According to a tweet from Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante, Hoboken police officers were called to the area of Fifth and Jackson to break up a party with loud music, ultimately arresting two adults and one juvenile who were allegedly in possession of a loaded handgun in the vehicle where the music was coming from.
On Friday, May 15, at about 11:31 p.m. Sergeant Luke Zeszotarski responded to the area of Fifth and Jackson Street on a report of a loud group and music coming from a white vehicle in the area.
When he arrived, he found a white Honda parked illegally in the crosswalk.
As a result, he activated his emergency lights and conducted a motor vehicle stop.
Moments later, Officer Michael Aviles, Officer Michael Straten, and Officer Shelby Seickendick arrived as backup.
Police identified the driver of the vehicle as Hoboken resident Elijah Scott, 20 and the front passenger as Jersey City resident Xavier Borges, 19.
As Sgt. Zeszotarski requested credentials from Scott, he detected movement in the rear seat through the heavily tinted rear side window and instructed Scott to lower the window.
Once the window was lowered, Sgt. Zeszotarski discovered that a 16 -year-old juvenile was sitting in the rear seat.
With his flashlight, Sgt. Zeszotarski looked in the rear passenger compartment and saw a black handgun allegedly on the floor.
He then pulled his firearm and notified all officers on the scene of the handgun at which time the backup officers on the scene also pulled their guns.
All three occupants were removed one by one and placed under arrest without further incident.
Police recovered a .32 caliber revolver allegedly defaced with spray paint over the serial number.
All three arrestees were transported to police headquarters, and the 16-year-old juvenile’s parent was notified and also responded to police headquarters.
All three arrestees were charged with Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purpose, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, Possession of a Defaced Firearm, and Possession of a Firearm by a Minor.
Both Scott and Borges were charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
Scott received a motor vehicle summons for being illegally parked in a crosswalk.
Both Scott’s and Borges’s charges were placed on warrants, and they were transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.
The 16-year-old was remanded to the Morris County Juvenile Center.
They are are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
“This was outstanding work by Hoboken PD Sgt. Zeszotarski, and Officers Aviles, Seickendick, and Straten as no officers or civilians were injured in the incident, and the scene was controlled even though a large crowd had surrounded the scene,” Tweeted Ferrante.
