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NJ Woman Admits Trying To Bribe Tow Lot Operator To Steal Gun From Ex-Con's Impounded Car NJ Woman Admits Trying To Bribe Tow Lot Operator To Steal Gun From Ex-Con's Impounded Car
NJ Woman Admits Trying To Bribe Tow Lot Operator To Steal Gun From Ex-Con's Impounded Car A South Jersey woman admitted trying to bribe the operator of an impound lot to break into a police-seized vehicle and steal a gun belonging to an ex-con who'd served time on weapons offenses, federal authorities said. Saidah "Sacha" Davis, 41, and Anthony "Papa Smurf" Parker, 37, went to the home seeking the help of the employee, who worked at a Camden tow lot that held vehicles seized as evidence by Camden County police, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Detectives were waiting for a judge to approve a warrant to search the vehicle, which Davis said created a "pro…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: Duo Caught With AR-Style Rifle, Clothing Used In Camden County Gas Station Robberies Feds: Duo Caught With AR-Style Rifle, Clothing Used In Camden County Gas Station Robberies
Feds: Duo Caught With Ar-style Rifle, Clothing Used In Camden County Gas Station Robberies Federal agents captured two men following a pair of Camden County gunpoint gas station robberies, authorities said. Paul Rogers, 27, and Kamau Bradshaw, 19, were both spotted after each robbery returning to a Camden residence with a large duffel bag, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Monday. Authorities armed with a warrant searched the residence and found an AR-style rifle believed used in both holdups, the duffel bag and other pieces of evidence, Honig said. Both Rogers and Bradshaw participated in the robbery of cash and cigarettes from a Pennsauken gas station last Tuesday, th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Feds: Ex-Con With 14-Year Prison History Admits Having Eight Guns, 400 Ammo Rounds NJ Feds: Ex-Con With 14-Year Prison History Admits Having Eight Guns, 400 Ammo Rounds
NJ Feds: Ex-Con With 14-Year Prison History Admits Having Eight Guns, 400 Ammo Rounds A Camden County man who’s already spent nearly 14 years behind bars will be headed to a federal penitentiary for another lengthy stretch after he admitted having eight guns and 400 rounds of ammunition in his car. Kareem McCargo, 38, was only 19 when jurors convicted him in 2001 of carjacking a female driver with a gun. He didn’t taste freedom again till he was in his 30s. That changed the night of Oct. 31, 2018, when Camden County police officers nabbed McCargo with the guns -- including three rifles, a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun – as well as the amm…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Masked Ex-Con Who Held Gun To Boy's Head In Camden Barbershop Robbery Gets 12 Years In Fed Pen Masked Ex-Con Who Held Gun To Boy's Head In Camden Barbershop Robbery Gets 12 Years In Fed Pen
Masked Ex-Con Who Held Gun To Boy's Head In Camden Barbershop Robbery Gets 12 Years In Fed Pen UPDATE: An ex-con who held a gun to a young boy's head while robbing a Camden barbershop was sentenced to nearly 12 years in federal prison. Benjamin Daye, 34, had been out of state prison barely a month when he put a gun to the child’s head and forced employees and customers to empty cash and belongings into a bag in November 2019. Rather than go to trial, he accepted a deal from the government. Daye was wearing a mask when he entered the Federal Street shop, put the boy in a headlock and threatened to harm him “unless everyone got on the floor,” a complaint on file in U.S. District Court…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
SEEN HIM? Search Under Way For Man Apparently On Lam After Camden County Homicide SEEN HIM? Search Under Way For Man Apparently On Lam After Camden County Homicide
Seen HIM? Search Under Way For Man Apparently On Lam After Camden County Homicide A massive search is under way for a 38-year-old New Jersey man wanted in the brutal killing of a 54-year-old man, authorities said Monday. Shawn Massey of Gibbsboro is charged with one count of first-degree murder in the Dec. 23, 2020 killing of Joseph Bottino of Gloucester Township, in Pine Hill, Acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer and Pine Hill Police Chief Christopher Winters. Police were called to the 100 block of Watsontown-New Freedom Road around 6:30 p.m. after Bottino was found dead with visible traumatic injuries, Mayer and Winters said.  Bottino was known to h…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: South Jersey Police Officer Illegally Pepper-Sprayed Suspects Prosecutor: South Jersey Police Officer Illegally Pepper-Sprayed Suspects
Prosecutor: South Jersey Police Officer Illegally Pepper-Sprayed Suspects A Camden County police officer has been forced to quit his public job after illegally using pepper spray on two suspects, authorities said. The former Woodlynne police officer pleaded guilty on Thursday to a charge stemming from a June use-of-force incident, according to Acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer. Ryan Dubiel, 32, of Wenonah in Gloucester County, admitted to one count of simple assault against two victims, Mayer said. As part of the plea, Dubiel was sentenced to one year of probation, is prohibited from having contact with the victims and must abide by any additional te…

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by Jon Craig
Obituaries
NJ Man, 24, Found Dead At Crash Scene With Gunshot Wounds NJ Man, 24, Found Dead At Crash Scene With Gunshot Wounds
NJ Man, 24, Found Dead At Crash Scene With Gunshot Wounds A 24-year-old Collingswood man was behind the wheel of his car when he was shot multiple times and killed early Saturday morning, authorities said. Police responding to the 1800 block of South 6th Street for a ShotSpotter activation found a vehicle that had struck a pole, the driver still inside, Acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer and Camden County Police Chief Gabriel Rodriguez said. The driver, Michael Giancola was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.  The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information that could help police is…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Masked NJ Barbershop Robber Who Held Gun To Boy's Head Takes Plea Masked NJ Barbershop Robber Who Held Gun To Boy's Head Takes Plea
Masked NJ Barbershop Robber Who Held Gun To Boy's Head Takes Plea A convicted armed robber had been out of state prison barely a month when he grabbed a boy at a Camden barbershop last year, put a gun to his head and forced employees and customers to empty cash and belongings into a bag. Benjamin Daye, 34, pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges in exchange for what he hopes will be leniency at sentencing, admitting that he grabbed the child in a headlock, forced everyone to the floor and fled with $754 and a customer’s wallet. Daye was wearing a mask when he entered the Federal Street shop in the middle of the afternoon on Nov. 23, 2019, put the gun …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: South Jersey Gym Bomber Had Body Armor, Rifle, Lots Of Explosive Materials, Instructions Feds: South Jersey Gym Bomber Had Body Armor, Rifle, Lots Of Explosive Materials, Instructions
Feds: South Jersey Gym Bomber Had Body Armor, Rifle, Lots Of Explosive Materials, Instructions A South Jersey man charged with setting off a bomb outside a nearby gym last month had a "substantial" amount of bomb-making materials along with instructions, body-armored tactical vests and more, federal authorities said Friday. Surveillance video shows Dwayne A. Vandergrift Jr., 35, placing an explosive device on the front door of GCity Crossfit Gym near his home in Gloucester City and running away around 4 a.m. Aug. 26, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. The bomb detonated, knocking out the front door and shattering its glass, Carpenito said. Federal and local law enforcement officers…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Police Sink 300-Person South Jersey Pool Party Police Sink 300-Person South Jersey Pool Party
Police Sink 300-Person South Jersey Pool Party South Jersey police sank a huge "for-profit" pool party that snubbed the state's COVID-19 restrictions Sunday. The rowdy, backyard Sicklerville party featuring an in-ground pool attracted about 300 people. But it also came with a price -- a cover charge of $100 to $150 apiece -- and a risk of contracting coronavirus, according to Gloucester Township police. Homeowner Lionel Mincey, 56, of Jarvis Road was charged with maintaining a nuisance, a disorderly persons offense and issued summonses for noise, littering and zoning violations, police said. Twenty-five parking tickets were issued and …

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by Jon Craig
News
Bergen County Trio Busted In Mercer County ATM Thefts Bergen County Trio Busted In Mercer County ATM Thefts
Bergen County Trio Busted In Mercer County ATM Thefts They flooded Mercer County by the dozens, hailing from New York City, Long Island and Westchester County, armed with bogus debit cards.  They nearly returned home with more than $250,000 stolen from Santander Bank ATMs across New Jersey.  Police in a half dozen counties were able to stop 58 of them since Tuesday -- and seize more than a dozen suspect vehicles, a handgun and drugs, according to Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri. Only eight of the 58 people charged in the Santander Bank ATM thefts this week in New Jersey were state residents, Onofri said. Here's the b…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
'American Ninja Warrior' Champ Charged With Having Sex With Underage Teen In NJ, CT 'American Ninja Warrior' Champ Charged With Having Sex With Underage Teen In NJ, CT
'American Ninja Warrior' Champ Charged With Having Sex With Underage Teen In NJ, CT Last year’s $1 million winner of TV’s “American Ninja Warrior” competition lured an underage girl to New Jersey and Connecticut for sex, said federal authorities who arrested him. The girl’s mother confronted Andrew Drechsel, 31, after discovering he’d had sex with her daughter at his “Ninja Gym” in Hamden, CT as a 15th birthday present, authorities said. Drechsel, who was 26 at the time, didn’t deny the abuse but, rather, claimed that he didn’t know her daughter’s age, they said. He reached out and met the girl again for several sexual encounters in New Jersey, at least one of which was i…

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by Jerry DeMarco