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Police Director Jerry Speziale

Police & Fire
'Hotspot' Policing: Paterson Detectives Seize Tec-9, Half-Pound Of Pot, Cash From Essex Driver 'Hotspot' Policing: Paterson Detectives Seize Tec-9, Half-Pound Of Pot, Cash From Essex Driver
'Hotspot' Policing: Paterson Detectives Seize Tec-9, Half-Pound Of Pot, Cash From Essex Driver Paterson police working a "hotspot" detail in a crime-ridden neighborhood seized a high-powered handgun favored by criminals after catching an Irvington man with a half-pound of pot, authorities said Wednesday. Detectives Mustafa Dombayci, Mohammad Bashir, and Yamil Pimienta spotted Devon Williams, 21, putting a clear plastic bag of the drug inside another bag on East 29th Street near 17th Avenue around 8 p.m. Tuesday, Police Director Jerry Speziale said. Williams ducked into a nearby business when he saw them coming, but they followed him in, Speziale said. They took Williams into custod…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson PD: Fleeing Suspect Apparently Lived In Car With Pot Plants Paterson PD: Fleeing Suspect Apparently Lived In Car With Pot Plants
Paterson PD: Fleeing Suspect Apparently Lived In Car With Pot Plants Police arrested a man who’d apparently spent at least two days living in his car on an industrial Paterson street with a collection of marijuana plants, authorities said. Sgt. Joel Santiago responded with two officers to the call along a stretch of Madison Avenue between Park Avenue and 16th Street on Thursday. In the driver’s seat of a Hyundai Sonata parked on the south side of the street was 39-year-old Racheen Harris, Police Director Jerry Speziale said. Seeing Santiago, Harris got out of the car, Speziale said. It was then that the sergeant smelled raw pot, he said. Santiago ordered …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson PD: Ex-Con Captured Carrying Loaded 9mm, Heroin Brick, Other Drugs Paterson PD: Ex-Con Captured Carrying Loaded 9mm, Heroin Brick, Other Drugs
Paterson PD: Ex-Con Captured Carrying Loaded 9mm, Heroin Brick, Other Drugs An ex-con who was once accused of shooting at an off-duty Paterson police officer was carrying a loaded gun and a variety of drugs when he was chased down on New Year’s Day, authorities said. Officers James Iandoli and Thomas Dichio were on patrol when they spotted Lamound Walker, 46, standing on the corner of East 26th and 10th Avenue with two other men around 6 p.m. Wednesday, Police Director Jerry Speziale said Thursday. As they watched, Walker stuffed a plastic bag into his pants pocket that included several smaller bags and a “fully-wrapped white brick” of heroin, Speziale said. Seein…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson Police Seize Two Guns, One Defaced, During Drug Arrests Paterson Police Seize Two Guns, One Defaced, During Drug Arrests
Paterson Police Seize Two Guns, One Defaced, During Drug Arrests Paterson police seized two loaded handguns – one of them with a defaced serial number – while arresting two men on drug charges Saturday night, authorities said. Peter Campos, 21, and 34-year-old ex-con Edwin Betancur were being held in the Passaic County Jail following their arrests on Highland Street around 7 p.m., Police Director Jerry Speziale said. Besides 14 bags of marijuana, one of cocaine and 14 Ecstasy pills, the pair were caught with a SCCY CPX-2 9mm handgun and a Bersa Model 83 .380 ACP handgun, along with ammunition for both, Speziale said. Both men were charged with a variety…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Stabbing, Gunfire Produce Trio Of Arrests For Paterson Police Stabbing, Gunfire Produce Trio Of Arrests For Paterson Police
Stabbing, Gunfire Produce Trio Of Arrests For Paterson Police Two reported incidents of gunfire and a stabbing that left a victim in serious condition all ended in Easter Sunday arrests for Paterson police. City resident Adonis Reyes, 25, was quickly taken into custody after he got into an argument in a Market Street bodega, fired a shot outside and sped off in a black Dodge Durango around 9:15 a.m., Police Director Jerry Speziale said. Responders identified by Speziale as Sgt. J. Santiago and Officers J. Gonzalez, F. Munoz and E. Garcia cornered Reyes at 17th Street and Madison Avenue, seized a .357-caliber revolver with a spent round and arrested hi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Two Accused Dealers, Six Buyers Charged In Paterson Sports Bar Raid Two Accused Dealers, Six Buyers Charged In Paterson Sports Bar Raid
Two Accused Dealers, Six Buyers Charged In Paterson Sports Bar Raid An undercover operation led to a raid on a Paterson sports bar and the arrests of eight people on a whopping 32 combined charges, authorities said. Working together, investigators from the city’s vice and narcotics unit infiltrated the Terrace Inn on Totowa Avenue, seizing 10 bags of cocaine and few hundred dollars in alleged proceeds, Police Director Jerry Speziale said. The joint operation also produced 11 Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) charges against the business, he said. Arrested were two alleged dealers: Ramon Rivera, 47, of Haledon, and Brian R. Wichowski, 28, of Little Falls – eac…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Gunfire Erupts Block From Where Bystander Was Struck At Paterson Bodega Gunfire Erupts Block From Where Bystander Was Struck At Paterson Bodega
Gunfire Erupts Block From Where Bystander Was Struck At Paterson Bodega Hours after an ex-con surrendered to police for shooting an innocent bystander from Clifton at a Paterson bodega, shots were fired a block away. Although responding officers didn’t find a victim, they did collect enough evidence to arrest a 22-year-old ex-con who they said pulled the trigger at Temple and North 5th streets around 7 p.m. Wednesday. Rajaheem Alston of Paterson was charged with four counts of aggravated assault and various weapons offenses, including being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, Police Director Jerry Speziale said. He was sent to the Passaic County Jail…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Two More Paterson Nightclubs Smoked Two More Paterson Nightclubs Smoked
Two More Paterson Nightclubs Smoked Paterson’s crackdown on night spots continued when two gentlemen's clubs were raided before dawn Sunday. Police who hit Doctor's Cave at 1 a.m. smelled a strong odor of pot, Police Director Jerry Speziale said. The Grand Street club was the scene of a shooting and “the source of complaints from concerned citizens and other businesses -- specifically a significant number quality of life complaints for fights, loud music, and traffic conditions,” Speziale said. “There were 16 lit hookahs on the bar and the establishment was charging an entrance fee without an entertainment license,” he added…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Amber Alert Cancelled: Abducted 10-Month-Old Paterson Boy Found, Dad Busted Amber Alert Cancelled: Abducted 10-Month-Old Paterson Boy Found, Dad Busted
Amber Alert Cancelled: Abducted 10-Month-Old Paterson Boy Found, Dad Busted Authorities canceled an Amber Alert for a 10-month-old Paterson boy who they said was abducted after his father kicked in the front door of the child's mother's home, punched her in the face and fled with the youngster Wednesday morning. The boy was safe with his grandmother after police convinced 30-year-old George Berry to leave the child with her following the 7 a.m. incident, Police Director Jerry Speziale said. Berry, who has a criminal history, was in custody. No charges were immediately disclosed. Berry violated a restraining order when he barged into the mother's home, assaulted he…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson PD: Heroin Capsules Surgically Removed From Accused Dealer Paterson PD: Heroin Capsules Surgically Removed From Accused Dealer
Paterson PD: Heroin Capsules Surgically Removed From Accused Dealer PATERSON, N.J. -- Authorities had to have more than an ounce of heroin capsules surgically removed from an accused dealer who swallowed them, Paterson police said. Fernando A. Castillo, 39, of Union City was arrested in the 300 block of Grand Street and charged with possession of the 40 capsules with the intent to distribute them near public school No. 8, Police Director Jerry Speziale said. U.S. Homeland Security Investigations is prosecuting Castillo federally, Speziale said. HSI is the investigative arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a hybrid drawn from functions previous…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
THUG LIFE: Paterson Police Bust 'Glock Boys,' Seize Guns, Drugs THUG LIFE: Paterson Police Bust 'Glock Boys,' Seize Guns, Drugs
Thug Life: Paterson Police Bust 'Glock Boys,' Seize Guns, Drugs PATERSON, N.J. -- Paterson police seized more than 2,100 heroin folds and two loaded handguns while arresting 10 reputed members of a violent drug gang that authorities said have been involved in several killings, as well as a shootout with police. A Friday raid at an Arch Street stash house near Presidential Park produced the contraband and led to arrests of members of the 1st Ward gang, which has been in gun wars with its rivals, mostly from the Fourth Ward, authorities said. Detectives and uniformed police also found pot and cocaine along with the heroin and weapons -- a Glock .9mm and a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Grandma, 76, Busted In Paterson Pot, Cocaine Raid Grandma, 76, Busted In Paterson Pot, Cocaine Raid
Grandma, 76, Busted In Paterson Pot, Cocaine Raid PATERSON, N.J. -- A 76-year-old grandmother and her teenaged granddaughter were busted in a drug raid that yielded Paterson detectives more than two pounds of pot, nearly a quarter-pound of cocaine and eight other arrests, authorities said. A tipster pointed investigators toward an East 26th Street home where they conducted the raid Tuesday night, Police Director Jerry Speziale said. Arrested were residents Altagracia Soto, 76, Leyde Rivera, 51, Leyder Rivera, 21, Angeleen Mantilla, 21, Litta Soto, 17. Also arrested were area residents Erik Quinones, 21, Katherine Castillo, 18 and Leonordo…

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by Jerry DeMarco