Overcast 35°
Police & Fire
Shots Fired Outside Linden Movie Theater Shots Fired Outside Linden Movie Theater
Shots Fired Outside Linden Movie Theater A gunman fired shots at a Linden shopping center Monday, Oct. 10, local police said. Photos from the scene show police had taped off the area around the AMC Theater in the Aviation Shopping Plaza sometime after 4:15 p.m. Responding officers found multiple casings in the area. No injuries have been reported. This incident remains under investigation by the Linden Police Detective Bureau, and anyone with information is urged to contact Det. Daniel Hemenway at (908) 474-8532.

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
SEE ANYTHING? Bike-Riding, Backpack-Carrying Bank Robber Sought By NJ FBI SEE ANYTHING? Bike-Riding, Backpack-Carrying Bank Robber Sought By NJ FBI
SEE Anything? Bike-Riding, Backpack-Carrying Bank Robber Sought By NJ FBI He carried a backpack and rode a bike with silver wheels. His black leather shoes had a patch on the toe, and his head was swathed in a surgical mask, gaiter, baseball cap and the hood of his coat.  He also had a gun. A bundled-up robber "handed the teller a demand note and displayed a gun" at the Wells Fargo Bank branch on West Saint Georges Avenue in Linden a demand note shortly after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the FBI's Newark Field Office. The bandit had a medium complexion and was about 5-feet-10-inches tall, with a thin build, the bureau reported shortly after the holdup. …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
BMW Driver Was Doing 'Burn Out' In H2oi Golf Cart Crash That Hurt Dad: Prosecutor BMW Driver Was Doing 'Burn Out' In H2oi Golf Cart Crash That Hurt Dad: Prosecutor
BMW Driver Was Doing 'Burn Out' In H2oi Golf Cart Crash That Hurt Dad: Prosecutor A 22-year-old man from Linden has been arrested in connection with a golf cart crash that left a 31-year-old dad hurt during the H2oi weekend meet-up in Wildwood, authorities said. Eryk R. Wnek was doing a "burn out" in his 2020 BMW when he collided with another vehicle and then the golf cart, operated by Erhan Bayram, of Williamstown around 9:23 p.m. on Rio Grande and Park Boulevard around 9:20 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Chief Robert Regalbuto of the Wildwood Police Department said. Bayram was airlifted to the Atlantic City …

SHARE

by Jon Craig
Sports
North Jersey Football Player Dies After Suffering Traumatic Brain Injury During Game: Mayor North Jersey Football Player Dies After Suffering Traumatic Brain Injury During Game: Mayor
North Jersey Football Player Dies After Suffering Traumatic Brain Injury During Game: Mayor The Linden High School football team is mourning the loss of one of its own. Xavier McClain died on Wednesday, Sept. 21 after suffering a traumatic brain injury during a game on Sept. 9 against Woodbridge High School, according to Linden Mayor Derek Armstead. "Together we prayed for a miracle and hoped for a different outcome," the mayor said on Facebook. "With your prayers, Xavier fought a good fight." Our good friends, Lisa & Norman McClain, are asking the Linden community for prayers, nothing else, just your prayers... Posted by Derek Armstead Mayor of Linden on Saturday, Septe…

SHARE

by Nicole Acosta
Police & Fire
SWAT Team Helps Capture Gunman Wanted In Bar Shooting, 2nd Suspect At Large: Linden PD SWAT Team Helps Capture Gunman Wanted In Bar Shooting, 2nd Suspect At Large: Linden PD
SWAT Team Helps Capture Gunman Wanted In Bar Shooting, 2nd Suspect At Large: Linden PD The Union County SWAT Team helped in capture a 27-year-old man accused of opening fire at a nightclub and wounding three people, while a second suspect remains at large, authorities said. Najir Paige got into a fight at the bar at Menga Lounge in Linden when he left, got a handgun from a car, came back and fired shots through the front door around 2 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, Linden police said. A 28-year-old man, 24-year-old woman and 23-year-old woman were injured in the attack. Paige was arrested on Aug. 24, when members of Union County S.W.A.T., with assistance from the Linden Police Depar…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
PLOT TWIST: Attendant Helped Plan Gas Station Robbery Off Garden State Parkway, Feds Charge PLOT TWIST: Attendant Helped Plan Gas Station Robbery Off Garden State Parkway, Feds Charge
Plot Twist: Attendant Helped Plan Gas Station Robbery Off Garden State Parkway, Feds Charge Federal authorities charged a gas station attendant with planning the robbery of a newly-opened QuickChek where he worked just off the Garden State Parkway. An indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Newark accuses Tyrone Crutchfield-Davis, 27, of Linden of plotting the Dec. 15, 2019 holdup on North Avenue at Exit 137 in Cranford with three associates. Authorities had previously identified the other three men -- Wiggins Cadet, 24, and Khalil Brown, 23, of Roselle, and Zyquan McCray, 23, of Linden. It turns out Crutchfield-Davis -- a former standout high school quarterback with a cri…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Linden Nightclub Shooting Injures Three Victims Linden Nightclub Shooting Injures Three Victims
Linden Nightclub Shooting Injures Three Victims An argument that started inside of a Linden nightclub over the weekend ended in the shooting of three individuals, leaving two seriously injured, authorities said. A man involved went to his car during the argument at Menga Lounge on St. George's Avenue around 2:05 a.m. and returned with a gun, before firing several shots through the door into the vestibule on Saturday, Aug. 6, Linden police said. Three patrons were struck including a 24-year-old Bridgewater woman, a 23-year-old Irvington woman and a 28-year-old Elizabeth man, police said. The Bridgewater woman suffered non life-threatenin…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
Toddler Drowned In North Jersey Pool Was Brother's Fearless Bestie Toddler Drowned In North Jersey Pool Was Brother's Fearless Bestie
Toddler Drowned In North Jersey Pool Was Brother's Fearless Bestie Support is surging for the brother and parents of a North Jersey boy who drowned in a backyard pool over the weekend. Christian Carter Ruiz was rushed to the hospital on Sunday, July 31, after his lifeless body was pulled from a pool on the 400 block of McKinley Street in Linden, according to police and those who know the family. Christian was pronounced dead at Trinitas Regional Medical Center, leaving his family in shock and disbelief. "Christian was a sweet little boy, funny, fearless, and could brighten even your darkest days," his godmother Marcia Pimentel wrote on a GoFundMe pag…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
2-Year-Old Boy Drowns In Backyard North Jersey Pool 2-Year-Old Boy Drowns In Backyard North Jersey Pool
2-Year-Old Boy Drowns In Backyard North Jersey Pool A 2-year-old boy drowned in his family's backyard pool over the weekend in Union County, authorities said. Family members pulled the boy from the pool on the 400 block of McKinley Street in Linden and immediately began CPR on Sunday, July 31, Linden Police Capt. Christopher Guenther said. The boy was rushed to Trinitas Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The incident remains under joint investigation by the Linden Police Detective Bureau, the Linden Police Juvenile Aid Bureau, and the Union County Homide Task Force.

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Linden Man Sexually Assaulted Boy, 2 Girls, Woman: Prosecutor Linden Man Sexually Assaulted Boy, 2 Girls, Woman: Prosecutor
Linden Man Sexually Assaulted Boy, 2 Girls, Woman: Prosecutor A 35-year-old Linden man was ordered detained pending pending disposition after his arrest for sexually assaulting a boy, two girls and a woman, authorities announced. An investigation into Johan A. Osorno began last month, when the Linden Police Department notified he sexually assaulted the two children, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel said. During the investigation, police learned Osorno had also molested a now-adult female when she was a minor between 2018 and 2020, according to Assistant Prosecutor Bryan Tiscia, who is prosecuting the case.  A woman was al…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
US Marine Cadet Struck In Route 1&9 Crash Dies US Marine Cadet Struck In Route 1&9 Crash Dies
US Marine Cadet Struck In Route 1&9 Crash Dies An 18-year-old US Marine cadet who was struck last April in a hit-and-run crash on Route 1&9 has died. Rayan Bien-Aima was crossing the street at Aviation Plaza north, around 11:15 p.m. Monday, April 25, Linden Police Capt. Christopher Guenther said. He was struck by a dark-colored coupe or sedan was heading north on W. Edgar Road. The vehicle fled the scene and Bien-Aima remained hospitalized ever since. A GoFundMe page that seeks to raise $15,000 said he died on Saturday, July 2. "Rayan leaves behind his parents and four siblings, three of whom attend Rahway Public Schools,…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Fentanyl Trafficking Network Dismantled In Pre-Dawn NJ Bust: Prosecutor Fentanyl Trafficking Network Dismantled In Pre-Dawn NJ Bust: Prosecutor
Fentanyl Trafficking Network Dismantled In Pre-Dawn NJ Bust: Prosecutor A fentanyl trafficking network was dismantled by authorities who seized nearly a quarter-pound of the highly-lethal drug, two handguns and several thousand dollars in suspected drug money, the Union County Prosecutor's Office announced. The three-month investigation concluded before dawn on June 20 with the execution of search warrants across Phillipsburg, Middlesex Borough and in homes on Charles and Hussa streets in Linden, according to Assistant Prosecutors Peter DeRose and Megan Tomlinson, who are prosecuting the case. Seized were approximately 100 grams of raw fentanyl, hundr…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine