Burglary, assault, drugs, DWI. The Guttenberg police have been busy cleaning up the streets recently, arresting wrongdoers for a variety of offenses.
On Monday, Dec. 29 a resident on 68th Street heard loud noises around 3 a.m. When he stepped onto the stairs outside his second floor apartment to see what was going on, he observed four people he didn’t know – three males and a female – allegedly screaming obscenities and calling for someone to come outside.
Spotting the resident, two of the males allegedly charged up the stairs after him, swinging a large crowbar and a wooden stick.
“The resident told them I’m going to call the police, and he was able to defend himself with a chair,” said Sgt. Juan Barrera.
Chasing the resident into his apartment, the two men allegedly tried to force the door open while he pushed it closed with his legs. The men fled only after the resident’s brother came downstairs. But first they used their weapons to allegedly attack a car parked below. “They did serious damage with the crowbar,” said Barrera.
Based on information from a neighbor who took down the license and model number of the assailants’ car, North Bergen police located and stopped the vehicle at 12th Street. The Guttenberg resident positively identified the female and two males. Inside the car police found a crowbar. The stick was left at the scene of the assault.
“They were intoxicated. That could be why they were at the wrong address,” said Barrera. “The victim didn’t know them at all and they didn’t know the victim’s name either. They were just calling out somebody and just wanted to get at him.”
“The victim didn’t know them at all and they didn’t know the victim’s name either. They were just calling out somebody and just wanted to get at him.” –Sgt. Juan Barrera
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“It appeared to the victim that she was the lookout to see if anybody was coming, like the police,” said Barrera.
The third male was not apprehended.
Two more assaults
December was a busy month for assaults in Guttenberg. “A garbage man was attacked by an unhappy resident,” is how Barrera describes the incident from Monday, Dec. 15.
Sgt. Mark Depew responded to a call about a fight in the area about 10:55 p.m. An employee of Cali Carting had been doing his regular collection route near 67th and Jackson Streets when he encountered a local resident who wanted him to toss some bags of garbage into the truck.
“He explained he couldn’t take the garbage because it was construction debris,” said Barrera. “Suddenly without reason the resident [allegedly] punched the victim in his face several times.”
Coworkers of the victim separated them. The victim was taken to Palisade Medical for treatment. The male resident was arrested for aggravated assault. He was also charged with contempt of court as a result of an open warrant with the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department.
Two days later, on Wednesday, Dec. 17, police received a call about a dispute at approximately 5:30 a.m. on Adams Street. Upon arrival, they were met by a female who stated she had gotten into several arguments earlier that morning with her juvenile son, who came home with a large dog without permission.
The woman explained that when she insisted the dog stay outside, her son spit at her and insulted her, so she locked him outside. Later, as her husband opened the door to leave for work, “the juvenile [allegedly] pushed his way in and lunged at her with an open hand, striking her on the cheek below the right eye,” described Barrera.
Police spotted the juvenile in the area of 68th and Broadway soon after. “Somehow he got up to the roof of the building and was jumping from roof to roof,” said Barrera. “Officer [Steven] Diaz was able to run after him once he came down from the roof and grabbed him.”
The juvenile was charged with simple assault and obstruction of a governmental function for not obeying when the police told him to stop.
Caught in the act
Officer Steven Diaz was dispatched to call of a burglary in progress on 69th Street on Wednesday, Dec. 24 about 2 p.m. The caller stated that three unknown males had entered the back door of a second floor apartment. Upon arrival Diaz made his way up a staircase to the rear door of the house and observed two males matching the caller’s description inside the apartment.
Advising the males to exit, Diaz observed that the apartment appeared to have been ransacked. The two males stated they were construction workers doing home improvement. “At that time they were able to get hold of the homeowner through a neighbor and he stated nobody was supposed to be in the apartment,” said Barrera.
The two males were charged for burglary.
“Burglaries are hard to catch in the act,” said Barrera, praising the work of Officer Diaz. “What the officer did is respond and observe first before acting.”
A witness stated that a third male fled in a silver Chrysler van. He has not been identified.
Moving violations
It was almost like he wanted to be arrested. On Sunday, Dec. 7 about 9:30 a.m. a male from Wingdale, New York allegedly ran his black Nissan Armada into the back of a police car at 70th Street and Palisade Avenue.
“When they got out they saw he had his nine year old daughter with him,” said Barrera. “They arrested him and charged him with driving while intoxicated and endangering the welfare of a child.”
Then just this past week, police made a routine traffic stop that resulted in a more significant discovery. Officer Frank Pelaez pulled over two males in a 2002 Honda Odyssey on River Road due to a cracked windshield on Monday, Jan. 19 about 1:15 p.m.
“At the time the officer stopped the car, he smelled a strong odor of what he believed to be marijuana coming from the vehicle,” said Barrera. “A narcotics dog was called from Bergen County Sheriff Department.”
The dog provided a positive identification for some type of narcotics. When the driver gave permission to search the vehicle, over 50 grams of marijuana was found, allegedly divided into individual packages. Also found was about $2,100 in cash.
The two males, ages 18 and 24 and both from Union City, were charged with possession of marijuana over 50 grams, intent to distribute, intent to distribute 1,000 feet from a school, and intent to distribute 500 feet from a public park.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.