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Saturday, apr 27
Tag:
New Jersey's No Early Release Act
Police & Fire
Two Passengers Dead, Driver Charged In Horrific Teaneck Crash
UPDATE: Authorities have upgraded charges against a Teaneck restaurant manager who they said was drunk when he slammed his speeding car into a tree, killing two of his passengers. Teddy Mejia, 32, originally was charged with death by auto following the horrific Oct. 21 crash that killed Rudy Rosales Escobar, 40, of Hasbrouck Heights, and Alexander Cosme Curruchich, 29, of Englewood. Investigators have since determined that Mejia was not only intoxicated but also speeding down Teaneck Road when his 2021 BMW M850i hit the tree – shearing off an entire limb – and rolled onto its roof near…
Police & Fire
Colombian National Who Raped Pre-Teen While On Job In Bergen Gets 40 Years, Faces Deportation
A self-employed handyman was sentenced to 40 years in prison for raping a pre-teen while working at a Bergen County home. Jurors this past May convicted Alejandro Velasquez-Martinez, a 48-year-old Colombian national living in Morristown, of sexually assaulting the girl while doing tile repairs in her family’s home in Demarest the morning of August 19, 2019. Velasquez-Martinez was arrested a short time later in Demarest and has remained in the Bergen County Jail since then. His next stop isn’t certain. If he goes to state prison, Velasquez-Martinez will have to serve 34 years before he’ll …
Police & Fire
Paterson Man Gets 5 Years Without Parole For Assault On 62-Year-Old Victim Outside Liquor Store
UPDATE: A Paterson resident must serve at least the next five years in state prison for pummeling a 62-year-old victim outside a city liquor store. Jurors this past February found Walter A. Williams, 30, guilty of aggravated assault and theft in the brutal beating outside Quilvio's Lounge & Liquors at the corner of Broadway and East 18th Street on Nov. 15, 2020. “Specifically, Mr. Williams took [the victim] and slammed him onto the concrete sidewalk, resulting in a broken collarbone, several broken ribs and a head laceration,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes. Williams also …
News
Other
Shoe
Drops
: Young Armed Robber From Garfield Spits On Deal, Gets 23 Years Without Parole
UPDATE: A state judge in Paterson on Friday hammered a 22-year-old Garfield man who was convicted of robbing four different victims at gunpoint in a one-man crime spree. Jimmy German rejected a plea offer from prosecutors and lost big when it came time to face the music. Superior Court Judge Justine A. Niccollai sentenced German to 27 years in state prison -- 85% of which must be served under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act before he’ll be eligible for parole -- during a brief court proceeding on March 31. That’s 23 years before German will taste freedom again, longer than he's been aliv…
News
Garfield Man, 21, Convicted Of Armed Paterson Street Robbery Spree Faces At Least 10 Years
UPDATE: A 21-year-old Garfield man who rejected a plea offer was convicted of robbing four different victims during an early-morning armed street holdup spree in Paterson. Jurors in Paterson didn’t need long to find Jimmy German guilty of four counts of robbery along with possession of a handgun and the unlawful taking of a vehicle. Superior Court Judge Justine A. Niccollai then ordered that German remain held in the Bergen County Jail while awaiting a March 31 sentencing. He's looking at a sentence of at least 10 years, 8½ of which must be served under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act. …
News
Hudson Man, 24, Gets Mandatory 2½ Years In Prison In Hit-Run Death Of Fairview Dad
An unlicensed Jersey City driver must spend at least 2½ years in state prison for fleeing a pedestrian crash that killed a Fairview man. Danny Maiker Vasquez, 24, abandoned his father's minivan at the scene of the overnight crash on Broad Avenue near the North Bergen border that killed 39-year-old father of two Julius Smith shortly after 3:30 a.m. July 5, 2021. Smith was walking toward the 7-Eleven on Fairview Avenue along a stretch of road known locally as "Dead Man's Curve" when the 2008 Toyota Sienna mounted the sidewalk and struck him, authorities said at the time. Vasquez initially ke…
News
Ex-Con Gets 10 Years As Accomplice To Still-Unidentified Killer Of Beloved Paterson DoorDasher
An ex-con was sentenced to a plea-bargained 10 years in state prison for his role in the cold-blooded killing of a DoorDash driver as she made a delivery in Paterson three years ago, authorities said. Authorities haven’t said whether Quadir Whitaker, 37, of East Orange has cooperated with their attempts to identify the shooter who ambushed 43-year-old Petra Rhoden the night of Oct. 4, 2019. That unfortunately leaves the case open -- and loved ones, friends and others who cared for Rhoden still without closure. Whitaker was driving as he and the mystery killer followed Rhoden from a pickup …
Police & Fire
Ex-NJ McDonald's Worker Gets More Prison Time For 'Practical Joke' Armed Robbery
A 54-year-old man was sentenced to time in New Jersey State Prison for using a fake gun to rob his former employer, McDonald's during what he said was a "practical joke" while out on bail for another robbery, authorities announced. During a Friday hearing, Union County Superior Court Judge Robert A. Kirsch ruled that Plainfield's Thomas H. Outland must serve a minimum of 85% of the sentence before the possibility of parole, under the provisions of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act. Outland and an unidentified co-conspirator both wearing ski masks and holding guns entered the Route 22 …
News
Offender Gets 8½ Year Without Parole For Sexually Assaulting Child In Passaic, Teaneck
A Passaic man must spend the next 8½ years in state prison before he’ll be eligible for parole for sexually assaulting a child at locations in the city and in Teaneck. Ubaldo Flores-Mora, 42, sexually assaulted the victim at a home in Passaic and a business in Teaneck, authorities said following his September 2020 arrest. Flores-Mora took a deal from prosecutors rather than go to trial, pleading guilty last November to two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said in a joint statement. This p…
News
Sentenced
: Drugged Driver In Gas Station Crash That Killed 3 Could Be Out In 22½ Years
UPDATE: A drug-addicted Sussex County driver who killed a father, son and gas station attendant in a horrific crash on Route 23 in Wayne three years ago was sentenced to a plea-bargained 25½ years without parole in state prison. Jason Vanderee, 32, of Vernon Township, apologized to the survivors during his sentencing in Superior Court in Paterson on Thursday, March 3. His mother also begged for leniency. Superior Judge Marilyn C. Clark held fast to the terms of the plea deal, saying that she hoped it would “bring some degree of justice to the families who have suffered such grievous lo…
News
Unlicensed Driver Pleads Guilty In 108 MPH DWI Crash That Killed Paterson Teen
An unlicensed driver involved in a high-speed DWI crash in Paterson that killed an 17-year-old passenger pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide rather than face trial, authorities said. Lawan A. Henry, 23, of Paterson will be eligible for parole in a little over 7½ years under a plea bargain reached with prosecutors. Henry admitted Monday in Superior Court in Paterson that he was driving 108 miles an hour when his 2008 Cadillac CTS slammed into several unoccupied vehicles on Broadway between East 30th and East 29th streets shortly before 4 a.m. last Nov. 15, they said. In the sedan with Henr…
News
Stripper Gets 17 Years Without Parole In Gang Rape At Passaic Gentleman's Club
An "exotic dancer" must spend at least 17 years in state prison before she’ll be eligible for parole for her part in the video-recorded gang rape of another stripper during an after-hours party at a Passaic nightclub. In addition to the prison term she received on Tuesday, Trystal Lozada, 28, also must register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, remain under lifetime parole supervision and have no contact with the victim. Jurors in Paterson convicted Michael Ramirez, 39, and Lozada in December 2019 of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and criminal sexual contract following an eigh…
News
No Parole For 10 Years For Confessed Pedophile Who Sexually Assaulted Child In Clifton, Passaic
The family of an 8-year-old child who was sexually assaulted by a Passaic man in two different homes participated in his sentencing Friday via Zoom, authorities said. Eloy Hernandez-Garcia, 59, was arrested last October following an investigation by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit. Rather than go to trial, Hernandez-Garcia took a deal from prosecutors, pleading guilty to two counts of sexual sexual assault on a child at homes in both Passaic and Clifton, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said. Superior Court Judge Justine A. Niccollai sentenced Hernande…
News
Paterson Man, 68, Who Sexually Assaulted Three Kids Could Be Out In Less Than 7 Years
A Paterson man will be 75 before he'll be eligible for parole under a plea-bargained sentence handed down this week for sexually assaulting three children over the course of several years. Ramon Torres, 68, was arrested in November 2019 by detectives from the Passaic County Special Victims Unit. An investigation found that Ramon had “committed acts of sexual contact upon three children under the age of thirteen with whom he was acquainted…between the years of 1985 and 2019 in the City of Paterson,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said. Rather than go to trial, Torres pleaded guil…
Police & Fire
Recorded Gang Rape Of Stripper Gets Passaic Gentleman's Club Manager 25½ Years Without Parole
A Passaic nightclub employee must spend at least 25½ years in state prison before he’ll be eligible for parole for his part in the video-recorded gang rape of a dancer during an after-hours party following his sentencing Tuesday. In addition to the prison term, Superior Judge Marybel Mercado-Ramirez ordered Michael Ramirez, 39, to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and remain under parole supervision for life. Jurors in Paterson convicted Ramirez and dancer Trystal Lozada in December 2019 of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and criminal sexual contract following an eight-…
Police & Fire
Warren Man Who Sexually Abused Child, 6, Gets Nearly 13 Years In Prison Before Possible Parole
A 31-year-old Warren County man convicted of sexually assaulting a child must serve nearly 13 years in state prison before he'll be eligible for parole after being sentenced this week. Justin D. Williams, of Oxford Township, digitally penetrated the victim over five years between June 2008 and June 2013 in Washington Borough and Washington Township, Warren County Prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer said. Williams was convicted last August of seven counts in a 14-count indictment, as well as of child endangerment for other incidents that the prosecutor said occurred between 2013 an…
Police & Fire
Man Who Sold Fentanyl, Heroin That Killed Ocean County User Gets 7 Years In Prison
A Lacey Township resident who sold a mix of heroin and fentanyl that killed a 25-year-old Berkeley man last spring must spend nearly six years in state prison before he’s eligible for parole. Charles Rice, 58, was sentenced Friday in Toms River to a plea-bargained seven years behind bars, 85 percent of which he must serve under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, for manslaughter, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. Superior Court Judge Rochelle Gizinski also sentenced Rice to a concurrent six-year sentence for distributing heroin and fentanyl. Rice pleaded guilty to both cha…
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Toms River Teen Admits Killing Mom In Front Of Younger Brother
UPDATE: A Toms River man admitted that he killed his mother in front of his younger brother late last summer. Edgar Diaz, 18, of Manchester, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in Superior Court in Toms River on Jan. 17 in exchange for a 20-year prison term at a scheduled March 6 sentencing. He'll have to serve 17 years of that sentence before he'll be eligible for parole under New Jersey's No Early Release Act. Diaz stabbed Margarita Diaz with a knife and slammed her head into the pavement outside their parked vehicle in a medical office park last Aug. 7, Ocean County Prosecutor Bra…
Police & Fire
Killer Who Strangled 4-Year-Old Son, Girlfriend In Jersey City Gets 60 Years In State Prison
A 29-year-old Jersey City man will spend most of the century behind bars for killing his girlfriend and the couple's toddler son three years ago, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said in a statement Tuesday. Jose Santos-Alvarez was sentenced to 20 years for the slaying of Monika Potoczniak, 27, on Oct. 7, 2015. That same day he also strangled the couple's four-year-old son Christopher, Suarez said. He was sentenced to 40 years for the boy's murder. Under New Jersey's No Early Release Act, Santos-Alvarez must serve 51 years in state prison before he will be eligible for parole, i…
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