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Police & Fire
Plainfield School Employee Pocketed $13K Meant For Program: Complaint Plainfield School Employee Pocketed $13K Meant For Program: Complaint
Plainfield School Employee Pocketed $13K Meant For Program: Complaint An employee with the Plainfield School District and a board of education trustee in Montgomery was arrested last month and charged with stealing money meant for a school program, authorities said. Between March 2021 and May 2023, Zelda Spence-Wallace, 54, pocketed $13,000 meant for the Plainfield Board of Education's 21st Century Community Learning Center Program and used it for her own personal gain, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Daily Voice. Spence-Wallace was charged with theft by deception and theft of moveable property. The mother of five served as project director for…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Manalapan Family Of Eight Displaced After House Fire Manalapan Family Of Eight Displaced After House Fire
Manalapan Family Of Eight Displaced After House Fire A family of eight people was displaced after a home caught fire in Monmouth County, authorities said. Manalapan police responded to the fire at a home on Paddington Court at around 7:38 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 19, a department spokesperson said. Flames and smoke were reportedly coming from the house's laundry room. Firefighters from Gordons Corner, Englishtown, Freehold, and Marlboro were able to put out the fire. No injuries were reported. The New Jersey chapter of the American Red Cross said a family of eight was displaced. Volunteers were helping the family with immediate needs like tempor…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Man Drunkenly Crashed Pickup Into Tree, Injuring Two People In Toms River: Prosecutors Man Drunkenly Crashed Pickup Into Tree, Injuring Two People In Toms River: Prosecutors
Man Drunkenly Crashed Pickup Into Tree, Injuring Two People In Toms River: Prosecutors An Ocean County man was accused of driving drunk in a crash that injured two people, authorities said. Erick Perez-Ramirez, 40, of Jackson Township, was arrested after the crash on Saturday, Apr. 20, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. Perez-Ramirez was charged with two counts of assault by auto. Toms River police responded to the crash near the intersection of Bay Avenue and Ethan Court at around 4:45 a.m. Perez-Ramirez drove a 2020 Chevrolet Silverado with three passengers from Toms River. Investigators said Perez-Ramirez failed to m…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Man Arrested For Cutting Another's Fingers Off In Central Jersey: Police Man Arrested For Cutting Another's Fingers Off In Central Jersey: Police
Man Arrested For Cutting Another's Fingers Off In Central Jersey: Police A 24-year-old man has been arrested for slashing a man and cutting off some of his fingers during an attack under the Victory Bridge in Perth Amboy, authorities said. Ziyare Palmer, of Perth Amboy, was charged with attempted murder, weapons offenses and motor vehicle theft in what Perth Amboy police described as a domestic violence assault. Palmer attacked a 39-year-old Woodbridge man at about 11:15 p.m. on April 14, police said. The victim was yelling for help when police arrived. He was brought to an area hospital. “This incident was a targeted act of domestic violence, and there is no …

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Teenage Driver Struck By School Bus After Running Red Light: Montgomery Police Teenage Driver Struck By School Bus After Running Red Light: Montgomery Police
Teenage Driver Struck By School Bus After Running Red Light: Montgomery Police A 19-year-old Skillman resident ignored a red light and was hit by a school bus in Montgomery on the afternoon of Friday, April 19, authorities said. At 3 p.m., a white Acura was traveling west on Skillman Road when it failed it to stop for the red traffic signal at the intersection of Route 601, Montgomery police said. The Acura entered the intersection and was struck by a small school bus traveling south on Route 601, police said. After striking the Acura, the school bus impacted the traffic signal on the southwest corner of the intersection, police said. First responders evaluated the si…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Woman 'Deceased For 17 Minutes' Revived, In ICU After Ocean County Crash: Campaign Woman 'Deceased For 17 Minutes' Revived, In ICU After Ocean County Crash: Campaign
Woman 'Deceased For 17 Minutes' Revived, In ICU After Ocean County Crash: Campaign UPDATE (Tuesday, Apr. 22 at 9:40 a.m.): Catalina Reinoso's family has confirmed she has died and her organs were donated to potentially save nine people's lives. You can click here to read the updated story. --- A woman was revived after suffering brain trauma in an Ocean County crash and was fighting for her life in a hospital, according to a fundraising campaign. Catalina Reinoso was airlifted to a trauma center hospital after the crash on Lacey Road in Manchester Township at around 2 a.m. on Sunday, Apr. 14, a GoFundMe page said. Reinoso's Facebook profile said she is from Brick T…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Early Morning Crash Injures Person, Snaps Utility Pole Along Jersey Shore Beachfront Early Morning Crash Injures Person, Snaps Utility Pole Along Jersey Shore Beachfront
Early Morning Crash Injures Person, Snaps Utility Pole Along Jersey Shore Beachfront A person was injured after a car crashed near the Ocean County beachfront and broke a utility pole, officials said. In a Facebook post, the Ocean Fire Company said it responded to the crash near the intersection of North Ocean and Washington avenues early in the morning on Saturday, Apr. 20.  Police arrived at the scene and confirmed one SUV was involved in the wreck. A photo from Ocean Fire Company showed the utility pole split into two pieces and severely bending. One person was treated at the scene for their injuries. The SUV was removed from the area and emergency crews cleared t…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Arsonist, 44, Charged In South Jersey Church Fire: Police Arsonist, 44, Charged In South Jersey Church Fire: Police
Arsonist, 44, Charged In South Jersey Church Fire: Police A 44-year-old man has been charged with arson in connection with a blaze that broke out at a South Jersey church, police said. Brian Cannon is believed to have set fire to the Colonial Manor United Methodist Church on Elberne Avenue in West Deptford on Friday, April 20, local police said. He was charged with two counts of arson and aggravated assault. Multiple fire companies responded to the church around 6:40 a.m. Friday. One firefighter was hospitalized with an injury suffered fighting the blaze, and has since been released.

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
HORRIFIC: NJ Retiree, 73, Collected Sexual Images Of Children As Young As 4: Sheriff HORRIFIC: NJ Retiree, 73, Collected Sexual Images Of Children As Young As 4: Sheriff
Horrific: NJ Retiree, 73, Collected Sexual Images Of Children As Young As 4: Sheriff A 73-year-old retiree was caught with more than 1,500 images of naked children as young as four years old engaged in sex -- and investigators suspect there may be more, Acting Passaic County Sheriff Gary Giardina said. Working from a tip, members of Giardina's Internet Crime Against Children Task Force discovered that Edward W. Herbst Jr. of Bloomingdale had uploaded sexual images of youngsters between four and six years old and was looking for more, the sheriff said. They arrested him on Thursday, April 18, while seizing various electronic devices from his home, Giardina said. A…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Driver Charged In Crash That Killed Keansburg Passenger Driver Charged In Crash That Killed Keansburg Passenger
Driver Charged In Crash That Killed Keansburg Passenger A 26-year-old driver from Union County has been charged with vehicular homicide in a Sayreville crash that killed one of his passengers, authorities said. Brandon Witkowski, of Elizabeth, was charged Thursday, April 18, in the Route 35 crash that killed Zion Jackson, 24, of Keansburg, last fall, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone. On Oct. 28, 2023, at 5 a.m., authorities responded to Route 35 South in the vicinity of Fred’s Bait and Tackle Shop, following the report of a fatal crash. Police found a 2009 Acura TL that had rolled over onto two parked vehic…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
New Jersey Rabbi Who Hired Hitmen To Kill Wife Over Affair Dies In Prison New Jersey Rabbi Who Hired Hitmen To Kill Wife Over Affair Dies In Prison
New Jersey Rabbi Who Hired Hitmen To Kill Wife Over Affair Dies In Prison Fred Neulander, the Cherry Hill rabbi who was convicted in a murder-for-hire plot to kill his wife, has died in New Jersey State Prison, the DOC website says. Neulander, 82, was observed unresponsive by correctional officers inside a prison infirmary unit on Wednesday, April 17, according to NBCPhiladelphia.com and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Prison officials have not released a cause of death, however, he was listed as "deceased" on the state's Department of Corrections website. Neulander — the founding rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom of Cherry Hill, a Reform Jewish synagogue — had been…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Man Who Admitted To Selling Cocaine In Union, Ocean Counties Sentenced: Prosecutors Man Who Admitted To Selling Cocaine In Union, Ocean Counties Sentenced: Prosecutors
Man Who Admitted To Selling Cocaine In Union, Ocean Counties Sentenced: Prosecutors A Kenilworth man will spend several years in prison after admitting to selling cocaine throughout Ocean and Union counties, authorities said. Pedro Reyes-Sevilla, 32, was sentenced on Friday, Apr. 19 to 10 years in prison, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced in a news release. He pleaded guilty on Friday, Feb. 16 to possession of five ounces or more of cocaine with intent to distribute.  Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Lakewood police officers, and investigators from Union and Ocean counties conducted a two-week-long investigation in January…

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by Chris Spiker