Footage lands man in jail
After a surveillance tape from his own apartment building showed him allegedly firing a weapon, Francis Durante, 62, was arrested by police.
According to North Bergen Police Commander of the Detective Bureau Lt. Frank Cannella, security personnel at a Granton Avenue apartment building were called on Feb. 17 around 8 a.m. by residents who claimed that about an hour earlier they had heard and/or witnessed Durante allegedly firing what sounded like a gun in the parking lot.
Security officials reviewed the surveillance tapes, which police say confirmed that Durante, someone known to them and a resident in the building, was shown firing a gun once into the wall of the parking lot.
Cannella said that police found a hole in the wall and recovered a shell casing and a fragment of a bullet. The Police Tactical Response Team evacuated the floor Durante lives on, then knocked on his door and arrested him.
After being granted a search warrant, police said they found numerous guns, including a Smith & Wesson .357 hand gun, a Walther PPK 380 handgun which police said was the weapon allegedly fired in the incident, a Ruger Mini 14 Rifle, and a shotgun barrel.
A cache of ammunition was also found, as well as two handcuffs, two crack pipes, and a small amount of white powder suspected to be a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), police said.
Durante was charged with possession of a handgun, unlawful possession of a handgun, possession of hollow-point bullets, possession of two large capacity magazines, criminal mischief, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of suspected CDS, and possession of handcuffs.
Judge Nino Falcone set his bail at $100,000 with no ten percent bail bond option.
Arrested for allegedly dealing out of car
After the North Bergen Police’s Street Crime Unit observed them allegedly engaging in drug deals from a car, Glenn Betancourt, 18, and Xavier Rios, 19, both of North Bergen, along with a 17-year-old female from Union City, were arrested for manufacturing and distributing a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), along with other charges.
On Feb. 18 at 8 p.m., police observed a black 2010 Chevy Cobalt driving very slowly through the Meadowview Avenue Complex, which is part of North Bergen’s public housing. The driver, Betancourt, and the front seat passenger, Rios, were both known to police, said Cannella.
Cannella said that police observed the vehicle stop, watched a person come up to the car, and witnessed what appeared to be a “hand to hand transaction.”
He said that police continued their surveillance into West New York, where the juvenile female, also known to the department, appeared to be waiting for them to pick her up.
After pulling over the car, police said they noticed a strong odor of marijuana when asking Betancourt for his paperwork.
“He stated that his friend was in the car earlier and had smoked marijuana earlier, but that nothing was in the car at this time,” said Cannella.
Cannella said that police noticed a cigar box near the female sitting in the rear passenger seats, who claimed that it did not belong to her. It contained about two ounces of alleged marijuana.
Cannella said that everyone was arrested and the Bergen County Police Department was contacted for a drug sniffing dog, which conducted an exterior search of the vehicle and showed interest in the driver’s side, rear passenger, and trunk area of the car. After obtaining a search warrant, police found an additional two ounces of what they allege to be marijuana.
Betancourt was charged with two counts each of possession of a CDS, CDS manufacturing and distributing CDS, distributing near a school, distributing 500 ft. from a public park, and possession of CDS in his vehicle.
Rios and the juvenile were charged with one count each of all of the above charges, except for possession of CDS in the vehicle.
Bail for Betancourt and Rios were set by Judge Nino Falcone at $50,000 with no ten percent bail bond option, while the 17-year-old female was released to her family.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.