On May 23, 2024, at approximately 8:05 a.m., Sgt. Saverio Binetti and Police Officers Michael Aviles and Jessica Pizane responded to the 1000 block of Washington Street on reports of man, later identified as 43-year-old James Ventre, of North Bergen, causing a nuisance in an establishment that had a restraining order against him. Ventre was stopped and questioned on the 900 block of Washington Street. He was found to have an outstanding warrant out of Easton, PA. He was transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters, processed on the warrant, and then transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility to await extradition.
On May 23, 2024, at approximately 7:15 p.m., Police Officers Nicklas Valerius and Shelby Seickendick responded to Mamoun's Falafel, 300 Washington St., on reports of a man screaming at employees and customers inside. When they arrived, they saw the man, later identified as Rohit Sripathi, standing about 20 feet from the entrance screaming profanities. The officers escorted Sripathi out of the restaurant, and he became agitated and began to yell at the officers. Police Officer Barral arrived on the scene. Sripathi continued to yell at officers, using vulgar and offensive language and refused to listen to the officers. He was placed under arrest for disorderly conduct and transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters. He was released with a summons.
On May 23, 2024, at approximately 9:05 p.m., Police Officers Mark Mooreman and Remy Marte-Garcia went to Perth Amboy to take custody of 26-year-old Mariano Luna of Perth Amboy who had an active warrant in Hoboken for a 2021 incident, in which he refused to leave Hoboken University Medical Center and then attempted to physically assault responding police officers. On May 23, 2024, Luna was transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters, processed, and then transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
On May 24, 2024, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Det. Michael Losurdo and Police Officer Nasir Willey were on patrol on the 300 block of Harrison Street when they saw a man they recognize as 54-year-old Edwin Sierra of Hoboken, who they also knew had warrants. When they told Sierra to stop, he fled on foot but then stopped and surrendered quickly. Police Officer Damian Bates arrived on the scene. Sierra was transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters. He was found to have two warrants from Union City, one from Hoboken, and one from Hudson County. He was further charged with resisting arrest and refusal to be fingerprinted.
On May 24, 2024, at approximately 6 p.m., Sgt. Ryan Houghton and Police Officer Mark Mooreman responded to Dunkin Donuts, 700 Washington St., on reports of a disorderly man who would not leave the bathroom. By the time they arrived, the man had left. Employees provided a picture of the man and told officers he had used offensive language toward them and then locked himself in the bathroom before fleeing the store. Officers located the man in Stevens Park, 401 Hudson St. He refused to give his name, but officers were able to identify him as 41-year-old Jamel Lewis of Orange, and it was discovered he had warrants from Hoboken, Secaucus, and Springfield. A search incident to arrest located a smoke pipe with a white residue believed to be an illegal substance. He was transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters and further charged with possession of an illegal substance. He was transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
On May 24, 2024, at approximately 10:40 p.m., Sgt. Ryan Houghton was on bicycle patrol on the 100 block of Sinatra Drive, when he observed a man, later identified as 29-year-old Carlos Mejia of Bayonne, riding a motorcycle out of Pier A Park and on the sidewalk. When Mejia was ordered to stop, he tried riding around Sgt. Houghton and struck him with the motorcycle. Mejia began to run away, but Sgt. Houghton quickly caught up and arrested him. Det. Sgt. William Collins, Det. Michael Losurdo, and Police Officers Shelby Seickendick, Damien Bates, Kyle Seper, Remy Garcia-Marte, and Shyenna Vega responded to the scene. Mejia was transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters and processed on charges of aggravated assault by auto and resisting arrest. He was also issued a summons for reckless driving, failure to exhibit registration, failure to exhibit insurance, driving the sidewalk, driving without a license, and driving in the bike lane. He was released with a summons.
On May 25, 2024, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Police Officers Kyle Seper, Jessica Arebalo, Nicklas Valerius, and Remy Garcia-Marte responded to the 600 block of Madison Street on reports of someone rummaging through a car parked in a residential parking lot. The caller followed the actor on foot to the Prime Stop and Convenience Store, 301 Madison St. Officers went to that location and located a woman they knew as 47-year-old Stacy Butler of Hoboken. While they were talking to Butler, officers noticed a translucent glass object containing mesh, commonly used to ingest crack cocaine, lying on the ground next to where she was sitting. Butler was placed under arrest. She was charged with burglary and possession of drug paraphernalia. She refused to be fingerprinted and photographed and was further charged with refusal to be fingerprinted. Butler was transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
On May 26, 2024, at approximately 3:45 a.m., Police Officers Alexander Miller and Jaydan Gonzalez were walking near the intersection of Fourth and Harrison Streets when they saw a car with no front bumper parked in the intersection, blocking traffic. It was determined this was the same vehicle they had seen about 45 minutes earlier, swerving, but they were unable to get the driver's attention to conduct a traffic stop. When they approached the vehicle, they saw the driver, later identified as 62-year-old Lawrence Mangan of West New York, with his eyes closed. Police Officers Anthony Rutkowski and Marvin Dejesus arrived on the scene. When they approached Mangan, officers smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath. Sgt. James Barbro and Police Officer Nicholas Losurdo arrived on the scene. A field sobriety test was administered, after which Mangan was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Officers located three opened bottles of vodka in his pants. He was transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters. He was issued a summons for driving while intoxicated, driving with an open or unsealed container of alcohol, reckless driving, and obstructing passage of other vehicles. As per John’s Law, Mangan was released into the custody of a responsible party.
On May 26, 2024, at approximately 2 p.m., Police Officer Brandon Fitzgibbons responded to the intersection of Seventh and Washington Streets on reports of a car crash. When he arrived, one of the drivers, later identified as 36-year-old Antonio Hernandez Aquino of Jersey City was standing by his vehicle, became very emotional, and denied an accident had happened. Police Officer Roberto Cuevas arrived on the scene to assist. A field sobriety test was conducted, after which Hernandez Aquino was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated. He was transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters and issued a summons for driving while intoxicated and reckless driving. As per John’s Law he was released into the custody of a responsible party.
On May 27, 2024, at approximately 2 a.m., Police Officers Frank Losurdo and David Chicara were patrolling on foot when they observed a man, they knew to be 43-year-old Patrick DeMarco of North Bergen on the 600 block of Fifth Street. They knew he was wanted on an active arrest warrant out of Hoboken. They stopped him on the 300 block of Grand Street and placed him under arrest. He was transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters for processing on six charges of peering in connection to a case investigated by Detective Luis Rodriguez, in which DeMarco was found peering into the same home at least six times between February and May. He was ultimately transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
On May 27, 2024, at approximately 9:50 a.m., Police Officers Jessica Arebalo and Roberto Cuevas were conducting a detail check of a building on the 300 block of Marshall Drive when the observed a man inhale from a small white item and then drop the item on the ground. They stopped the man, identified as 30-year-old Jonathan George of Union City. It was discovered he had a warrant from Hoboken on for trespassing. Police Officers Marco Grossman and Geovanni Cruzado arrived on the scene. Officers located a small empty white wax fold near where George had dropped the white object. He was arrested and transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters. He was charged with possession of CDS, being under the influence of CDS without a prescription, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was ultimately transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
On May 27, 2024, at approximately 10:41 a.m., Police Officers Rose Kanan and Frank Lombardo responded to Walgreens, 1300 Willow Ave., on reports of shoplifting. While they were on 11th Street near Jefferson Street, they saw a man who matched a description of the suspect. They stopped the man, later identified as 28-year-old Jacob Smith of Hoboken. An on-scene investigation revealed that Smith had placed several hair dryers, valuing a total of $201.46, into a bag and left without paying. Officers located the hair dryers near where Smith was arrested. He was transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters, charged with shoplifting, and released on a complaint.
On May 28, 2024, at approximately 11:50 a.m., Police Officers Frank Losurdo and Alexander Miller observed a man they recognized as 33-year-old Gregory Freites of Hoboken, near the intersection of Fifth and Hudson Streets. The officers knew Freites had an outstanding warrant. When they approached him and asked for his information, Freites became irritated and at first would not provide his name or identification. He became agitated, tried to throw away his backpack, and then approached the officers in an aggressive manner while screaming in their faces and trying to hit them with his arms. That is when Freitas was placed under arrest. A search incident to arrest located a clear glass cylindrical tube with burnt ends, commonly known to ingest CDS in the backpack he had tried to throw away. He was transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters and processed on the warrant for package theft, and additionally charged with aggravated assault and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
On May 28, 2024, at approximately 1:04 p.m., Police Officers Christopher Hatfield and Michael Aviles responded to Newark, to pick up Raffaele Spadavecchia who had been stopped for a traffic violation and found to have two open warrants out of Hoboken. Spadavecchia was transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters and processed on both warrants; one for theft and the other for leaving the scene. He was released on bail.
On May 28, 2024, at approximately 5:25 p.m., Sgt. Adam Colon and Police Officers Anthony Azzoline, Jason Montalvo, and Rose Kanan observed a man they knew as 33-year-old Armando Torres of Jersey City enter the front door of a Hoboken Housing Authority Building on the 300 block of Jackson Street. They knew Torres was not a resident of the building. He was located and arrested for trespassing. He was transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters, processed on the trespassing charge, and released from custody with a summons.
On May 28, 2024, at approximately 6:50 p.m., Police Officers Harold Milne and Christopher Barral responded to Hoboken University Medical Center, 308 Willow Ave., on reports of a man threatening hospital staff. An on-site investigation revealed the man, identified as 41-year-old Leon Blake of Hoboken, threatened employees with physical harm causing some of them to fear for their safety both at the hospital, and when they left to go home. Sgt. Francis McCourt arrived on the scene. Blake was arrested, transported to Hoboken Police Headquarters, and processed on charges of making terroristic threats. The charges were placed on a summons and Blake was released from custody.