Grand Jury to hear case on driver who overturned taxi on Route 440
Roberto Alejandro Isaac, 37, of Jersey City, will face possible indictment when a grand jury hears evidence about his alleged attempt to elude police in a cab – reportedly stolen – in a high speed chase that ended up overturning the cab on Route 440 near East 22nd Street in Bayonne on Sept. 13.
Hudson County Prosecutor Ed DeFazio said the grand jury will determine if there is enough evidence to indict Isaac and that Isaac could face additional charges if the grand jury chooses to do so.
Charges include an alleged attempt to run down officers from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Department, who pulled the cab over on suspicion it might have been stolen. Isaac allegedly sped off with one officer firing a pistol to stop him.
“At this moment, bail has been set for $750, 000,” DeFazio said. “Considering that he was on probation at the time of arrest, he is not likely to leave the Hudson County Correctional Facility any time soon.”
DeFazio said that in December, Hudson County Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan sentenced Isaac to four years probation after Isaac pleaded guilty to possession of drugs and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
“If the grand jury issues the indictment, the case will then work its way through the Superior Court,” DeFazio said.
Bayonne man pleads guilty to misleading feds on terror investigation
Mohamed Osman, 19, of Bayonne, has admitted lying to officials investigating Mohamed Alessa and Carlos E. Almonte – two New Jersey men recently charged in connection with an alleged conspiracy to kill on behalf of a terrorist group in Somalia, United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman said this week.
Osman pled guilty on Sept. 15 before Senior U.S. District Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise to making materially false statements to investigators in a matter involving international terrorism.
Alessa of North Bergen and Almonte of Elmwood Park were arrested at JFK International Airport in New York in June, where they were allegedly intending to take separate flights to Egypt in order to further travel to Somalia to join the terrorist organization Al Shabaab.
During an interview with members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, Osman denied knowing about the two men’s plans, but later admitted he had learned about the plans from Alessa.
“Witnesses who attempt to mislead law enforcement officials interfere with the critical work of those who keep us safe,” Fishman said.
Osman faces a potential eight years in jail and a $250,000 fine, and is due for sentencing on Dec. 20.
Fake gun leads to real arrest
Peter D. Frakes, 22, of Andrews Street in Bayonne, was arrested after showing a friend a silver starter pistol that strongly resembled a 9 mm handgun on Sept. 12.
While a starter pistol shoots blank cartridges, it looks so much like a real gun that it falls under the law against carrying imitation weapons.
A police spokesperson said that a unit had responded to the area of West 19th Street on a report of a domestic disturbance when a witness said Frakes – dressed in a red t-shirt and blue jeans – had been showing off the weapon to another man in a dark hooded sweatshirt. Acting on this tip, the police unit toured the area and discovered two men fitting the description near 20th Street and Avenue C. When arrested, Frakes allegedly gave a false name. The police said they learned his real identity from a photograph in their files and charged Frakes with hindering apprehension.
K9 uncovers suspected crack cocaine
Michael Beicht, 38, of 28th Street in Bayonne, was charged with possession of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia after a motor vehicle stop at around 11:23 p.m. on Sept. 15.
A police spokesperson said police saw a copper scrub inside the car, which is commonly used to clean out a crack pipe. Then, police said they saw the pipe with the copper scrub inserted in the bowl – at which time they placed Beicht under arrest. A back up unit that included the K-9 drug sniffing dog Caesar arrived, and after a brief search, the dog indicated the alleged presence of drugs near the front seat. The police said they found two vials containing suspected crack cocaine.
Two arrested for burglarizing a burned out house
On Sept. 10, Kurt J. Ruark, 24, and a 17 year old youth, both of Bayonne, were charged with allegedly breaking into a West Third Street home left vacant as a result of a fire.
A police spokesperson said a witness reported seeing two men on the doorstep of the house and allegedly enter the house through a window off the backyard, but not come out.
In conducting a search of the house, police said they found Ruark behind a door on the second floor and then heard creaking from the crawl space above, where they found the 17 year old hiding.
The boy refused orders to come out, so police had to go into the crawl space and drag him out. Once out, the boy refused to be handcuffed. As a result, both Ruark and the boy were charged with burglary and the boy faces additional charges of resisting arrest. Ruark was found to owe $6,000 in unpaid fines to the Bayonne Municipal Court and was sent to the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny. The boy was sent to the Hudson County Juvenile Detention Center in Secaucus.