Three busted for allegedly passing counterfeit $100 bills
A 16-year-old Bayonne girl was allegedly used in a scheme to spread counterfeit $100 bills to at least three Broadway merchants, a police spokesperson said.
The scheme became unraveled when a suspicious clerk from the Easy Pickins clothing store on Broadway called police at about 6:15 p.m. on April 20.
A police officer, based on a description of the girl broadcasted to units around town, reported seeing a girl place an Easy Pickins shopping bag into the trunk of a black Nissan Altima parked near Broadway and 30th Street.
A police spokesperson said when officers stopped the car a short time later, the officers saw the driver, Steven Montano, 23, of Jackson Heights, NY, allegedly with a folded bundle of bills between his legs, which – according to the police report – he claimed were not his.
When police retrieved the Easy Pickins shopping bag from the trunk of the car, they found a shopping bag from Barney Stock Women’s Clothing Store with merchandise in it.
The clerks at Barney Stock and Easy Pickins positively identified the 16-year-old girl as the person who gave them the counterfeit bill. Based on an interview with the suspects, the police also found another counterfeit bill at the Carvel ice cream store, although the clerk there could not positively say the girl had given it.
As a result, the girl was charged with forgery and conspiracy to commit forgery, and was later released to the custody of the state Division of Youth and Family Services.
Montano and Kevin Avalos, 20, of Flushing, who were in the car when it was stopped, were charged with forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, and the use of a minor 17 or younger to commit a crime. Both were sent to the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny.
Since the passing of counterfeit money is considered a federal crime, the Bayonne police notified the Treasury Department about the incident.
Woman mugged near park
Joseph R. Fiore Jr., 18, of Bayonne, was charged with robbery after he allegedly knocked down a woman near Stephen Gregg County Park and Kennedy Boulevard on April 19 to grab a bag full of prescription drugs. The woman told police that she had been allegedly approached by three young men in the evening, one of whom allegedly knocked her down. Based on the description she gave and the direction of flight she indicated, a police patrol car stopped three men on Avenue A, who the woman later positively identified.
Fiore was charged with the mugging. His companion, Jesse Denver, 18, of Bayonne, was charged with underage possession of alcohol. The third suspect was checked and released.
Fiore was sent to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
Failure to stop for pedestrian leads to warrant arrest
Alan Paredes, 33, of Jersey City, was charged with obstruction of a governmental function and numerous traffic violations after he allegedly failed to stop for a pedestrian near the Bayonne Medical Center crosswalk on Avenue E on April 18. A police officer monitoring pedestrian safety followed the Toyota Camry and – according to a police spokesperson – noted other traffic infractions before pulling the car over a few blocks later on Prospect Avenue. The police said Paredes failed to produce a valid driver’s license and allegedly gave the police officer a fictitious name. Once his identity was confirmed, Paredes was found to have $7,500 in outstanding unpaid fines from Bayonne Municipal Court and had a warrant from Superior Court for fines in excess of $22,000. Paredes was sent to the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny.
Someone’s at the back window
Isaac Fermin, 18, of Bayonne, was charged with burglary on April 20, after he allegedly attempted to break into a West 44th Street home.
The woman resident told police that someone kept ringing her front doorbell, but she did not answer the door. When she went to the back of her house, she said she allegedly saw someone trying to break in. When the would-be thief saw her, he fled, at which point she called the police.
A spokesperson for the Bayonne Police Department said police detectives arrested Fermin in the area.
Fermin was sent to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
Traffic stop leads to pot bust
Eric Rivera, 27, of Bayonne, was charged with the alleged possession of marijuana on April 21 after a police officer noticed the smell of unburned marijuana coming from the car during a motor vehicle stop.
A search of the vehicle, a police person said, uncovered a small zip lock plastic bag containing smaller bags of suspected marijuana. Rivera was charged with possession, as well as possession to distribute drugs, and possession to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school and 500 feet of a park. He was sent to the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny.
Anti-aging cream theft alleged
Maria G. Alas, 46, of Jersey City, was charged with shoplifting after she allegedly tried to take a jar of anti-aging cream from ShopRite on April 19. Store security told police that they saw Alas remove the jar from its box and conceal the jar in her jacket, and then allegedly attempted to leave the store without paying. The jar was valued at $22.69.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.