Find Your Daily Voice
Northern Highlands
Allendale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Midland Park, Saddle River, Upper Saddle River, Waldwick
Tuesday, sep 26
62°
Follow
News
Schools
Business
Obituaries
Police & Fire
Weather
Lifestyle
Politics
Sports
Events
Traffic
Legal
Real Estate
Jobs
Shop
Support Us
Northern Highlands
Follow
Find Your Daily Voice
News
Schools
Business
Obituaries
Police & Fire
Weather
Lifestyle
Politics
Sports
Events
Traffic
Legal
Real Estate
Jobs
Shop
Support Us
Home
About us
All sites
Advertise with us
Contact us
Terms of use
Privacy policy
Comment policy
Code of ethics
Site Map
© 2023 Cantata Media
62°
Tuesday, sep 26
Police & Fire
Misaddressed Bomb Threat Over Transgender Canadian Teacher Brings Tactical Teams To Glen Rock
A misdirected bomb threat intended for a school more than 600 miles away brought the bomb squad, K-9 unit and SWAT team to Glen Rock on Tuesday. A Central School in Hamilton, Ontario, apparently was the intended target of an email directed to the school of the same name in Glen Rock, borough Police Chief Dean Ackermann said on Sept. 26. No fewer than six schools in the Hamilton-Wentworth district in Ontario reported receiving an unrelenting string of threats that began late last week. Their Central School wasn’t one of them, however. Not taking any chances, the Glen Rock police chief summ…
Police & Fire
'Distressing': Chess Club Teacher Sexually Assaulted North Jersey Student, Authorities Say
Matthew Swajkowski, a 36-year-old Verona resident and teacher, was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a student, prosecutors said. Swajkowski oversaw the chess club at Verona High School and the victim was a member of the club, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II said. Police began investigating Swajkowski in July 2003 and determined he engaged in sexual conduct with the minor and also gave them alcohol, Stephens said. Swajkowski was arrested on Friday, Sept. 22, Stephens said. Prosecutors did not say how old the victim is, but noted "while the age…
Police & Fire
Video Captures Pedestrian Struck By Jeep In Hudson County
A 33-year-old woman was injured after she was struck by a Jeep Cherokee in North Bergen on the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 25, police said. The Jeep driver, a 39-year-old woman, was turning left onto 83rd Street when she struck a pedestrian in the crosswalk around 4:50 p.m., North Bergen Police Capt. Jorge Raposo said. The victim was taken to Palisade Medical Center with a minor back injury. The driver was issued a summons for failing to yield. Footage of the crash was shared by HudPost on Monday evening. View this post on Instagram A post sh…
Police & Fire
NJ Man, 68, Gets 6½ Years For Child Porn That Included Dog Fellatio, Infant Penetration
A South Jersey man who was caught with more than 27,000 mostly horrific images of child porn -- including a toddler “engaged in fellatio” with a dog and penetration of months-old babies -- must spend the next 6½ years in federal prison. Bruce Makley, 68, of Voorhees, must serve out just about all of the plea-bargained sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Makley’s wife and stepson were home when U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents raided their Dutchtown Road home in August 2020, according to a complaint. Agen…
Police & Fire
Ex-CT Police Officer Being Held As Fugitive In Burglary Spree In NJ: Police
A former police officer in Connecticut was being held as a fugitive in New Jersey, in connection with a string of burglaries, authorities said. Connecticut State Police said only that Patrick Hemingway was being held in Essex County, and that the arrest warrant had not yet been served. Hemingway is a former officer with the Glastonbury Police Department, who last week said only that one of their former officers is a person of interest in a burglary investigation spanning multiple jurisdictions. Hemingway, 37, was identified as the officer by CT Insider. Glastonbury Police Lt. Kevin …
Police & Fire
Man Pinned Beneath Huge Rock In Northeast Bergen Brook Rescued By Firefighters
Firefighters rescued a man trapped under a large rock in a stream in Demarest. The 49-year-old victim was walking along the Cresskill Brook behind Academy Lane just south of the Alpine Country Club when a 200-pound rock gave way Saturday afternoon, Sept. 23, Demarest Police Chief Anthony Dimitriadis said. The boulder pinned the man, whose head and chest were above the water, the chief said. Joining Demarest firefighters were their colleagues from Haworth and Closter, as well as Hackensack members of the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and both Demarest and Alpine police, Dimitriadis …
Police & Fire
Peruvian Nationals Charged With Stabbing Man, 50, In Paterson's Peru Square
Two Peruvian nationals were nabbed by Paterson police right after they stabbed a 50-year-old city man downtown, authorities said. Bryan Canales-Arias, 29, and Ernesto Canales-Arias, 23, who also live in the city, were seized shortly after the victim was stabbed near the corner of Main and Market streets – in the area known as Peru Square -- shortly before 1:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 25. The victim was taken to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center with what Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Department Officer-In-Charge Isa Abbassi described in a brief release as m…
Police & Fire
Hawthorne Bicyclist, 48, Struck By Fair Lawn Driver, 81, Summons Issued: Glen Rock PD
An 81-year-old driver from Fair Lawn received a summons after he knocked down a 48-year-old bicyclist from Hawthorne in Glen Rock, authorities said. The victim, meanwhile, was taken by ambulance to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood with injuries that Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said weren’t considered life-threatening. The motorist made a left from Pomona Avenue in Fair Lawn onto westbound Harristown Road on the Glen Rock side when his 2007 Volvo struck the bicyclist shortly before 6:30 p.m. Sept. 19, the chief said. The bicyclist was riding on the side of the road past the Herit…
Police & Fire
Of All Places For A DWI Crash: South Hackensack Police Nab Driver Outside HQ
South Hackensack police didn’t have far to bring a suspected drunk driver following a mid-afternoon rollover crash. Surveillance cameras outside their headquarters captured video of Linus P. Rodrigues, 48, of the Bronx swinging a 2009 Toyota RAV 4 onto Franklin Street at 2:15 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24, Detective Sgt. James Donatello said. The Toyota hit a parked 1998 Buick Century, then rolled onto its side and slid about 20 feet, the sergeant said. South Hackensack firefighters extricated Rodrigues and turned him over to the Little Ferry First Aid Corps, Donatello said. Rodrigues – who had n…
Police & Fire
Bergen Sheriff's Officer Helping Motorist On Route 4 Nearly Struck By OD'ing Driver
A Bergen County sheriff's officer escaped severe injury or worse when an overdosing driver sideswiped her cruiser as she helped another motorist who'd broken down on Route 4, authorities said. Christopher A. Hanna, a 42-year-old Parlin resident with an extensive criminal record, was headed west on the highway in a 2008 Infiniti G35 when the crash occurred near Madison Avenue in Teaneck shortly before 3 p.m. Sept. 20, local police records show. The sheriff's officer told Teaneck police she was out of her 2021 Ford Explorer with its lights on when she spotted the Infiniti swerving in and out …
Police & Fire
Back-To-Back Tractor-Trailer Crashes Jam Route 80
Westbound Route 80 near the border of Bergen and Passaic counties had two tractor-trailer crashes on Monday. No serious injuries were reported in either, although the driver in the second rig had to be extricated. The first occurred near Exit 58 B in Paterson around 9 a.m. Sept. 25. A witness driving to work on the eastbound side reported seeing the rig in the center lane begin to fishtail to the left. The driver overcorrected and the rig slammed into the concrete median, the witness said. It then slid on its side and landed right-side-up, knocking out chunks of the median, he said. "Th…
Police & Fire
NY Dental Hygienist Who Traveled To Bergen To Meet Child For Sex Could Be Freed Next Summer
UPDATE: A dental hygienist who was arrested in Bergen County after coming from Rockland to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old girl was sent to state prison for what could be less than a year. Dariush Ghamarnezhad, 42, of Pomona was among 16 men from Bergen, Passaic, Rockland and Westchester counties who were busted by authorities during a five-day 2019 sting operation dubbed “Operation Home Alone." Various law enforcement agencies united to nab men who they said tried to lure youngsters into sex through social media. Just about all of them were arrested when they showed up at a residen…
Police & Fire
Lyndhurst Police Lieutenant Busts Pair In MV Stop
A Lyndhurst police lieutenant out on patrol found an unlicensed driver wanted on multiple warrants and a passenger carrying Ecstasy, authorities said. Lt. Paul Haggerty stopped their 1997 Ford Explorer – which had a cracked windshield and no front license plate -- at the corner of Ridge Road and Page Avenue, Detective Lt. Vincent Auteri said. Officers James Colacci and Brian Kapp arrived soon after, he said. The driver, Kevin Martinez, 25, of Newark, had outstanding warrants out of Toms River and Newark, the lieutenant said. His passenger, Sarah Hicks, 24, was caught with Ecstasy, Auteri …
Police & Fire
Body Recovered From Point Pleasant Beach
A body washed up on a New Jersey beach this weekend, officials said. The recovery was made around 3:05 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at Channel Drive in Point Pleasant Beach, a spokesman for New Jersey State Police said. It was not immediately clear if the body was that of Derek Narby, the 21-year-old boater from Brick who went missing last week in the Manasquan Inlet.
Police & Fire
Garden State Parkway Crash Kills Englewood Driver, Injures Woodcliff Lake Passenger, Both 20
A 20-year-old Englewood man was killed and a 20-year-old Woodcliff Lake companion seriously injured in a horrific overnight crash Sunday on the Garden State Parkway, authorities confirmed. Their Nissan was headed south when it ran off the roadway to the right, crashed through a guardrail and barreled down an embankment, slamming into trees and overturning near Exit 160 in Paramus at 2:45 a.m. Sept. 24, New Jersey State Police Detective 1 Jeffrey Lebron said. One of the occupants was ejected and the other pinned beneath the vehicle, responders said. The driver, Jadon Johnson, was kill…
Police & Fire
Second Of Back-To-Back Cresskill Break-Ins Becomes Overnight Home Invasion
The second of back-to-back overnight residential burglaries in Cresskill turned into a home invasion when a group of intruders entered while people living there slept, authorities said. The first break-in was reported around 3:45 a.m. on Park Avenue near County Road, Cresskill Police Capt. Jason Lanzilotti said. Fifteen minutes later, he said, burglars entered a Florence Avenue home near Knickerbocker Road. A resident said four intruders entered bedrooms and stole valuables, then fled with one of the victims' vehicles, a 2020 BMW. They were last seen fleeing south on Knickerbocker Road in …
Police & Fire
Jersey City Man Shot By Police Charged At Them Wielding Large Knife, Videos Show
UPDATE: Less than a month after Jersey City police shot and killed a disturbed resident, state authorities publicly released videos that show him charging at tactical officers with a knife. Family members, friends and others have spent the time since the Aug. 27 incident calling city police murderers, accusing authorities of withholding information and demanding what they say is accountability for Andrew Washington’s death. During a protest outside City Hall on Wednesday, Sept.,20, they claimed that they were deliberately being kept in the dark. What some may not have known is that an inve…
Police & Fire
NJ House Explosion: Search-And-Rescue Operation Saves Family Members, Friends (
Update
)
HEROES: Everyone feared the worst. Yet if there’s a silver lining to be found in a devastating house explosion in West Milford on Friday, it’s that rescuers got those involved out alive. That includes a victim who was trapped for nearly an hour as firefighters tunneled their way into the leveled single-story ranch house. Five of those injured were airlifted to area hospitals following the dramatic search and rescue operation. A sixth declined further medical attention at the scene. Investigations continued combing through the wreckage well past daybreak as they try to determine what caused…
Police & Fire
Moped Driver Killed, Passenger Injured In Paterson Collision While Fleeing Totowa PD: State AG
UPDATE: A moped driver was killed and a passenger injured when the scooter collided with a sedan at a Paterson intersection during a Totowa police chase, authorities said. Totowa police in marked vehicles followed the gas-powered scooter into Paterson, apparently over the 31st Street Bridge over the Passaic River. The moped then collided with a Lexus at the intersection of McBride and Murray avenues shortly before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, according to a release issued Friday by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin.The scooter driver was thrown against the windshield, smashin…
Police & Fire
Englewood Killer Sentenced To Life For Shooting Rapper, Then Dumping Burned Body In Paramus
UPDATE: An ex-con convicted a second time of shooting an aspiring rapper in a vacant home in Englewood, then burning the body and dumping it on a quiet Paramus cul-de-sac was sentenced to life in prison, authorities said. "There is nothing more cowardly than shooting someone in the back," Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Gary Donatello said before Randy Manning was sentenced in Superior Court in Hackensack for killing Rhian “Kampane” Stoute in 2011. Manning was originally convicted for the same crime and sent to state prison for life in 2014, but he got the conviction overturned in 2020 a…
Police & Fire
Habitual Offender Charged With Death Of Garfield Man From Fake Oxy Pills Full Of Fentanyl
A habitual offender killed a fellow Garfield resident by giving him bogus oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl, authorities charged. Juhaan Justice Hammond, 30, is charged with strict liability for the drug-induced death this past Sunday of Ivan Santiago in Garfield, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced on Friday, Sept. 22. Santiago and an unidentified second person were hospitalized after overdosing on Lincoln Place shortly after 6:30 p.m. Sept. 17, Musella said. Narcan was administered, the prosecutor said, adding that Santiago was pronounced dead at the hospital. Detectiv…
Police & Fire
North Jersey Fire Chief Locks Eyes With Woman While Masturbating In ShopRite Lot: Police
A North Jersey fire chief was arrested for masturbating in a vehicle parked in a ShopRite parking lot, authorities said. Budd Lake Fire Chief Joe Compano was arrested and charged with lewdness following the Tuesday, Sept. 19 incident in the parking lot of the Sparta ShopRite store on North Village Boulevard, Sparta police Detective Lt. Tom Snyder said. It began around 11:50 p.m., when a woman loading groceries into her car called police to say that the man in a maroon Ford Explorer next to her was masturbating with his penis exposed, Snyder said. He masturbated more aggressively and tried h…
Police & Fire
Democratic Senator Bob Menendez Indicted On Federal Bribery Charges
Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey was indicted Friday on federal corruption charges that include allegations of him secretly supporting the government of Egypt and trying to influence U.S. prosecutors' case against Bergen County real estate magnate Fred Daibes. Mendendez, 69, who's chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made several moves in exchange for bribes, some of which were passed to his wife, Nadine Arsianian, a sweeping indictment unsealed on Sept. 22 alleges. A staggering array of charges were brought by the grand jurors in the Southern District of Ne…
Police & Fire
Hooked
: 16 Busted, $35K Seized In Passaic Sheriff’s Countywide Prostitution Raids
Sixteen arrests were made and $35,840 in alleged profits seized by Passaic County sheriff's detectives during a two-day series of prostitution raids at massage parlors and hotels countywide, authorities said. Key “pay-to-play” locations for illegal sex were pinpointed in Clifton, Paterson, Passaic, Wayne, and Woodland Park, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said. Nearly all were chosen for the quality-of-life operations following citizens’ complaints, the sheriff said. Various units from his department supplied the detectives, Berdnik said. These included his Bureau of Narcotics, Int…
Police & Fire
Manhunt
: 12-Hour Search Ends In Franklin Lakes Following Fair Lawn Burglary, Pursuit, Crash
What began as a home burglary in Fair Lawn ended with a crash in Franklin Lakes and the arrest of the driver exactly 12 hours later. An out-of-town resident reported remotely seeing two burglars on a security camera in her Koenig Court home just off Route 208 at 8:06 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, Fair Lawn Police Sgt. Eric Eleshewich said. The superintendent arrived and saw the pair flee through a living-room window, the sergeant said. Responding officers rolled up on two men and a vehicle parked on northbound Route 208 moments later. The driver got back into the car and sped off, leaving hi…
Police & Fire
2 Dead, Dozens Hurt When
Pa-b
ound Bus Carrying 40 Students Crashes On I-84 In NY
Two people died and dozens of others were injured when a Pennsylvania-bound bus crashed off I-84 in New York, authorities said. The bus carrying 40 high school students and four adults was heading toward Greeley, PA for band camp, when it tumbled town a 50-foot ravine near Exit 15 in Wawayanda around 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, New York State Police and NY Gov. Kathy Hochul said. The two fatalities have been identified as Long Island residents: 43-year-old Gina Pellettiere of Massapequa, and 77-year-old Beatrice Ferarri of Farmingdale. Pellettiere was Farmingdale High Schoo…
Police & Fire
Gotcha
: Citizens ID Assailant Who Broke Eye Socket Of Patron At Lyndhurst Wendy's: Police
A 55-year-old fast-food customer had his eye socket broken when a Lyndhurst man nearly half his age sucker-punched him, authorities said. Eric Martinez, 28, fled the Wendy’s on Ridge Road after bashing the Belleville man in an entirely unprovoked attack as the victim waited online around 3:30 p.m. last Thursday, Sept. 14, Lyndhurst Detective Lt. Vincent Auteri said. Lynchurst Officer Joseph White retrieved surveillance images that were then published (see collage above), the lieutenant said. Soon calls began coming in. Police had obtained an arrest warrant when Martinez chose to surrender…
Police & Fire
Gotcha
! Police Crash Clifton Warehouse Burglary, Bust Trio, Thanks To Citizen's Call
Clifton police surprised three Paterson men in the middle of a local warehouse burglary, thanks to a conscientious citizen. It was just after midnight when officers were directed to Passaic Metal and Building Supplies on Central Avenue. There they spotted a box truck identified by the caller, Clifton Police Lt. Robert Anderson said. Seeing police, the trio hopped into the truck, then drove away with the headlights off, the lieutenant said. Multiple officers converged on them about two blocks away, Anderson said. They arrested the trio after finding burglary tools in the truck and fresh d…
Police & Fire
DUI Driver Who Fatally Pinned Atlantic County Worker's Van Gets Time In State Slammer
A 36-year-old South Jersey woman has been sentenced to six years in New Jersey State Prison for a fatal crash in which she was found to be using numerous drugs, authorities said. Bao “Joanna” Huynh, of Brigantine, was sentenced on the charge of vehicular homicide on Thursday, Sept. 21, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office. She must serve 85% of the sentence before being eligible for parole. At 12:17 p.m. on June 26, 2021, Hector Salgado, 54, of Lindenwold was killed when a motor vehicle operated by Huynh struck his Dodge work van in Brigantine, the prosec…
Police & Fire
Update
: Lyft Driver From Morris Found Guilty Of Fondling Underage Prospect Park Passenger
A former U.S. military member from Morris County was convicted of sexually assaulting a Passaic County pre-teen while working as a Lyft driver. Julio Mejia, 43, of Wharton rejected a plea deal after investigators said the underage Prospect Park girl told them he had sex with her after she took a Lyft ride in August 2019 and then again after several weeks of texting. He took his chances with a jury in Superior Court in Paterson and was convicted of sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, enticing and child endangerment. Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Portelli scheduled sentencing for Feb. …
Police & Fire
Minivan Driver Wanted On Warrant Caught With Crack: Rochelle Park PD
A repeat offender from Paterson had more than a dozen baggies of crack for sale in his minivan when he was stopped by a Rochelle Park patrol officer, authorities said. Officer Chris Kiszka found an outstanding traffic warrant for Randy Ward, 27, after pulling over his minivan on West Passaic Street shortly before 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, Capt. James DePreta said. A search following Ward's arrest turned up a sandwich bag with 15 individually packaged bags of crack, the captain said. Ward was charged with drug-related offenses and sent to the Bergen County Jail, where he remained Thur…
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Archive
62°
