woman said she was worried for the well-being of the family who lived there because a 36-year-old male cohabitant has been abusive to the other residents. The suspect was not then home.
Officers interviewed the residents.
A 17-year-old boy told them the man recently threatened to kill him. The boy’s mother said two days earlier, the man violently grabbed her arms, jaw, chest and neck as she was exiting the shower and spit on her twice.
The assault resulted in several bruises. And the man allegedly followed up with a text message to the effect that “vengeance would be his.” The woman played an audio message for police of the man threatening to kill her son and said he also threatened to hit her with a baseball.
With this bounty of allegations of repugnance, the officers drew up criminal complaints for simple assault and harassment on behalf of the woman, and for terroristic threats on behalf of her minor son. Later that night they located and arrested the man. He was booked and remanded to the Hudson County Jail.
On Oct. 13 at 6:15 p.m., several detectives and patrol officers executed an arrest warrant at the Elm Street apartment of Shawn J. Laroche, 30. Laroche was wanted on a Kearny arrest warrant charging aggravated assault, conspiracy (to commit aggravated assault) and endangering an injured victim.
The charges stemmed from an investigation by Dets. Frank West and Michael Farinola of a stabbing assault near 12 Kearny Ave. on Oct. 7 just after 11 p.m. Patrolman Angel Martinez had been called to that scene where a Kearny man and a Flushing, Queens, man reported they had been attacked on the street by two men and a woman who had arrived and then fled in a black Mercedes.
Both victims were punched and kicked repeatedly. The Flushing man was knocked unconscious and later found to have an orbital bone fracture in his face. The Kearny man was also stabbed by the woman several times in the leg and back.
Responding officers administered first aid to the victims until EMS took over and transported both to University Hospital, Newark. Both men were later discharged with non-life-threatening injuries.
LaRoche was held at the Hudson County Jail. The investigation remains active.
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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.