18-year-old and juvenile face charges including carjacking
NEWARK -- Law enforcement, including campus police from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, made two arrests Wednesday night in separate incidents, department spokesman Sgt. Ron Glover said.
The first arrest involved personnel from the FBI, State Police, Essex County prosecutor's and sheriff's officers working through the city's Cease Fire unit, Violence Reduction Initiative and Gang Enforcement.
While patrolling in the 400 block of S. 17th Street, the officers saw an East Orange resident, Hakim McNair, 21, with another person. When police approached, McNair threw items down near the base of the tree, which were later determined to be plastic containers with a total of eight grams of marijuana and a .357 Magnum loaded with hollow-point bullets, Glover said. As police went to retrieve the items, McNair reportedly said "Yo that's not my gun."
McNair faces several narcotics and weapons charges. The other man at the scene, Randy Harris, 25, of Newark, was also charged after being found with two grams of marijuana.
Later, around 10 p.m., members of the Firearms Interdiction Team patrolling near S. 18th Street saw two people attempting to force open the driver's side door of a cab, Glover said, yelling as they did so. The two walked off when police approached, then one of them, 18-year-old city man Kaffa Smith, ran as he was holding a weapon, later determined to be a .177-caliber air gun, Glover said.
The driver returned to the scene and said the pair were attempting to rob him, Glover added.
Smith and the juvenile have both been charged with carjacking, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon and conspiracy. Smith was additionally charged with resisting arrest.
Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaulMilo2. FindNJ.com on Facebook
