March, like every month, has been a busy one for the Kearny Police Department, but more specifically, there have been a series of drunken-driving arrests this month, which put a major drain on police resources.
Editor’s note: Aside from the obvious — putting the lives of anyone in their way in danger — drivers who drive drunk also place a massive drain on resources of each police department. One officer tells The Observer one drunken-driving arrest could keep a police officer off the streets, filing the necessary paperwork, from anywhere from 2 to 4 hours. Additionally, police have seen a noticeable uptick in drivers who do so without minimum liability insurance. With Uber and Lyft everywhere in this area, there is absolutely no reason for there to be a single DWI arrest — and yet there were 10 this month.
Here’s a look at the 10 drunken-driving arrests this month, all as reported to us by the Kearny Police Department.
l Jason M. Hurtado Guzman, 29, of Newark, was arrested and charged with DWI by Officer Brad Salinas on March 4. Hurtado Guzman was pulled over after swerving repeatedly at a high rate of speed and later refused to submit to the Alco-test. He received six summonses and did not have motor vehicle insurance.
l Eugene J. Groelly, 56, of Saddle Brook, was arrested and charged with DWI by Officer Angel Baez on March 7. This was Groelly’s second DWI arrest in Kearny, with the last one having occurred in 2019. Officer Baez found Groelly unresponsively drunk in the area of 175 Passaic Ave.. He received three traffic summonses after blowing more than double the legal limit for alcohol.
l Oswaldo J. Gonzales Tomateo, 35, of Kearny, was arrested and charged with DWI by Officer Thomas Collins on March 8. Gonzales Tomateo had been taking a drunken nap in his vehicle, which was parked in the middle of the roadway, completely blocking the flow of traffic. After blowing a blood-alcohol content of double the legal limit, he received three summonses.
l Diego A. Diaz Barrera, 34, of Bayonne, was arrested and charged with DWI by Officer Jose Castillo on March 15. Diaz Barrera had reportedly caused a four-vehicle crash and later blew double the legal limit. He received four summonses.
l Francisco R. Vasquez-Peralta, 47, of Newark, was arrested and charged with DWI by Officer Ryan Carlos on March 16. This was the result of a motor vehicle stop in which Corona bottles were strewn about the vehicle. Vasquez-Peralta blew nearly double the legal limit and received six summonses, including one for having no insurance.
l A 17-year-old boy from Belleville was arrested and charged with DWI by Officer Brad Salinas on March 17. This occurred after Salinas pulled over a speeding and swerving vehicle at 330 a.m. The juvenile blew nearly double the legal limit and received six summonses.
l Alexandra M. Roman, 35, of Jersey City, was arrested and charged with DWI by Officer Brad Salinas on March 22. This was the result of a motor vehicle stop of a speeding vehicle, and after Salinas had determined that registered owner’s driving privileges were suspended. If speeding on a suspended license wasn’t enough, Roman had Modelo beers in her cup holders and was clearly intoxicated. She later refused to submit to breath testing and received five summonses.
l Ian M. Alvarez, 32, of Linden, was arrested and charged with DWI by Officer Michael Ore on March 23. Officer Ore pulled the vehicle over after he observed it speeding on a dirt road on South Kearny at almost 4 a.m. He located a 750mL bottle of liquor in the vehicle and Alvarez received three summonses after blowing nearly double the legal limit.
l Emily E. Allieri, 26, of Boonton, was arrested and charged with DWI and possession of controlled dangerous substance(s) by Officer Andre Fernandes on March 25. Officer Fernandes found the driver passed out from intoxication, despite having just crashed into another vehicle. Several liquor bottles were found on the front seat as well as various quantities of substances, including ketamine (which would explain remaining passed out after a crash). Allieri received three summonses in addition to criminal charges for possessing the aforementioned substances. A blood sample was obtained which awaits processing.
l Daniel Velazquez, 39, of North Arlington, was arrested and charged with DWI by Officer Angel Baez on March 30. This was the result of Velazquez blowing through a red light in front of Officer Baez, leading to a motor vehicle stop. Three bottles of beer were found inside the vehicle and Velazquez received three summonses after blowing nearly double the legal limit.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off 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 Facebook Live, 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 West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.