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South Plainfield Man In Domestic Call Charged With Rape Of Underage Victim In Lodi 9 Years Ago South Plainfield Man In Domestic Call Charged With Rape Of Underage Victim In Lodi 9 Years Ago
South Plainfield Man In Domestic Call Charged With Rape Of Underage Victim In Lodi 9 Years Ago What began with a domestic dispute call in South Plainfield ended in charges against a 45-year-old engineer of sexually assaulting a pre-teen in Lodi nearly a decade ago, authorities said. Joseph Eustace Maina remained held Thursday in the Bergen County Jail pending a detention hearing this coming Monday in Hackensack, records show. South Plainfield police went to Maina’s Christopher Avenue home on Sunday in response to a report of a domestic dispute, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. They contacted Lodi police and members of Musella’s Special Victims Unit after “it was alleged t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Ulta Beauty To Close 19 Stores Ulta Beauty To Close 19 Stores
Ulta Beauty To Close 19 Stores Ulta Beauty announced plans to close 19 stores this year. Shops slated to get the ax have not been announced, but the beauty supplies chain has shops across New Jersey that could be impacted. Ulta Beauty top officials blamed COVID-19’s economic disruption as the reason for the cuts. Even while it closes some stores, Ulta Beauty has plans to open 30 more. Efforts will be made to transfer employees from closed shops to new or already existing ones, the company said in a press release. In New Jersey, Ulta has stores in Edgewater, Clifton, Maywood, Garfield, Cedar Knolls, Wayne, Montvale, L…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
Jersey Shore Lottery Winners Split $770K Jackpot Jersey Shore Lottery Winners Split $770K Jackpot
Jersey Shore Lottery Winners Split $770K Jackpot Two lucky tickets sold in Middlesex County matched all five numbers in Tuesday's Jersey Cash 5 drawing to split the $770,036 jackpot, officials said.  Each winning ticket, sold by stores in South Plainfield and Spotswood, is worth $385,018, New Jersey Lottery officials said. The winning tickets were sold at Quick Chek, 317 Durham Ave. in South Plainfield and Shoprite of Spotswood in 380 Summerhill Road, Spotswood. The winning numbers were: 02, 06, 21, 37, and 42. The XTRA number was: 03. The retailers will receive a bonus check for $2,000 for each winning ticket sold. Those …

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
FBI Agents Arrest Accused Arsonist Who Torched Trenton Police Car On Social Media FBI Agents Arrest Accused Arsonist Who Torched Trenton Police Car On Social Media
FBI Agents Arrest Accused Arsonist Who Torched Trenton Police Car On Social Media FBI agents on Wednesday arrested a Trenton man who they said was caught on video torching a police car during a riot in the city last month. Bystander video shows Earlja J. Dudley, 27, and another man opening the vehicle’s engine and igniting a fire during unrest that followed what had been a peaceful day of protest against the death of George Floyd on May 31, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Wednesday. In the video, Dudley is wearing a tank top and baseball cap with the Roman numerals “XIV” in red lettering, along with distinctive green, black and white sneakers, Carpenito said. Invest…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
FBI: Middlesex Man Tried To Torch Trenton Police Car Following Floyd Protest FBI: Middlesex Man Tried To Torch Trenton Police Car Following Floyd Protest
FBI: Middlesex Man Tried To Torch Trenton Police Car Following Floyd Protest Federal authorities seized a Middlesex County man who they said stuffed a rag into the gas tank of a police cruiser and tried to set it on fire during a riot that erupted in Trenton following what had been a peaceful protest over the death of George Floyd. Justin Spry, 21, of South Plainfield tried claiming on Twitter that he was brutalized by police, but U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito said that surveillance video captured him and an accomplice trying to torch the police car Sunday night. “Law enforcement officers on scene observed Spry as he attempted to ignite the vehicle,” …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Tuesday Morning Retailer Struck By Coronavirus Closing 7 NJ Stores Tuesday Morning Retailer Struck By Coronavirus Closing 7 NJ Stores
Tuesday Morning Retailer Struck By Coronavirus Closing 7 NJ Stores Home goods retailer Tuesday Morning is the latest national outlet to seek bankruptcy protection, company officials said. Tuesday Morning's closing is a result of the "immense strain of the COVID-19 pandemic," the Dallas-based retail chain said in a statement.  At least seven Tuesday Morning stores in New Jersey will close as a result of the bankruptcy. The discount home retailer has 11 stores in the Garden State, Tuesday Morning Corp., founded in 1974, said it expects to close about 230 of its 687 stores nationwide. New Jersey stores that will remain closed are in East Hanover, Middl…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Police, Prosecutors Unite To Probe Pair Charged In Bergen Gunpoint Robberies Police, Prosecutors Unite To Probe Pair Charged In Bergen Gunpoint Robberies
Police, Prosecutors Unite To Probe Pair Charged In Bergen Gunpoint Robberies UPDATE: Two men charged with the gunpoint robberies of an Edgewater massage parlor and a private escort at a Rutherford hotel are suspected in a statewide crime spree investigated by nearly 20 law enforcement agencies, authorities confirmed Monday. One of the two, Dajan Divine Mindingall, 27, of Eatontown, is a U.S. Army reservist from Monmouth County who was preparing to report this past weekend when he was captured Thursday in Asbury Park, Daily Voice reported Friday. A Bergen County Regional SWAT team went to Monmouth County to assist with arresting Mindingall, who was consider…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hackensack Police Pursue Two Stolen Vehicles At Once, Nab Newark Kearny Boys, 15, 16 Hackensack Police Pursue Two Stolen Vehicles At Once, Nab Newark Kearny Boys, 15, 16
Hackensack Police Pursue Two Stolen Vehicles At Once, Nab Newark Kearny Boys, 15, 16 Two boys – one 15, the other 16 – and a third suspect led Hackensack police on a high-speed pursuit in two stolen vehicles, authorities said. It began when Detective Lt. Michael Antista saw a 2015 Mercedes Benz E350 and a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee go through a red light on First Street near Hackensack High School last Friday, Capt. Darrin DeWitt said. A license plate check showed that the Mercedes had been reported stolen out of South Plainfield, he said. Antista tried stopping the vehicles, but both sped off on Polifly Road at speeds of up to 70 miles an hour, DeWitt said. The Mercedes go…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Explosives Found On Route Cancel Labor Day Parade Featuring Gov. Murphy Explosives Found On Route Cancel Labor Day Parade Featuring Gov. Murphy
Explosives Found On Route Cancel Labor Day Parade Featuring Gov. Murphy More than a half-dozen explosive devices were found near the route of a Labor Day parade that New Jersey Gov. Murphy was scheduled to attend with his wife, canceling the event, authorities said Monday. Thomas Kaiser, 55, who owns the property near what was supposed to be South Plainfield’s 62nd annual parade, was taken into custody and the devices collected, authorities said. He was charged with two counts of possessing a destructive device, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni Sea Bright Police Chief Brett M. Friedman and South Pl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
S. Plainfield Cancels Labor Day Parade, Explosive Devices Found Near Route S. Plainfield Cancels Labor Day Parade, Explosive Devices Found Near Route
S. Plainfield Cancels Labor Day Parade, Explosive Devices Found Near Route Officials in South Plainfield Monday have cancelled a Labor Day parade and other activities over what officials described only as a "security concern."  Officials did not immediately provide any information about the nature of the threat. A large police presence was seen Monday in Spring Lake Park and the parade route was closed off, according to a published report.  NJ.com reported that the parade was cancelled when about half a dozen pipe bomb-like devices were found on a property near the parade route. No direct threat was made but a man in his 50s is in police custody, NJ.com …

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Repeat Sex Offender From Englewood Charged With Sexually Assaulting Minor Repeat Sex Offender From Englewood Charged With Sexually Assaulting Minor
Repeat Sex Offender From Englewood Charged With Sexually Assaulting Minor A registered sex offender who previously served time for assaulting a 15-year-old girl in a South Hackensack motel is charged with raping another teen in his Englewood apartment. Garrett Haskins, 44, was taken to a state processing facility in Trenton -- for violating parole -- after being processed at the Bergen County Jail, records show. The parole violation will keep him imprisoned at least until next May, pending the outcome of the new charges. He is scheduled for a first appearance Friday in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said W…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
SEEN HER? Police Searching For Missing Jersey City Woman SEEN HER? Police Searching For Missing Jersey City Woman
Seen HER? Police Searching For Missing Jersey City Woman A woman from Jersey City has been missing since April 29, police said.  Mayushi Bhagat, 24, was last seen at her home. She is a student at a school in New York City and may be there, police said. She also has friends in South Plainfield.  Bhagat is 5'10", about 150 lbs. and has brown eyes and black hair.  Anyone with information or who has recently seen Bhagat is asked to call the Jersey City Police Department at 201-547-5427.

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by Paul Milo