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Police & Fire
'Out Of The Old West': Gunman In High Speed North Jersey Chase Apparently Had 25 Heroin Decks 'Out Of The Old West': Gunman In High Speed North Jersey Chase Apparently Had 25 Heroin Decks
'Out Of The Old West': Gunman In High Speed North Jersey Chase Apparently Had 25 Heroin Decks A gunman spotted shooting through the sunroof of his car at another vehicle was arrested after a high-speed pursuit near a North Jersey park Wednesday, authorities said. Essex County Sheriff's officers were patrolling near the entrance of Irvington Park Tuesday night when they spotted a black Dodge Charger and silver Nissan Altima speed by, according to Sheriff Armando Fontoura. Officers then saw shots being fired from the sunroof of the silver Altima, the sheriff said. “In a scene that seemed directly out of the Old West, the Altima pulled up directly behind the Charger before they began …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Longtime Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose To Retire Longtime Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose To Retire
Longtime Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose To Retire Longtime Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose will retire in March after 34 years on the force. Ambrose's final day in the division will be on March 31, Mayor Ras J. Baraka said. “When I appointed Director Ambrose as Public Safety Director, I knew that his leadership, work ethic, integrity and love for our city is what we needed to fulfill my vision of combining police, fire, and emergency management into one department,” Baraka said. “His service to the City of Newark has been paramount. I appreciate all that he has given, and I hope for nothing but the best in his retirement…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Fugitive NJ Ex-Con Captured After Weapons Seizure Faces Federal Charges Fugitive NJ Ex-Con Captured After Weapons Seizure Faces Federal Charges
Fugitive NJ Ex-Con Captured After Weapons Seizure Faces Federal Charges Cedric Lewis had been out of state prison all of two months when detectives who’d been watching him moved in and found several weapons – including a rifle loaded with 30 rounds of ammo – along with crack and heroin that they said belonged to him. With the heat on, the Bloomfield ex-con headed south but was captured by U.S. marshals in Atlanta three months later. Lewis, 29, will be headed to federal prison for a much longer stretch than before depending on the outcome of a grand jury indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Newark that charges him with being a convicted felon in possess…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds Nab Accused Member Of Ring That Stole $1.5M Worth Of Luxury Cars In NJ, Rockland, LI, CT Feds Nab Accused Member Of Ring That Stole $1.5M Worth Of Luxury Cars In NJ, Rockland, LI, CT
Feds Nab Accused Member Of Ring That Stole $1.5M Worth Of Luxury Cars In NJ, Rockland, LI, CT Federal agents captured an ex-con who they said participated in a ring that stole BMWs, Mercedes and other luxury cars from towns in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Bilal Cureton, 30, of Newark and his cronies often used stolen vehicles to steal more cars, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. In one instance, she said, the Essex County crew members stole a Maserati GranTurisimo in the Jersey Shore town of Manalapan and drove it nearly 85 miles to New City in Rockland, where they took a Range Rover and a Porsche. A predawn police pursuit followed before the Maserati driver hit…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Overnight Operation: Cuban Pete's Closed For Repeated COVID-19 Violations Overnight Operation: Cuban Pete's Closed For Repeated COVID-19 Violations
Overnight Operation: Cuban Pete's Closed For Repeated Covid-19 Violations Cuban Pete's in Montclair is closed after the owner repeatedly failed to obey COVD-19 orders. Police on Monday changed the locks on the Bloomfield Avenue eatery because it was not in compliance with Gov.Phil Murphy's orders, following an overnight investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office,  Essex County Sheriff’s Office and Montclair Police Department, NJ.com reports. The State Health Department and Attorney General's Office sought the order after owner Dominick Restaino refused to comply with a DOH order to stop operating, the media outlet said. Restaino was ord…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Famous Boyz: Federal Prison Time Piles Up For Newark Street Gang That Sold Fentanyl-Laced Smack Famous Boyz: Federal Prison Time Piles Up For Newark Street Gang That Sold Fentanyl-Laced Smack
Famous Boyz: Federal Prison Time Piles Up For Newark Street Gang That Sold Fentanyl-Laced Smack A massive joint investigation continues to produce federal prison sentences for members and associates of a Newark gang that flooded a city neighborhood with fentanyl-laced heroin, committed street robberies and used social media to threaten would-be snitches. The Famous Boyz, a subset of the Brick City Brim set of the Bloods, used juveniles and social media to dominate the drug trade around the area of South 18th Street and 15th Avenue – an area they referred to as “8 Block,” “18th” or simply “8,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Gang members used social media not only to promote their …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Newark Ex-Con Caught With 3,151 Heroin Folds, 455 Crack Vials, Gun Must Do 7½ Years In Fed Pen Newark Ex-Con Caught With 3,151 Heroin Folds, 455 Crack Vials, Gun Must Do 7½ Years In Fed Pen
Newark Ex-Con Caught With 3,151 Heroin Folds, 455 Crack Vials, Gun Must Do 7½ Years In Fed Pen An ex-con from Newark must spend the next 7½ years in federal prison after city police caught him with 3,151 heroin folds, 455 crack vials and a loaded gun. Terrance Bradley, 28, must serve the entire plea-bargained sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Newark police were watching as Bradley sold drugs near a Renner Avenue residence on Dec. 6, 2018, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Armed with a search warrant, they raided the home the next day and found the drugs, a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol and $6,000 in suspected proceeds in Bradley’s bedroom, Carpeni…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: DEA Captures Newark Fugitive In North Carolina Carrying Sawed-Off Shotgun Feds: DEA Captures Newark Fugitive In North Carolina Carrying Sawed-Off Shotgun
Feds: DEA Captures Newark Fugitive In North Carolina Carrying Sawed-Off Shotgun A Newark fugitive was carrying a shotgun when DEA agents captured him in North Carolina, authorities said. Lester “Mayhem” Hicks, 29, was released on a summons after Essex County sheriff’s officers said they caught him with 78 heroin folds and an outstanding warrant during a traffic stop near the corner of Clinton and Avon avenues in March. That same day, he was involved in a shooting near Martin Luther King Boulevard that was captured on video, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Hicks agreed to surrender but, instead, headed south, Carpenito said. DEA agents captured him in North Caroli…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fed Pen Awaits Newark Ex-Con With Weapons History Who Had Different Guns In Separate Incidents Fed Pen Awaits Newark Ex-Con With Weapons History Who Had Different Guns In Separate Incidents
Fed Pen Awaits Newark Ex-Con With Weapons History Who Had Different Guns In Separate Incidents An ex-con from Newark who was carrying three different guns on three separate days – one of which he was seen firing at another man -- is headed to federal prison for an extended stretch. Samaad “Spud” Kelly, 33, already was a convicted felon when Essex County sheriff’s officers stopped his 2002 BMW wagon for having tinted windows on April 24, 2019 and found a Taurus semi-automatic 9 millimeter handgun in the glove box, authorities said. Kelly remained jailed all of eight days before a judge ordered him released on May 2 under New Jersey’s 2017 bail reform law, records show. Three days lat…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Morris County Man Admits Phoning In Synagogue Bomb Threat Morris County Man Admits Phoning In Synagogue Bomb Threat
Morris County Man Admits Phoning In Synagogue Bomb Threat A Morris County man admitted Tuesday that he called in a bomb threat that forced the evacuation of a synagogue three years ago. James Triano, 38, of Pompton Plains, pleaded guilty via videoconference to "maliciously conveying false information about an explosive" in exchange for leniency at a scheduled Sept. 30 sentencing in U.S. District Court in Newark. Triano was charged with calling Temple Beth Shalom on Mount Pleasant Avenue in Livington on March 21, 2017 and saying that a bomb there would explode in a half hour. The "malicious" threat caused a "substantial disruption to the reli…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Undercover Buys, Wire Snare Members Of Crew That Slung Smack, Crack In Newark Projects Feds: Undercover Buys, Wire Snare Members Of Crew That Slung Smack, Crack In Newark Projects
Feds: Undercover Buys, Wire Snare Members Of Crew That Slung Smack, Crack In Newark Projects Federal agents arrested three accused members of a crew that the government said has controlled the heroin and crack market in a labyrinthine complex of affordable housing and senior apartments in Newark. ATF agents working with U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito’s office and other local, state and federal law enforcers zeroed in on the privately-owned Pilgrim Baptist Village housing complex. Commonly known as “Pilgrim Village,” the project consists of 46 buildings, each with four units, with interior stairwells leading from each apartment to a common hallway that connects multiple buildings, …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fort Lee Police Detective Nabs Security Guard In Two-Town Burglary Spree Fort Lee Police Detective Nabs Security Guard In Two-Town Burglary Spree
Fort Lee Police Detective Nabs Security Guard In Two-Town Burglary Spree A Fort Lee police detective's persistence produced the arrest of a security guard who burglarized 10 vehicles in town, mostly taking credit cards, as well as seven more in Palisades Park, authorities said. Detective Richard Rochford cracked the case after he obtained surveillance video not only of the burglaries from overnight on Jan. 13 but also from a Walmart where some of the credit cards were used, Capt. Ricky Mirkovic said. After consulting with the Essex County Sheriff’s Office and East Orange police, Rochford charged Marquis D. Porter, 30, of Irvington on Tuesday with a host of offe…

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by Jerry DeMarco