NEWARK — Four residents were arrested in connection with three incidents over the weekend, department spokesman Sgt. Ron Glover said. Five loaded guns were also recovered. The first of these arrests were on Friday morning at around 4 a.m., when members of the carjacking task force were on patrol near Clinton and Elizabeth avenues and were flagged down by a...
NEWARK -- Four residents were arrested in connection with three incidents over the weekend, department spokesman Sgt. Ron Glover said. Five loaded guns were also recovered.
The first of these arrests were on Friday morning at around 4 a.m., when members of the carjacking task force were on patrol near Clinton and Elizabeth avenues and were flagged down by a member of the public. The resident told police the driver of a Mercedes had a gun which he his when police patrols passed by, Glover said.
Police spotted a vehicle matching the description and tried to stop it shortly afterwards when officers determined the plate did not belong to the car. The car drove off, leading police on a low-speed chase that ended when the Mercedes and another car got into an accident at Branford Place and Washington Avenue, Glover said.
The driver and passenger of the Mercedes tried to walk away from the scene, then the driver ran when police ordered the two to stop. The driver, who tossed a gun during a foot chase, was caught and two weapons were found, a 44-caliber and a 45-caliber, Glover said. Drugs and drug paraphernalia were also allegedly found inside the Mercedes.
Wali Muhammad, 40, was charged with multiple weapons- and drug-related offenses. He was also charged with receiving stolen property and given multiple motor-vehicle summonses.Luther Russell, 32, was charged with several narcotics violations.
A few hours later, at 7 a.m., detectives assigned to the Violent Crime Task Force, which is comprised of members of the FBI, Newark and Jersey City Police Departments as well as members of the Essex County and Hudson County Prosecutor's Offices, were conducting an investigation near Clinton and Johnson avenues. They entered a hallway to a building in the 100 block of Johnson Avenue, where they saw Derice Clark, 50, Glover said.
Clark, who police said was seen with a gun in his waistband, was arrested after trying to run into an apartment, Glover said. A loaded 45-caliber Luger was allegedly in his possession.
As Clark was being cuffed, a woman who said she lived with Clark emerged from the apartment to ask why he was being arrested. The woman gave police permission to search the home, where they found a second gun, a .40-caliber, in Clark's coat pocket, Glover said.
Clark was charged with multiple weapons offenses as well as a charge of receiving stolen property when police determined one of the guns had been stolen, Glover said.
On Sunday morning around 1:30 a.m., members of the Carjacking Task Force were on quality-of-life patrols near S. 17th Street and 15th Avenue and were also gathering information on a recent homicide.
As they patrolled, they spotted a group in a parking lot, including a 16-year-old who officers knew had been issued a monitoring bracelet. When officers approached, the teen allegedly removed a gun from his waistband and ran, tossing the .38-caliber Smith and Wesson during the chase. He was captured and charged with a number of weapons offenses and was also found to be wanted on two warrants, Glover said.
"I would like to commend the men and women in the field for the outstanding police work they are doing. In arresting these individuals and removing several guns and drugs off our city streets, they have again shown that we and our partners, other police agencies as well as the citizens, stand united and dedicated to making a better, safer Newark," said Police Director Eugene Venable.
Police ask that anyone with information about these or any other crimes call the Department's 24-hour Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 877 NWK-TIPS
(877 695-8477) or NWK-GUNS (877 695-4867).
Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. FindNJ.com on Facebook
