Mother charged after three year old found wandering in street
A three-year-old boy seen wandering in the city’s shopping district was taken into custody by police until his mother could be located about two and a half hours later, police said.
Officers were sent to the 51st Street and Broadway location on July 2 at 3:25 p.m. after receiving a call from an area resident that a young child was walking around by himself, according to Lt. Janine Foy, a department spokeswoman.
Upon arrival, officers spoke to the child and learned his first name. However, the young boy could not tell the police his last name, where he lived, or where his parents were, Foy said.
While officers were canvassing the neighborhood for his parent or guardian, an ambulance was called to check his health, and the child was deemed to be healthy.
Because officers could not find a guardian during their investigation, the child was taken to police headquarters. The Division of Child Protection and Permanency was notified and they responded to headquarters, according to police.
At that point, police “initiated a community alert using the reverse 911 system,” Foy said. “They sent a message with a description of the clothes the child was wearing and where he was found.”
The child’s mother, Debra L. Borders, 45, then came to police headquarters at 5:55 p.m., police said.
“She was placed under arrest on two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, because there was also an 8 year old home with the 3 year old when he left the residence,” Foy said.
The mother had allegedly been sleeping at the family’s Broadway residence when the three year old apparently snuck out, according to Foy.
The DCPP gave temporary custody of the children to their aunt, Foy said.
Borders was sent to the Hudson County Jail, with her bail set at $50,000 cash.
Teenager taken into custody for theft from vehicle
Police responding to a theft from a parked delivery truck wound up taking a 15-year-old Bayonne boy into custody on July 2, police said.
At 9:24 a.m. that day, police received a report from a resident that he saw a few young men by a truck that was making a delivery at 13th Street and Kennedy Boulevard, according to Lt. Janine Foy. One allegedly took a cell phone, and the group left the area, according to the witness, police said.
Police officers on the scene broadcast a description of the youths, and three individuals were stopped at 17th Street and Avenue C, according to Foy.
“One was specifically described by the resident and he was in possession of the cell phone that was taken,” Foy said. Only one of the youths was taken into custody.
He was arrested for the alleged burglary and theft from an automobile, according to Foy. The boy was released to his parents’ custody.
The phone taken was a Samsung Galaxy S3, valued at $550, according to police.
Jersey City resident arrested on weapon charge
A man brandishing a weapon at another driver in Bayonne was arrested and charged with two alleged offenses, Bayonne Police said.
On June 27 at nearly 5 p.m., a Dodge Charger occupied by Denzel A. Callens, 22, of Jersey City and a passenger was stopped at a traffic light at 53rd Street and Broadway, according to Lt. Janine Foy.
At that time, Callens and his passenger allegedly exited their vehicle and approached a white car in front of them.
“Callens was brandishing an expandable baton, waving it in a threatening manner,” Foy said.
The alleged actions of the two individuals were witnessed by a police officer at the traffic light, who then stepped out of his vehicle to detain Callens, Foy said. The white car drove away.
Callens was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon (the expandable baton) and possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, Foy said.
Callens said that he had been involved in an accident with the white vehicle in Jersey City, and that he had chased it into Bayonne in relation to the accident, according to Foy.
Callens was released on a summons, Foy said. Callens’s passenger was not charged.
Two Bayonne men arrested for alleged drug offenses
Police arrested two city men after they say they watched the alleged handoff of a controlled dangerous substance from one to the other, Lt. Janine Foy said.
On June 27 about 4:15 p.m. at 14th Street and Kennedy Boulevard, police allegedly witnessed Edwin Roman Jr., 29, of 17th Street approach Rafael A. Ocasio Jr., 49, of Kennedy Boulevard.
“They observed Ocasio allegedly hand what appeared to be currency to Roman, and Roman allegedly hand Ocasio back a small item, what they believed to be the CDS [Controlled Dangerous Substance],” Foy said. “So police approached them and found Ocasio to be in possession of a small, knotted bag of suspected cocaine.”
Both men were arrested and charged with drug-related offenses, Foy said.
Roman was charged with possession of a CDS; cocaine; distribution of a CDS, and distribution within 1,000 feet of a school, according to Foy, and Ocasio was charged with possession of a CDS; cocaine.
Both men had outstanding warrants out of Bayonne, Foy said, and both were sent to the county jail.