Two Bayonne girls arrested for alleged pool vandalism
After several incidents of vandalism at the DiDomenico Municipal Pool in the upper level of 16th Street Park, police on patrol arrested two Bayonne girls after seeing a number of teens inside the fenced-in pool area at about 2:27 a.m. on July 28.
According to a police spokesman, earlier in the week, pool management reported that someone during the night had painted graffiti on the fence, dumped the slide into the water, knocked over a lifeguard umbrella, and committed other acts of vandalism.
Police checking on the pool area on July 28 reported seeing a group of about six juveniles inside the fenced-in pool area. When the group saw the police, they scattered in different directions, the police said. One girl slipped through a hole in the fence, but after a short pursuit, the police apprehended her.
When the pool manager arrived with the keys, police conducted a search and found another girl hiding behind some bushes.
At the time, police noted that a lifeguard umbrella was floating in the pool. Later, when it became light, the pool manager reported that two lifeguard stands had been tipped into the water, and a slide was floating in the pool.
As a result, a 15-year-old girl from 32nd Street and a 16-year-old girl from East 18th Street were charged with Defiant Trespassing and Criminal Mischief and released to their parents.
Light rail stop leads to pot arrest
Bayonne police said they arrested Paris King, 21, of Orient Street, Jersey City, on July 26 at the 22nd Street Station of the Hudson Bergen Light Rail in Bayonne after he allegedly could not produce a valid ticket. A subsequent search found two plastic zip bags on him containing alleged marijuana. A background check also revealed that King allegedly had $5,000 in outstanding unpaid court fines to Bayonne Municipal Court.
Bus driver ticketed after hitting a hydrant
A NJ Transit bus got lodged on a fire hydrant near a Bayonne Bridge underpass at Avenue A and Gertrude Street on July 26. Ticketed for careless driving, the driver claimed – the police said – that a car was driving in her lane, forcing her to make a tighter than normal turn.
The bus struck the hydrant and got stuck, forcing the police to call for a tow truck and staff from the Municipal Utilities Authority to shut off the water and remove the hydrant.
Driver injured in DWI accident
Ian M. Landrie, 24, of Andrews Street, was treated for a fractured right wrist and charged with Driving While Intoxicated after he allegedly struck a number of parked cars while driving south on Kennedy Boulevard near 50th Street on July 25.
A spokesperson for the Bayonne Police said a tow truck driver reported the incident after witnessing the accident.
Police said they found Landrie outside the parked Red Ford XPL accompanied by a passenger, a 23-year-old woman from Oceanport, N.J. who owned the vehicle.
Both, according to the police, were unsteady on their feet, and a blood test was taken at the Bayonne Medical Center while Landrie was being treated for his injuries. The police said both smelled strongly of alcohol and a subsequent search revealed a carton of beer in the car with 11 unopened bottles and five empty bottles.
The woman was issued a summons for allowing an intoxicated man to operate her vehicle. Landrie was charged with DWI and having open containers of alcohol in the vehicle.
Alleged deodorant theft leads to county jail
Jack P. Christie, 49, of Avenue C was charged with shoplifting after he allegedly tried to take four packages of deodorant from ShopRite without paying for them on July 24.
The police said the store’s loss prevention officer witnessed Christie allegedly placing the items into a plastic bag and then allegedly attempting to exit the store through the liquor department without paying for the items.
An off-duty police officer apprehended him. The total value was placed at $23.98. A background check, however, showed that Christie had two outstanding warrants for unpaid fines totalling $4,528. He was remanded to the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny.
Woman charged with alleged MP3 player theft
Brandi N. McCrea, 31, of Seaview Avenue in Jersey City, was charged with shoplifting after store security claimed she allegedly tried to take an MP3 player from AJ Wright without paying for it at about 4 p.m. on July 25.
The police said they reviewed the security tape and then charged McCrea with the attempted theft. The player was valued at $31.04. McCrea also had $100 in unpaid fines to Jersey City Municipal Court, police said.
Off-duty cop stops alleged baby formula theft
An off-duty Bayonne police officer passing the Rite Aid near North Street saw two men pulling up on front the store on July 25 and – recognizing them from previous arrests – the officer decided to wait and watch, resulting in the arrest of John J. Grogan, 22, of West 9th Street and Carlos J. Ruiz, 30, of Kelly Parkway, for allegedly shoplifting.
A police spokesperson said the off-duty officer saw Grogan allegedly run from the store pushing a shopping cart containing unbagged infant formula, which he allegedly dumped into the back seat of a car driving by Ruiz, which took off towards Avenue C.
At the same time as the off-duty officer called police headquarters, store security reported the theft, and a marked police car pulled Ruiz and Grogan over near Merchant Street, where they reported finding the infant formula on the floor of the back seat. The value of the items was placed at $193.39. Ruiz had outstanding unpaid fines to Bayonne Municipal Court for $453, police said. Both men were charged with shoplifting.