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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…
Gotcha! NJ Duo Charged With Beating Gas Station Attendants In Armed Tri-County Robbery Spree
Two men wanted for beating attendants during a two-day spree of quick-stop armed gas station robberies in three New Jersey counties were captured by federal agents, authorities said.
Ex-con Ahmad Singletary, 24, and Joseph Young, 26, both of Newark, committed three of the robberies last Sept. 5, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Four more holdups -- also in a single day -- followed exactly a week later, the U.S. attorney said.
Singletary "threatened, assaulted, and struck victims in the head" with a Ruger 9 mm P95 handgun, injuring all of them, a complaint filed by the ATF says.
Th…
2,500 Monmouth County Residents Without Power
Thousands of New Jersey residents were without power after a round of powerful afternoon storms swept through the region.
The National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for much of the region through 11 p.m., and that comes after a round of quarter-sized hail and gusty winds.
As of 5:25 p.m., the following areas were without power:
JCP&L
Essex County: 7,005 customers (most in Millburn [3.2K], Livingston [2.3K])
Monmouth County: 2,563 (most in Howell [1.9K])
Morris County: 11,300 (most in Boonton [1.6K], East Hanover [2.2K], Florham Park [1.2K], Montville [3…
Burglar With Hit List Of Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, DE Gets 50 Months In Federal Prison
UPDATE: A member of a second-story crew who targeted Asian and Asian-American homeowners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware for burglaries was sentenced to a plea-bargained four years and two months in federal prison, authorities said.
Randi Barr, 42, of Union County, NJ, was part of a group that worked from a hit list of dozens of homes based on “stereotype and opportunity,” federal authorities said.
Local, state and federal law enforcement authorities who teamed up to smash the ring found notes in the defendants’ cars that had the home addresses of individuals of Asian des…
Police ID Bicyclist, 44, Struck, Killed In Central Jersey Crash
Police have identified a 44-year-old bicyclist from Union County killed in a weekend crash in Middlesex Borough, authorities said.
Darwin O. Mestanza Rivera, of Scotch Plains, died in the crash at 6:57 a.m. on Saturday, July 29, Middlesex Borough Police Chief Matthew P. Geist said.
Mestanza Rivera was struck from behind by a Jeep Patrol as he rode west on South Avenue near the corner of Howard Street, Geist said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.
The driver of the Jeep Patriot declined medical attention.
Charges are possible but had not been filed, a polic…
$10K Mega Millions Winners Sold In NJ
A winning pair of Mega Millions tickets each good for $10,000 were sold in Middlesex and Union counties.
The third-tier prizewinning tickets from the Friday, June 16 drawing matched four of the five white balls and the Gold Mega Ball drawn winning the $10,000 prize.
Those tickets were sold at the following locations:
Middlesex County: Metuchen Corner Deli, 640 Middlesex Ave., Metuchen
Union County: South Street Market, 64 South Street, New Providence.
The winning numbers for the Friday, June 16, drawing were: 04, 24, 34, 45 and 57. The Gold Mega Ball was 19 and the Megaplier Multipli…
Colombian Nationals Nabbed After NJ Home Break-In Nets Jewelry, Furs, Cash, More
Three Colombian nationals remain in federal custody and a fourth has already been deported after the government said they stole jewelry, a Rolex, an antique rifle, furs and cash in a home burglary in Union County.
The quartet also took a stamp collection, luxury bags and more after breaking into the Cranford home shortly before 5 p.m. last Nov. 30, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
They then loaded the valuables into a red Honda Accord that they'd driven there, an FBI complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says.
Sellinger, who put the total value of the loss at more than …
2 Injured, 1 Critically, In Somerset County Fire: Prosecutor
Authorities are investigating the cause of a Somerset County fire that hurt two residents, one critically.
The blaze broke out at a home on Mountain Avenue in North Plainfield around 3:10 a.m. Sunday, June 4, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said alongside local Police Chief William Parenti.
Two men were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, where one of them remained in critical condition, McDonald said.
The cause of the fire was being investigated but did not seem suspicious, the prosecutor added.
Assisting agencies include fire crews in Bridgewater/Finderne, Bound Brook,…
Noriega Nominated For NJ Supreme Court
Michael Noriega, a Union County resident, has been nominated to be the newest justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Gov. Phil Murphy formally announced Noriega's nomination on Monday, May 15. Noriega, who was born in Weehawken, will be replacing Justice Barry Albin, who reached the mandatory retirement age. Noriega, who was raised in Union City and lives in Fanwood, is Murphy's fourth appointment to the bench.
Noriega, 45, is a partner at Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold, and Mangan, based in Clifton, working as a defense and immigration attorney. Noriega also spent five years as…
Mastermind Of 84 Brazen Burglaries In Nine NJ Counties, Rockland Gets Plea-Bargained 14 Years
UPDATE: A Teaneck ex-con was sentenced to 14 years in state prison for leading a band of brazen burglars who authorities said committed no fewer than 84 broad-daylight home break-ins throughout New Jersey and Rockland County.
Keith Perry, 39, took a deal from prosecutors rather than risk the consequences of a trial, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said on Tuesday, March 14.
Perry was among several people arrested in April 2021 for dozens of burglaries committed over the previous six months in nine New Jersey counties — Morris, Bergen, Essex, Somerset, Hunterdon, Union, Passai…
