Prescription drug bust

Two men and a juvenile female were charged in a prescription drug caper last week, police said.

A pharmacist called police on Wednesday, May 27 at 4:52 p.m. when he suspected a man was trying to receive medication with a fraudulent prescription, said police Captain Anthony Falco.

A description of the man was given to police, and as the arrived at the scene they saw the man entering the passenger side of a vehicle parked out side the pharmacy on the 400 block of Washington Street.

Police questioned the man, Andy Rodriguez, 18, of Union City, in the vehicle, and police said he told them he tried to pick up prescription that was not ready.

The pharmacist told police that the doctor whose prescription was used said he had no patient matching the name on the prescription and, after seeing a faxed version of the prescription, confirmed the handwriting on the prescription was not his. The pharmacist told police that the female also presented a prescription and that both she and Rodriguez allegedly were trying to secure oxycontin, a highly-addictive painkiller.

Another officer talked to a clerk inside the pharmacy who gave a description of a young female who accompanied Rodriguez inside. Outside, the officer found a juvenile female fitting the description in the back seat of the same car Rodriguez was in. There was also a driver, Miguel Alonso, 53, West New York, police said.

Rodriguez and the female were arrested, and police found Alonso’s license was expired, Falco said.

Police observed Alonso on his cell phone, possibly concealing something on his person, police said. They asked him to end his call, but he told police to “talk to my lawyer,” Falco said.

Police asked again and Alonso refused, but police became suspicious of what he may be trying to conceal. They searched him and allegedly found a prescription bottle of oxycontin dispensed on the same day from another pharmacy in Hoboken, but with a different name on the bottle.

Police went to the other pharmacy where they received a description of Rodriguez from the pharmacist. The doctor whose prescription was used also confirmed that he had had a prescription pad stolen, and that the new prescriptions had serial numbers that the one allegedly used by Rodriguez didn’t have.

The juvenile female, 17, Union City, was charged with receiving stolen property; theft of prescription blanks; and insurance fraud. She was released to her parents.

Rodriguez was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS); attempt to distribute a CDS on or near a school property; forgery; insurance fraud; manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing of CDS; attempt to distribute within 500 feet of a public park; and theft of prescription blanks.

Alonso was charged with possession of a CDS; manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing of CDS; possession of a CDS obtained by fraud; attempt to distribute a CDS on or near a school property; attempt to distribute within 500 feet of a public park; obstruction of the administration of government; forgery; insurance fraud; employing a juvenile in a drug distribution scheme; and theft of prescription blanks.

‘Bias’ attack outside bar

A man was beaten outside of a bar and two men were charged with aggravated assault and bias intimidation, police said. Those two men also pressed two counter charges of simple assault against the victim, police said.

Officers arrived at Sixth and Washington streets at 2:31 a.m. on Sunday, March 24 where a witness said her friend was assaulted by two men. She said her friend, Sam Abdim, 29, of Hoboken, was at the bar speaking with her in Arabic when a man allegedly said to Abdim, “You’re lucky my friend didn’t kick your [expletive],” she recounted to police. She said they were outside shortly after when the man from the bar and another man allegedly began to punch, kick, and verbally harass Abdim.

She said they shouted “[expletive] Mohammed, [expletive] Turkish” as they beat him, according to police. Abdim was taken to Hoboken University Medical Center and received 11 staples and two stitches to the back of his head, Falco said.

She described the men to police, who apprehended three men at Seventh and Washington streets minutes later.

The witness identified two of the men at headquarters and the other man was released.

The two men told police that Abdim started the fight and that one man came to the other’s defense.

Michael Nigro, 27, Hempstead, N.Y., and Casey Neilly, 27, Oyster Bay, N.Y., were both charged with aggravated assault and bias intimidation, police said. Abdim was charged with two counts of simple assault.

Alleged gunpoint robber nabbed

A man was held up at gunpoint in Hoboken, but police were able to catch a suspect on a light rail train in Jersey City, police said.

At 9:36 on Wednesday, March 27, a man was walking home by Eighth and Monroe streets when he was approached by a thin black man brandishing a silver and black handgun, Falco said.

He said the man allegedly told him to empty his pockets, which contained a cell phone, keys, and $100 in cash. The robber, he said, tossed the keys back and fled toward the Ninth Street Light Rail Station.

He contacted police, who in turn contacted NJ Transit police to alert them of the situation and give them a description of the man.

NJ Transit police stopped the train at Newport and found a man fitting the description, police said, and carrying a cell phone, $100, and the weapon, which police found to be a BB gun.

The man, Danzell Ebron, 18, Irvington, N.J., was charged with robbery, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, and unlawful possession of a weapon.