Oh, that demon alcohol.
It looms large once again in our Morristown police blotter roundup, which is strewn with wrong-way drivers, scuffles with cops and alleged thefts from padlocked liquor cabinets. There is even an incident where a fellow reportedly whipped out a bottle of Jack Daniel’s…while awaiting an ambulance to take him to de-tox at the hospital.
OUT OF THE CROSSWALK!
Anyone walking near the Morristown Green late on a weekend should remain alert. That message was driven home by a couple of drunk driving incidents this month.
Around 2 am on Feb. 24, 21-year-old Brian Rojas of Morristown was stopped and arrested after driving his Jeep at high speed down crowded streets and through red lights, according to Police Officer Adam Khoudja.
His account states that:
Brian was observed traveling down DeHart Street at high speed, despite the “heavy presence” of pedestrians. He came to a jerking stop at DeHart and Maple Avenue, accelerated heavily down Maple, continued through the stop sign onto Market, and proceeded around the Green.
At the stop light at West Park and South Park came another jerking stop, beyond a pedestrian crosswalk. When the light turned green, Brian accelerated around traffic in “an erratic manner,” and blew through a red light at South Park and East Park. Pedestrians entering the crosswalk stopped to avoid stepping in front of the Jeep.
Brian turned down Water Street and was pulled over on the shoulder of Spring Street.
During questioning by Officer Khoudja, Brian attempted to text-message a friend. Then he began spraying air freshener inside the vehicle. While they were speaking, the Jeep rolled backwards several feet.
The officer arrested Brian and questioned him at police headquarters, where he admitted downing an unknown number of vodka drinks at the Office Beer Bar & Grill.
Attempts to perform breath testing were stymied because Brian kept burping, despite police requests to refrain, according to the report.
Brian was charged with drunk driving, refusal to submit to a Breathalyzer test, failure to obey a stop sign, careless driving, failure to observe a traffic light and failure to wear a seat belt.
WRONG WAY AROUND THE GREEN
There were anxious moments around the Morristown Green early on Feb. 18, too, when police stopped a Morristown driver who was circling the historic square against the one-way traffic.
Hersh Shah, 25, had a blood-alcohol concentration nearly three times over the legal limit, according to Police Officer Adam Khoudja, who charged the man with drunk driving, driving in the wrong direction, careless driving, and failure to produce his registration.
“The Lexus was drifting left and right in an erratic manner and several other vehicles pulled over to the curb to avoid a collision,” reported the officer. He pulled over the vehicle at 1:14 am..
“Upon arriving at the driver’s window the vehicle suddenly lurched forward approximately 20 feet,” Officer Khoudja reported.
Under questioning, Hersh “admitted to drinking an unknown amount of Tequila shots and other drinks throughout the course of the evening,” perhaps at “the bowling alley.”
He told the officer he thought he was in East Hanover.
Breath samples showed a reading of .21, according to police. The drunk-driving threshold is .08.
OUTNUMBERED COP WINS SCUFFLE
Two patrons who refused to leave Grasshopper Off the Green in the wee hours of Feb. 10 scuffled with a patrol officer, who arrested them both.
Bar staff asked Officer Jermaine Marbley for help when the patrons became threatening after being asked to leave around 2 a.m., according to the police report.
The report alleges:
Matthew Perozze, 23, of Chalfonte, Pa., and John Hansell, 26, of Laverock, Pa., both emitted “a strong stench of alcohol.”
“I ain’t going nowhere,” Matthew said. John allegedly chimed in with an expletive directed at the officer.
A large crowd gathered as a belligerent Matthew resisted arrest, shouting: “Get the —- off me, I’m not going to jail!”
The officer wrestled with the man and they fell to the ground. John, meanwhile, pulled on the officer’s right arm and shouted, “Get off of him, officer.”
Officer Marbley used a compliance hold to secure Matthew’s arms behind his back, and arrested him. Then he arrested John without further incident.
Matthew Perozze, who declined medical attention and was uninjured, according to the report, was charged with defiant trespassing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
John Harris was accused of defiant trespassing, disorderly conduct and obstructing administration of law.
LABEL SWAP CAUGHT ON CAMERA?
A security employee watching a closed-circuit camera caught a Westfield man switching the labels on a Hugo Boss sweater at Century 21 on the afternoon of Feb. 7, according to Morristown Police Officer Robert Iozzia.
Gary Strassberg, 61, was charged with shoplifting after allegedly switching the $249.97 label with a $139.97 tag.
HE’LL DRINK TO THAT!
File this one in the “Hair of the Dog” folder.
Amilcar Perez-Lopez, 36, of Morristown, was so drunk that the Morristown Ambulance Squad was summoned to take him to the hospital, according to police.
While Officer Scott Pino escorted Amilcar out of Starbucks to await the ambulance, the man “removed a bottle of Jack Daniel’s from his pocket and began drinking,” the officer reported.
It’s alleged to have happened on the afternoon of Feb. 13. Amilcar was charged with drinking in public.
WRONG WAY ON HIGHWAY RAMP
Morris Township police stopped a Rockaway woman driving the wrong way on a Route 287 exit ramp early on Feb. 17.
Shelby Stevens, 20, was charged with driving while intoxicated, refusal to submit breath samples, and driving the wrong way on the southbound ramp at exit 35.
Lt. Mark McGuinness of the Township police made the stop, and Morristown Police Officer Joseph Heunemann completed the arrest, according to the Morristown police report.
Considering all the 20 somethings coming into town with the sole reason to drink themselves half blind at an all-time high, perhaps the town planning board would stop placating bar owned and decide we have enough low end watering holes!