QUARTET ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES; POLICE SAY ONE SUSPECT ASKED FOR CRACK BACK

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, September 22, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03

Responding to neighborhood complaints, Hackensack police descended on First and High streets Friday, arresting four people on drug charges.
The four including two 17-year-olds, one of who allegedly insisted that police return 15 small plastic bags of crack seized in the arrest were charged with possession of drugs, possession of drugs with intent to distribute, distributing drugs within 1,000 feet of a school, and possession of drug paraphernalia, police said.
The arrests boosted to 19 the number of people Hackensack police arrested on drug charges last week.
Officers Kevin O’Boyle and Chris Toomey saw several men scatter as they arrived at about 7:30 p.m. at the intersection of First and High streets, an area notorious for drug activity, police said. One of the suspects threw the bags of crack underneath a parked van on First Street.
Police said the officers arrested at the scene Jerry Carroll, 29, of 211 Passaic St., Hackensack, and the juvenile who later sought to reclaim the crack. Officer John Carroll, no relation to the suspect, and Sgt. Frank Lomia arrested another 17-year-old and 20-year-old Laron Boyd of 118 Atlantic St., Hackensack, after a chase, police said.
Although police went to the neighborhood because residents had complained that armed men were in the streets, no guns were found at the scene. Police said there was an arrest warrant for Carroll, charging him with violation of parole stemming from a conviction on numerous counts of drug distribution.
The juveniles were released to the custody of relatives. Boyd posted a $1,000 bail bond after spending the night in the Bergen County Jail, and Carroll, because of the parole violation, was being held without bail in the jail.

Keywords: DRUG; HACKENSACK

Notes: Bergen Page

DRUG DEALER RIVALRY HELPS COPS TIP LEADS TO ARREST OF 2 MEN

Byline: By Michael O. Allen and John Cichowski, Record Staff Writers | Monday, April 29, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03

When Harry Kittrell returned from New York City early Saturday allegedly with a stash of cocaine and crack vials a convoy of police were waiting for him and a companion as their car crossed the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey.
Police said Kittrell is the latest reputed narcotics dealer to be turned in by rivals in a growing pattern of double-crosses that have become common in local drug traffic wars.
“There’s no better way to eliminate your competition than call the cops and `rat them out,” reasoned one narcotics detective.
“It happens all the time,” said Fort Lee Police Chief John Orso. “One dealer cheats another out of a couple of thousand dollars, so he waits for the day he can turn him in. “
Hackensack police believe the anonymous call they received at 1 a.m. Saturday came from a rival of Kittrell’s. The caller told them the make and model of the car he would be driving, and the time he was expected back from the city with drugs.
About 15 unmarked police cars, including state troopers and Port Authority police, kept the 23-year-old Hackensack man under surveillance after his car entered Fort Lee and drove to Lodi, said Port Authority Police Officer Peter Heller and Hackensack police Capt. John Aletta.
As the car left one jurisdiction and entered another along Routes 80 and 17, various police departments took up the surveillance, said police. They finally pulled Kittrell’s car over in a parking lot off Essex Street in Lodi, said Heller.
Police said Kittrell, of 185 Pine St., Hackensack, and James Johnson, 28, address unknown, had chunks of rock cocaine hidden in a plastic sandwich bag and a supply ofcrack vials. They were charged with drug possession, possession with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Kittrell was being held in lieu of $15,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail. He had been out on bail from a November arrest for possession of heroin in Hackensack. Johnson was being held in lieu of $7,500 bail.
Police said Johnson, whom police described as Kittrell’s accomplice, declined to respond at first when he was read his rights. But a few moments later, police said, he began spitting rock cocaine out of his mouth.
Law enforcement authorities said it is becoming more common for drug dealers to inform police about their competitors.
“Nobody announces to police that he’s a rival drug dealer, but the type of information you’re getting generally can only come from a few kinds of sources, and one of them is a competitor,” said Passaic County Prosecutor Ronald S. Fava. “Usually, it’s some kind of grievance that prompts the call, like a turf war or a money dispute.”
An urban narcotics officer, who asked not to be identified, said competitors and spurned lovers often are the best sources for drug information.
“Sometimes a competitor will ask the ex-girlfriend about the route, then he’ll call police with the information,” said the narcotics officer. “It’s the least violent way to kill off the competition.”

Keywords: POLICE; DRUG

BAIL RAISED FOR BROTHERS SUSPECTED OF ROBBERY

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, November 30, 1990

Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

A Municipal Court judge has increased bail to $125,000 each for two robbery suspects after police found about 150 vials of crack while searching their apartment for weapons used in the robbery, authorities said.

Rodney Wade Phoenix, 26, and Robert William Phoenix, 34, of 92 Shepard Ave., Teaneck, are being held in the Bergen County Jail on charges of robbery, resisting arrest, and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, police said.

Officer Colin Duff, while breaking up a fight between a Teaneck resident and the brothers at about 3 p.m. Monday, was struck on the back of his head and neck with a three-foot-long piece of wood by one of the brothers, police said.

The resident, Frank Fowler, 34, of 1158 Summit Ave., told police the Phoenix brothers had robbed him of $100 at knifepoint and gunpoint earlier Monday.

The incident started when Officer George Miros, standing at Teaneck Road and State Street, noticed Fowler being chased by the Phoenix brothers, police said. Fowler was carrying a two-by-four.

Miros stopped the brothers to question them. They told him they had settled a dispute with Fowler, and then ran north on Teaneck Road to Shepard Avenue, catching up with Fowler and fighting with him.

Fowler and Duff were struck by the brothers as Miros, Duff, and Sgt. Thomas Batchelor tried to break up the fight, police said. The brothers then ran away, but were arrested minutes later. Duff and Fowler were treated for their injuries at Holy Name Hospital and released.

Bail had been set at $100,000 on the armed-robbery charges. The bail was raised Wednesday.

The Phoenix brothers were out on bail awaiting trial for their part in a series of armed robberies in Teaneck and Paramus in March 1989, according to Bergen County Superior Court records.