Police, firefighters cited for valor

Police officers and firefighters were honored for heroic work in the line of duty by the Irvington Chamber of Commerce, which also honored a local businesswoman, a member of the chamber and a community servant.

The Chamber had its 85th annual Police and Fire, Civic and Community Awards Dinner on Thursday, Oct. 26, at the Hanover Manor in East Hanover. About 120 people attended the event, which included a cocktail reception, dinner and the presenting of awards.

The Chamber’s Board of Directors selected two community leaders to recognize: Diana Ron Pelaez, owner of Antojitos Bar & Restaurant, as the 2023 Civic Award recipient, and Beverly A. Canady, the director of The Bridge, Inc., Imani Center, as the 2023 Community Service Award recipient.

“We are especially honored to recognize seven Irvington police officials and two Irvington fire officials for their service above and beyond the of call of duty to keep our community safe and secure,” said Roscoe Coleman, president of the chamber. “We will also recognize a recently retired, long-time Chamber supporter, Jimmy Ivers, for his many years of volunteer service to our organization.”

The police officers who received Valor Awards were Officer Zaneyah Mansfield, Detective Sheraldine Frazier, Officer Shawn Stewart, Sgt. Malik Sims, Officer Emmanuel Quinones, Officer Olumfemi Adeoji and Detective Stanton Holder.

The firefighters honored with Valor Awards were Lt. Victor Velez and Firefighter Stephen Ventura.

Descriptions of the events that led to the award were given and are as follows:

On May 27, 2022, at 11:38 a.m., Officer Zaneyah Mansfield was dispatched to Investors Bank on Stuyvesant Avenue for a robbery.

A bank employee told her that a man had approached her and filled out a withdrawal slip with a note under it demanding money. The suspect also had a black bag and held it as if he had a weapon inside.

The withdrawal slip was for $100,000 and the note stated the following: “No alarms!! No police!! Stay calm!! All communications are tapped! If you notify the police we’ll know. Cooperate and everything will be fine. Give me all the money you have in an envelope like a normal withdrawal. If I am not outside in under 5 minutes, everyone will be in danger. Cooperate and everything will be fine. I’m carrying a gun!!”

The man fled the scene and police began canvassing the area for the suspect.

Frazier and Stewart stopped a man on Nesbit Terrace that fit the suspect’s description and took him into custody. Mansfield transported the bank employee to the station to identify the suspect.

The Detective Bureau collected evidence and viewed video footage that showed the suspect entering and leaving the area. The supposed weapon the suspect possessed was a PlayStation remote controller.

The suspect was charged with robbery and false public alarms.

In another incident, on July 5, at about 8 a.m., Officer Alex Dorleant responded to a report of a carjacking and kidnapping. Upon his arrival he met with the wife of the owner of the vehicle, who stated that an unknown suspect stole her husband’s vehicle with her 7-year old son inside it.

She said her husband got in her vehicle, a 2011 gray Mercedes Benz GLK, and went in search of his 2012 black Mercedes Benz GL500 containing their son. She stated that at approximately 7:50 a.m., she and her husband were preparing to take their son to summer school. As she was gathering her belongings inside her home, her husband was outside of the home starting the vehicle and securing their son inside.

The home has surveillance cameras and Dorleant was able to review footage. Once their son was secured in the vehicle, the husband went to get the recycling bin from the curb and place it in the backyard. Simultaneously, an unknown blue Hyundai sedan pulled up across the street. An unknown male suspect exited the passenger side of the vehicle. The suspect ran in the driveway, entered the vehicle, and fled the scene traveling east on Elmwood Avenue.

The husband momentarily chased the vehicle on foot before returning and getting her vehicle.

Sims, Quinones and Adedeji began searching the area and within minutes Quinones located the vehicle. No suspects were on the scene. However, the son was still in the vehicle and in good condition. He is an autistic child, who does not speak.

Holder responded to the scene and surveillance footage was reviewed from neighboring homes. The suspect’s original vehicle, a 2015 blue Hyundai Sonata, was found to have been stolen outside of Irvington.

The firefighters were cited for valor in connection with a Feb. 12, 2022, house fire at 11 Ellis Ave.

Firefighters arrived to find an occupied, three-story, wood frame house with fire showing on the second floor. A report also came in about trapped occupants on the second and third floors.

The crew of Ladder 42, including Lt. Victor Velez and Firefighter Stephen Ventura, performed a primary search of the third floor in a heat-filled environment with fire pushing from many directions. They found, rescued and removed two disoriented, trapped occupants, who were turned over to Emergency Medical Services for transport to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center for observation and treatment.

After completing the ladder rescue, Velez and Ventura again entered the structure to assist with the primary search of the second floor.

While all responding firefighters showed courage and dedication, the actions of Velez and Ventura stood above the rest.

The Civic Award winner, Diana Ron Pelaez, is the owner of Antojitos Bar & Restaurant. She was born on July 26, 1982, in a small town in Ecuador known as Cuenca. She moved to Manhattan in her 20s and took a job as a waitress.

Soon after, she got married and moved to New Jersey for a calmer scene to raise a family.

In 2001, she and her husband opened Mundi Global, a multiservice office, in Irvington. Two years later, their daughter Mikaella was born.

Pelaez split from her husband but she remained in New Jersey. Her parents, back in Ecuador, were the owners of a successful restaurant and she wanted to do the same.

She said her goal was to create a business in which Hispanic culture, customs and food would be celebrated and shared. She opened Antojitos in 2008 and has seen continuous growth since then.

Community Service Award Recipient Beverly A. Canady began her employment with The Bridge, Inc. – Imani Center, an Irvington School Based Youth Service Program, in May 1988.

Canady not only serves as its director but she is a licensed site therapist.

Canady has ministered to people experiencing mental and physical trauma, designed and facilitated prevention and intervention sessions on healthy and unhealthy relationships, supervised master level students in counseling, done cultural training for diverse populations and other individual and family counseling.

  Chamber of Commerce, Irvington