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Saturday, apr 27
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Hate crime
Police & Fire
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! Federal, State Team Seize Local Man, 24, In Rutgers Islamic Center Vandalism
UPDATE: An elite law enforcement team captured a 24-year-old local man on Monday who authorities said broke in and trashed the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University in New Brunswick earlier this month. Jacob Beacher was due for an initial afternoon appearance on federal hate crime charges in U.S. District Court in Newark on April 22. Beacher broke into the CILRU shortly after 2:30 a.m. April 10 and did an estimated $40,000 worth of damage, state and federal authorities said. It was during the Eid-al-Fitr -- the Islamic holiday commemorating the end of sunrise-to-dusk fasting during…
Police & Fire
'Reprehensible': Crimefighters Unite To Pursue Rutgers' Islamic Center Attackers (
Update
)
The overnight trashing Wednesday of the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University in New Brunswick -- which coincides with the end of the holy month of Ramadan -- is being treated as a bias crime, authorities said. Someone forced their way in sometimes before 4:30 a.m. April 10, broke glass and destroyed artwork and various other possessions, Rutgers Police Chief Kenneth Cop said. The attack came on Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic holiday commemorating the end of sunrise-to-dusk fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. "Today we witnessed art pieces with Quranic verses, shattered window…
Schools
Brake-Checking, Racist Parent Vowed To Have NJ Bus Driver Fired — And She Was: Lawsuit
A black school bus driver claims she was fired after an encounter with a racist parent who confronted her on the road in Cumberland County, court papers say. Genera Fisher filed a lawsuit against the Millville Public Charter School on March 7 in Superior Court, alleging she was let go "in retaliation for her protected activity of reporting a hate crime and/or racial harassment." The alleged road rage incident occurred on March 3, 2023, according to the lawsuit which described the scene: A car driven by another student's parent brake-checking and turning without signaling in …
Police & Fire
Update
: Red Paint, Anti-Semitic Messages Deface Sign At Glen Rock Starbucks
Authorities were searching for whoever defaced a sign at a Starbucks in Glen Rock overnight with red paint, graffiti and stickers with hateful messages against Israel. The manager of the shop in the borough's central business district called police shortly after 8 a.m. Monday, Feb. 19, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. In addition to the paint, stickers were attached, one of which read: "FROM THE U.S. TO PALESTINE ABOLISH THE SETTLER STATE." "it is believed that the act occurred in the early morning hours prior to the opening of the store," the chief said. Ackermann said his department is…
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Man Admits Anti-Semitic Rampage: Running Down Victims, Stabbing, Carjacking
A Jersey Shore man admitted in federal court on Thursday that he committed a series of violent assaults on members of the Jewish Orthodox community in and around Lakewood. What became a rampage over roughly seven hours began when Dion Marsh, 29, of Manchester, dragged a "visibly identifiable" Orthodox Jew out of his car, beat him and sped off in the victim's vehicle on April 8, 2022, authorities said. Marsh was driving a different car in the heavily Orthodox community hours later when he ran down victims in three separate incidents, attempting to kill each of them, U.S. Attorney for New Jer…
Police & Fire
Indian Immigrant Stabbed In Jersey City Park, Local Man Charged In Random Attack
Jersey City police have charged a 22-year-old city man with repeatedly stabbing an Indian immigrant at a local park in what the victim's friends called a "senseless act of discrimination." The victim, 28-year-old Ojas Junnarkar, was walking alone on the running track at Pershing Field when he was assaulted shortly after 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21, friends said. Junnarkar suffered wounds to his kidneys and colon, they said. Jersey City police subsequently announced the arrest of Santos Camacho on aggravated assault and illegal weapons charges. Camacho, who remained held in the Hudson Count…
Police & Fire
Bergen County Man's Assault On Palestinian-American Wasn't Bias Crime: Cops
A 31-year-old Bergen County man was arrested for assaulting a Palestinian American who said he was called a terrorist in Jersey City on Monday, Nov. 27, authorities said. At 1:30 a.m., Mo Hamzeh said on his Instagram that he was waiting on an Uber outside Grove Station when a man asked him where he was from. Hamzeh said Baltimore, and then when the man persisted, Hamzeh said he told him he was Palestinian. The man and several of his friends began following Hamzeh, yelling racial slurs before sucker punching him in the face, he said. Hamzeh said he fell and his twisted his knee, bumping the…
Police & Fire
Update
: New Details Emerge In 'White Lives Matter' Attack On Asbury Church Concert Crowd
A Toms River man made several social media posts recounting how he threw smoke bombs and shot bear spray at the attendees of an Asbury Park church's anti-racism concert while shouting "White lives matter, too," according to an indictment returned by a state grand jury. The allegations are among new details that emerged with the release of the indictment against Nicholas G. Mucci, 28, who was arrested five weeks after the Jan. 27 attack at the Trinity Episcopal Parish on Asbury Avenue.Search warrants executed at Mucci’s home turned up an AR-style assault rifle, several large-capacit…
Police & Fire
West Orange Café Displaying Pride Flag Vandalized Twice
Recent bias incidents in Essex County last week have caught the attention of authorities. Suspects twice smashed window at Harper's Café in West Orange on Wednesday, July 12 and Thursday, July 13, because they were flying a pride flag, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II said. Black paint was smeared across the window and two pride flags were defiled, Stephens said. On Thursday, July 13, a woman who owns a photo studio in West Orange was asked by a caller if her business was Black owned because she wears braids, Stephens said. When the woman said she was Hispanic, t…
Police & Fire
'I Am The Attacker': Former High School Student Admits Threat That Shook Synagogues Across NJ
A 19-year-old New Jersey man faces up to five years in federal prison after admitting that he posted threats to a synagogue and Jewish people. Omar Alkattoul of Sayreville posted a manifesto last Nov. 1 in a forum frequented by extremists that included a claim of an attack that he said had already occurred. This triggered instant alarms because active shooters in certain instances have done the same just before carrying out fatal missions across the U.S. Alkattoul frightened Jews statewide, sparked a surge of law enforcement tactical protection at their houses of worship and prompted the F…
News
High School Sweethearts' Dream Home Destroyed In NJ Arsonist's Violent Rampage
A family who lost their dream home to an arsonist's violent rampage through a Central Jersey neighborhood last month is hoping to rebuild. Angel and Brenda Rivas, who are high school sweethearts and share two daughters together, spent their life savings on a lot in Manchester Township's Pine Lake Park in October 2017. They broke ground in October 2022 and were planning on moving in come Fall 2023, according to a GoFundMe page for the family. Fate cared little for their future, though, as on June 7, 2023, the family fell victim to a hate crime at the hands of Ron Carr, prosecutors in Ocean…
Police & Fire
SEE
Anything
? Swastikas Spray-Painted Throughout Clifton Park
Authorities turned to the public for help finding whoever was responsible for littering a Clifton park with spray-painted swastikas. Seven of the hateful symbols were found on benches, trees, a portable bathroom and the blacktop at Dunney Park on Cherry Street early Wednesday, June 21, they said. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Clifton Police Department Chief Thomas Rinaldi didn’t release any further information in confirming the vandalism. “The investigation remains active and ongoing,” their release says. “More information will be released once it becomes available.” Val…
Police & Fire
Arsonist Targeted Jewish Residents In Fiery Anti-Semitic Rampage Across Jersey Shore Town: AG
A 34-year-old Jersey Shore man accused of spray-painting swastikas on several structures and causing a fire that gutted a house earlier this week was being held in a medical facility, authorities said. Ron Carr, 34, of Manchester, scrawled Nazi symbolism on more than a dozen homes, residential fences and elsewhere, targeting Jewish residents in the early hours of Wednesday, June 7, according to Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. Carr damaged more than a dozen homes, and used an accelerant to set a fire that destroyed a house in the township…
News
Video Helps ID Creators Of Swastika Found On Grounds Of Westwood School, Superintendent Says
Police investigating the discovery of a swastika on the grounds of a K-5 school in Westwood are reviewing video evidence, the district superintendent said. The symbol of hate was "created with twigs" and "was about one foot long by one foot wide," Westwood Regional Schools Supt. Jill Mortimer wrote in an email to parents on Monday, March 13. School officials immediately reported it to police, then worked with them to identify those responsible, Mortimer said. "There was video evidence," she added. Principals at other schools in the districts checked their grounds and didn't find anything …
News
'White Lives Matter Too': Man Charged With Smoke Bombing, Pepper Spraying Asbury Church Event
An Ocean County man was charged with throwing smoke bombs and trying to pepper-spray attendees of an anti-racism concert at an Asbury Park church while shouting "White lives matter, too," authorities announced. Nicholas G. Mucci, 28, of Toms River was wearing a black face covering on Jan. 28 as he blocked attendees from leaving a concert organized by a social justice organization known as the One People's Project at the Trinity Episcopal Parish on Asbury Avenue, state Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. “White lives matter, too,” he shouted while tossing two smoke bombs toward the cro…
News
Final Defendant In Trenton Police Car Firebombing Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen
UPDATE: A Trenton man who threw a makeshift Molotov cocktail into a city police vehicle following a protest was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. Kadeem A. Dockery, 31, is the last of four defendants sentenced in U.S. District Court in connection with the May 31, 2020 protest in Trenton. Video captured by surveillance cameras and personal cellphones helped authorities identify Dockery, who was arrested a little over two months later, and Killian F Melecio, 22, of Columbus, NJ. Rather than face trial, Dockery took a deal from the government, pleading guilty in May 2021 to attemptin…
Police & Fire
Swastika, Graffiti Scrawled In Seven Spots Across Montclair Park
A swastika and vulgar graffiti found at a Montclair playground is being investigated by authorities. A resident found the graffiti while walking through Edgemont Park last week, noting seven different sections marked with pictures and phrases, police said. "Among the images was a swastika in black marker," authorities said in a statement. "The images and phrases were removed by officers on scene with the assistance of the Department of Public Works." The incidents remain under investigation.
News
'I Am The Attacker': Arrest Made In Threat That Shook Synagogues Across NJ
Recent broad threats against synagogues and Jewish people in New Jersey earlier this month ended with the arrest of a teenager from the state, federal authorities announced on Thursday, Nov. 10. A manifesto posted by Omar Alkattoul, 18, of Sayreville in a forum frequented by extremists frightened the public, brought security to Jewish houses of worship and got the FBI involved last week. The concern stemmed from a contention in the Nov. 1 post that an attack had already occurred -- which active shooters have done in certain instances across the U.S. just before carrying out their fatal…
Schools
Swastika Painted On Soccer Field At Warren County High School, Police Say
A swastika was painted on the soccer field at a high school in Warren County, police said on Thursday, Oct. 6. The symbol was found painted onto the girls’ soccer field at Hackettstown High School at 599 Warren St. on Saturday, Oct. 1, police said in a press release. A person of interest has been identified by the Hackettstown Detective Bureau. The investigation is ongoing, police said. No further details were released.
News
Ex-NJ High School Basketball Star Cuts Deal, Gets 22 Years For Killing Tijuana Sex Club Worker
UPDATE: A former New Jersey high school basketball star who walked onto the Rutgers University team was sentenced to 22 years in prison in Mexico after admitting that he killed a sex club worker in Tijuana last year, according to multiple reports. Authorities had collected surveillance video from the notorious Adelita nightclub that shows Logan Kelley coming up from behind 20-year-old Isis Montoya, pulling a four-inch knife from his hoodie pocket and slicing her throat in February 2021. They charged him with what's known there as femicide, a hate crime in Mexico. Rather than face tria…
News
'Go Back To Your F*cking Country': NJ Woman Attacks Young Muslim Sisters, Authorities Charge
A New Jersey woman getting her nails done smacked a young Muslim girl in the head and told her and her sister to “go back to your f*cking country,” authorities charged. She then cursed out the young teens’ mother, they said. Nancy Jones, 59, of Clifton, was charged with a trio of bias crimes after investigators identified her in connection with the April 30 attack at New Natural Nails on Lakeview Avenue, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes and Clifton Police Chief Thomas Rinaldi said in a joint announcement. Both U.S.-born girls – one 13, the other 15 -- were wearing hijabs at the…
Police & Fire
LGBTQ+ Pride Flag Burned Outside Sparta Church, Police Say
Police are seeking clues after an LGBTQ+ pride flag was burned outside of a church in Sparta. The flag was lit on fire outside of the Sparta United Methodist Church on S. Sparta Avenue on Wednesday, April 20, local police said Thursday. ********************************* REWARD ********************************* The Sparta Police Department is... Posted by Sparta Police NJ on Thursday, May 5, 2022 A pair of “young adult males” were seen walking onto the property from behind and using an accelerant to ignite the flag, according to a report from the New Jersey Herald. Anyone with…
News
Feds Charge NJ Man With Hate Crimes For Series Of 'Blood Bath' Assaults On Orthodox Jews
UPDATE: An antisemitic Jersey Shore man who authorities said warned of a “blood bath” before an hours-long spree of violent attacks on members of the Orthodox Jewish community in and around Lakewood has been charged with federal hate crimes. Dion Marsh, 27, of Manchester, originally was charged locally with three counts of attempted murder and bias intimidation after police said he ran down two men and stabbed another in the chest last weekend. U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger announced on Wednesday, April 20 that his office and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division…
Police & Fire
Jersey City Couple Again Convicted Of Threatening Muslim Neighbor: Prosecutor
A Jersey City couple has been convicted of threatening a Muslim neighbor for years, authorities said. William Ong, 76, and Beverly Ong, 73, were found guilty of bias intimidation for incidents that occurred between 2016 and 2018, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Ong and her daughter, Johanna, were convicted in 2012 on similar charges, for similar incidents. The verdict was delivered before the Superior Court Judge Vincent after a two-day trial. William Ong was found not guilty of Terroristic Threats. Sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday, June 7. “Hudson County is one of th…
News
NJ Newlyweds' Pride Flag Vandalized During Hawaiian Honeymoon (
Video
)
Coming out was difficult for Natalie Ferrazzano. It was about 4.5 years ago, and she wanted to live her truth. The following year, she met her future wife: Kara Ferrazzano. That was when she began to feel free. The two married last September, and as the saying goes, they lived happily ever after. Mostly... While honeymooning in Hawaii last month, the newlyweds got some bad news from their neighbor back home in Bloomfield: Someone had ripped down the gay flag on their porch, and ripped a pride sign from their garden. Kara and Natalie checked their Ring doorbell footage and, sure enough,…
News
'Cowards Who Hate Themselves' Left Swastikas, Racial Slurs At William Paterson, President Says
Campus police at William Paterson University were trying to determine who scrawled swastikas and a racial epithet on the walls of a residence hall, the school president said. The vandalism discovered by a resident assistant at Hillside Hall on Pompton Road in Wayne early on Friday, Feb. 18 was a "repugnant and cowardly act of hate on our campus," WPU President Richard J. Helldobler wrote in a letter to the community. Maintenance staff "quickly cleaned and painted the walls," he noted. In addition to a campus police investigation, Helldobler said the incident was "referred to the campus Bia…
News
Plow Employee Who Splashed Lakewood Orthodox Jews With Snow Fired: Report
A snowplow worker slammed on social media for tossing snow onto a pair of unsuspecting Orthodox Jewish men has been fired from his job, NJ Advance Media reports. Donny Klarmann posted then deleted the video, which shows the plow driver dumping a load of snow onto the men walking to Saturday services then driving away. One of the workers can be heard chuckling. Posted by Paula R. Stern on Sunday, January 30, 2022 The man's employer, Waste Management, issued a statement on Tuesday, Feb. 1: “While the incident did not involve a company vehicle or company equipment, the employee associated…
Police & Fire
'Hitler Was Right': Anti-Semitic Graffiti Scrawled On NJ School Bathroom Stall, Police Say
An investigation is underway after anti-Semitic drawings and comments were discovered on the bathroom stalls of a South Jersey middle school, authorities said. A swastika and a comment about Adolf Hitler were found Thursday and Friday on a boys' bathroom stall door at Marlton Middle School, Evesham Township police said on Facebook. The words, “H*tler was right,” were scrawled on the door, according to a tweet from Stop Antisemitsim.org. Nauseating - “H*tler was right” graffiti, a swastika and a stick figure labeled “Jew” were found at a New Jersey area Middle School (Marlton). — StopAn…
Police & Fire
Philadelphia Man Who Killed NJ Stepdad Over Gay Dinner Guest Indicted: Report
A Gloucester County grand jury indicted a Philadelphia man in the shooting death of his stepfather after an argument over a gay dinner guest, according to NJ Advance Media. Christian A. Smith, 23, was indicted on one count of first-degree murder and a second-degree count of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose after killing Woolwich's Dennis McKenzie, 43, when he learned about the sexual orientation of a guest McKenzie invited to a gathering last October, the outlet said. Smith told his stepdad that he did not "approve" of the guest's presence and that their house was a "house of …
News
NJ Neo-Nazi Gets Year, Day For Masterminding Nationwide ‘Kristallnacht’ Attack On Blacks, Jews
A New Jersey member of a hardcore neo-Nazi group was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison on Tuesday for convincing two fellow white supremacists to vandalize property owned by Blacks and Jews. Richard Tobin, 20, dubbed the nationwide campaign “Operation Kristallnacht,” after a 1938 pogrom in which German Nazis slaughtered more than 90 Jews and burned their homes, synagogues, stores and schools, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Tobin “encouraged hateful acts of violence against individuals and their houses of worship, based on their religion or the color…
News
Tenant Charged With Bias Abuse Of Asian Woman Near GWB
An Albanian man from Fort Lee was arrested after police said he repeatedly screamed "biased derogatory remarks” at an Asian woman in a high rise near the George Washington Bridge. The two were sharing an elevator at the Mediterranean Towers when Afrim Haxhaj, 31, began harassing the 41-year-old victim, Fort Lee Police Capt. Edward Young said. “The profane bias derogatory remarks directed towards her continued as she exited the elevator,” the captain said. Police arrested Haxhaj, charged him with two counts of bias intimidation and sent him to the Bergen County Jail following last Monday’s …
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