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Trenton Man Tied To Massive, Violent Virginia Dog Fighting Ring
A 45-year-old Stafford man has been convicted for his role in an animal fighting ring in the DMV for five years, federal officials said.
Mark Joseph Rodriguez, aka “Slow Poke,” and co-conspirators from the region used a messaging app that they called "The DMV Board" or "The Board" to discuss training fighting dogs, exchange videos about dogfighting, and arrange and coordinate dog fights, out of view of law enforcement, Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said.
Members of the DMV Board also used the app to compare methods of killing dogs that lost f…
Man Admits To Deadly Shooting In Crowded Atlantic City Hotel Lobby: Prosecutors
A Cumberland County man pleaded guilty in the shooting death of a man at an Atlantic City hotel, authorities said.
Leon Green, 33, of Millville, entered a plea on Friday, Mar. 8, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release. He was charged in the deadly shooting of 22-year-old Yusef Abdullah on Friday, June 1, 2018.
Investigators said Green entered the now-closed Fox Manor Hotel on Pacific Avenue and fired into the crowded lobby. Abdullah, who was not the intended target, was shot and died weeks later.
The plea deal calls for Green to serve 30 years in state prison. He wo…
Realtor Convicted Of Killing Her Father, Girlfriend In Jersey Shore Waterfront Home
A Pennsylvania realtor was convicted of killing her father and his girlfriend on the Jersey Shore, authorities said.
After a four-week trial, a jury found Sherry Lee Heffernan, 57, of Landenberg, PA, guilty of two murder counts on Friday, Mar. 1, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced in a news release. She faces life in prison for the late September 2021 killings of 87-year-old John Enders of Surf City and 75-year-old Francoise Pitoy of Manchester.
Surf City police conducted a wellness check at a home on North Seventh Street at around 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 3, 2…
Inmate Charged With Killing Another Inmate At Bayside State Prison
A 43-year-old inmate at Bayside State Prison has been charged in the death of another inmate, authorities said.
Bruce Duette, who was an inmate during the alleged fatal assault, was charged on Tuesday, March 7, according to Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae.
On Nov. 21, 2022, Martin Sanchez, 41, an inmate at Bayside State Prison, was found unresponsive in his cell with apparent trauma to the head and face, the prosecutor said.
Sanchez was pronounced dead shortly thereafter by medical personnel, she said. Sanchez was due to be released the next day, …
Pittsburgh Driver Charged With Killing Two Victims During H2Oi Event In Wildwood
A Pittsburg driver has been charged will killing two people and trying to flee during the H2oi car meetup Saturday, Sept. 24 in Wildwood, authorities announced.
Gerald J. White, 37, was behind the wheel of a 2003 Infinity when he struck a 2014 Honda Civic near Burk and Atlantic avenues, and then two pedestrians around 9:35 p.m., Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Wildwood Police Chief Robert Regalbuto said.
The 18-year-old pedestrian, Lindsay Weakland, of Carlisle, PA, was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the Civic, Timothy Ogden, 34, of Clayton, NJ…
Pair Sentenced In Deadly NJ Barbershop Shooting
Two men have been sentenced to a combined 45 years in state prison for their roles in the deadly shooting of a 34-year-old man in a New Jersey barbershop, authorities announced.
Tayyab A. Ware, 31, of Augusta, Georgia, was sentenced to 35 years and a $25,000 restitution payment to the Victims of Crime Compensation Office (VCCO), while Todd C. Smith, 32, of Edison, was sentenced to 10 years, Somerset County Acting Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart said in a Monday release alongside local officials.
Ware and Smith were identified with help from the FBI in the deadly shooting of 34-year-old Den…
NJ Woman Hoarding 44 Dog Carcasses Admits To Killing 6, Gets Prison Time: Prosecutor
A woman originally linked to dozens of dead dogs reached a plea-bargained agreement admitting to killing six dogs, authorities said.
Donna Roberts' guilty plea calls for 90 days in Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina.
Roberts, 68, of Shamong, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty for causing the death of six dogs that were being kept at her property by failing to provide them with proper care, Coffina said.
Additionally, Roberts must serve five years of probation, during which time she cannot own, raise, or otherwise care for any …
'Coming To Rape Your Family': NJ Man Admits Texting Racist Threats To Black MD Woman
A New Jersey man admitted that he sent racist texts to a Maryland woman threatening to hurt her and her family, federal authorities said.
"I know where you live now, I'm coming to rape your family," Michael Marotta, 26, of Sewell (Gloucester County) texted the woman using an anonymizing messaging service, they said.
Marotta "used racial epithets" in the texts, which included "eat my bullets," according to an FBI complaint.
Taking a deal from the government rather than face trial, Marotta pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Tuesday, March 8 to making threatening interstat…
Brick Son Faces Life-In-Prison In Father's 'Murder-For-Hire', Ocean County Prosecutor Says
A 30-year-old man from Ocean County has been indicted in connection with his father's alleged murder-for-hire, authorities said.
Mark J. Austin, 30, of Brick Township, was charged Thursday with murder and weapons offenses, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
The son faces life in prison without parole if found guilty of murder-for-hire, the prosecutor said.
Austin allegedly killed his father, Mark Richard Austin, on Sept. 7, 2019, in Brick Township, the prosecutor said.
Thursday's Grand Jury "superseding Indictment" charges that Austin "procured the …
Grand Jury: NJ Officer Justifiably Shot, Killed Knife-Wielding Man Who Stabbed Woman
A Newark man who’d just stabbed a woman was justifiably shot and killed by an Orange police officer after he charged at police with the knife, a grand jury found.
Jamahl Smith, 46, refused repeated commands by responding officers to drop the knife on the third floor of the Oakwood Towers on Oakwood Avenue around 3 p.m. June 13, 2019, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said Wednesday.
Instead, he “continued to advance toward the officers,” Bruck said.
Officer Willie Jones fired his service weapon three times, stopping Smith, the attorney general said.
The officers rendered …
