CRANFORD
Wednesday, May 8, police responded to a North Avenue business on a report of a suspicious male who had attempted to pass a counterfeit bill. Police later located the suspect, Raymond Zajonic, 39, of Brooklyn, N.Y., on North Union Avenue, where he was arrested without incident and charged with one count of Forgery. Zajonic was released on a summons pending a Superior Court hearing.
Thursday, May 9, police stopped a motor vehicle on South Avenue West for failing to stop for a red light. A brief investigation led to the arrest of the driver, Neil Cote, 37, of Garwood. Cote was charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), Careless Driving, and Disregard of a Traffic Control Device. Cote was released on a summons pending a municipal court hearing.
Tuesday, May 14, a Union County man was found to be in possession of a loaded, stolen firearm during a motor vehicle stop. At approximately 7:35 p.m., a police officer stopped a gray 2007 BMW for moving violations in the area of Raritan Road and Moen Avenue. Subsequently, two other officers were dispatched as the first officer’s backup. During the motor vehicle investigation, a loaded firearm was located. The suspect, later identified as passenger Sherrod Green, 22, of Linden, was taken into custody without incident.
Green was found to be in possession of a loaded 9mm Sig Sauer containing 11 rounds of ammunition. The firearm was later determined to have been reported stolen out of North Carolina. Green was charged with 2nd Degree Possession of a Firearm, 3rd Degree Possession of a Stolen Firearm and 3rd Degree Certain Persons Prohibited From Possessing A Firearm. At the time of this arrest, Green was committed to the Union County jail pending a detention hearing. In addition, the driver of the vehicle was issued motor vehicle summonses for failure to signal, improper turn, careless driving and failure to provide a driver’s license.
WESTFIELD
Wednesday, May 15, police conducted a motor vehicle stop at East Broad and Elmer Streets based on a license-plate-reader hit for a wanted person. Wydeia Richards, 33, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was placed under arrest and transported to the Clark Police Department.
Thursday, May 16, a resident reported observing a suspicious person taking photographs of children playing in the area of the 300 block of First Street. The suspect was described as a Black adult male, with short black hair, wearing a light blue jacket, yellow shirt and dark colored pants. He was unable to be located.
Friday, May 17, an 18-year-old male reported to have been shot with a “splat gun” in Mindowaskin Park. A group of juveniles was located in the central business district and brought back to police headquarters for additional questioning with their parents. This incident has been referred to the Juvenile Bureau for further investigation.
Saturday, May 18, a black-colored TREK Marlin 4 Mountain bike was abandoned on the 500 block of First Street. It was secured at Westfield Police Department Headquarters.
Saturday, May 18, a resident of Burlington Gorge reported being the victim of fraudulent charges to a credit-card account. The resident stated that an unknown suspect(s) made fraudulent charges without his approval or authorization. The resident reported that there were two separate sets of incidents of fraudulent charges attempted at two separate businesses. The resident stated that two fraudulent charges occurred and that they took the appropriate reported actions. At this time, it is unknown if the resident will suffer a financial loss from the unauthorized use of his account. Additionally, the resident reported at the same time that $150 in U.S. currency was stolen as well. It is unknown if these two incidents are related.
***
Charges are merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
