GUILTY: NJ Mom Fatally Cut 4-Year-Old Son’s Neck With Kitchen Knife, Judge Rules GUILTY: NJ Mom Fatally Cut 4-Year-Old Son’s Neck With Kitchen Knife, Judge Rules
Guilty: NJ Mom Fatally Cut 4-Year-Old Son’s Neck With Kitchen Knife, Judge Rules A Somerset County mom has been found guilty of using a kitchen knife to kill her four-year-old son in a bench trial that lasted nearly two weeks. Elina Gutti, 38, of South Bound Brook, was found guilty of three indictments charging her with first-degree murder by the Honorable Julie M. Marino, J.S.C., on Tuesday, Dec. 19, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said in a press release alongside local officials. According to investigators, Gutti called police just before 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 stating that she had “woken up to find her wrist cut and was uncertain as to the c…
Fugitive Wanted For Trying To Kill Twin In MD Captured Near NJ/NY Border After 50-Mile Pursuit Fugitive Wanted For Trying To Kill Twin In MD Captured Near NJ/NY Border After 50-Mile Pursuit
Fugitive Wanted For Trying To Kill Twin In MD Captured Near NJ/NY Border After 50-Mile Pursuit A fugitive wanted for the attempted murder of his twin sister in Maryland was captured just short of the New York State line in New Jersey following a nearly hour-long pursuit, authorities confirmed on Monday, Dec. 4. Reese E. Wetzel, 23, of Ellicott City, MD stabbed his sister multiple times during an argument, then stole her car and headed north, police in Edison, NJ, said. Edison police said they received a Sirius XM alert involving the stolen white 2019 Subaru Outback at 8:13 p.m. Sunday. It pointed them toward Route 1 at Main Street, they said. Edison Officer Phil Smith spotted the s…
ON VIDEO: Bergen Footballer, 17, Stabbed In Heart By Long Island Killer, DA Says ON VIDEO: Bergen Footballer, 17, Stabbed In Heart By Long Island Killer, DA Says
ON Video: Bergen Footballer, 17, Stabbed In Heart By Long Island Killer, DA Says A surveillance camera recorded a Long Island man stabbing a 17-year-old New Jersey high school football player dead and slashing his older brother during a fight in downtown Manhattan on Thanksgiving, city authorities revealed. An autopsy revealed that a 6-inch stab wound pierced the heart of Rocco Rodden in front of an ax-throwing bar on Lafayette Street around 1:50 a.m., Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eun Bi Kim said on Saturday, Nov. 25. The accused killer, Gianluca Bordone, 19, of Oyster Bay, was wearing a black sweatshirt with the word "courage" on the back when he was brought …
Bergen County High School Footballer Stabbed Dead, Brother Wounded In NYC Bergen County High School Footballer Stabbed Dead, Brother Wounded In NYC
Bergen County High School Footballer Stabbed Dead, Brother Wounded In NYC UPDATE: A surveillance camera recorded a Long Island man stabbing a 17-year-old St. Joseph Regional High School football player dead and slashing his older brother during a fight in downtown Manhattan on Thanksgiving, city authorities revealed. An autopsy revealed that a 6-inch stab wound pierced the heart of Rocco Rodden in front of an ax-throwing bar on Lafayette Street around 1:50 a.m., Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eun Bi Kim said on Saturday, Nov. 25. The accused killer, Gianluca Bordone, 19, of Oyster Bay, was wearing a black sweatshirt with the word "courage" on the back when…
NJ Teacher Had Sexual Relationship With High School Student For Years: Police NJ Teacher Had Sexual Relationship With High School Student For Years: Police
NJ Teacher Had Sexual Relationship With High School Student For Years: Police A former New Jersey teacher from Pennsylvania has been accused of sexually assaulting a former student, police said. Lydia Pinto, 38, of Newton, PA, is believed to have engaged in a relationship with the student — now an adult — when they were 14 and 15 years old, in Raritan Borough, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. The alleged victim was interviewed by detectives on Oct. 26, and said the relationship turned sexual and continued through their senior year of high school, McDonald said alongside other county and local officials. Pinto was arrested on Wednesday, Nov. 8 i…
Hostage Emerges Screaming, With Stab Wounds After 4-Hour SWAT Standoff In NJ: Prosecutor Hostage Emerges Screaming, With Stab Wounds After 4-Hour SWAT Standoff In NJ: Prosecutor
Hostage Emerges Screaming, With Stab Wounds After 4-Hour SWAT Standoff In NJ: Prosecutor Police have released details and made an arrest in a nearly five-hour SWAT standoff involving a hostage Friday, Nov. 10 in Somerset County. Police received 9-1-1 calls saying a man later identified as Alonzo D. Blakey, 50, was holding a female relative against her will in his apartment on Columbia Drive in Finderne, around 7:20 a.m., Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. Blakely was threatening to harm himself and the victim when Bridgewater police arrived, McDonald said alongside Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Detectives Francisco Roman Jr., Bridgewate…
‘This Is Our Legacy:’ 1,150-Acre Nature Preserve Debuts In New Jersey ‘This Is Our Legacy:’ 1,150-Acre Nature Preserve Debuts In New Jersey
‘This Is Our Legacy:’ 1,150-Acre Nature Preserve Debuts In New Jersey Rainbow Hill, a pristine nature preserve featuring an 8-acre lake, hiking trails, and farm fields nestled between Hunterdon and Somerset County, is officially open to the public. The New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJ Conservation) held the grand opening for Rainbow Hill at Sourland Mountain Preserve — located just 30 miles east of Bucks County, PA — on Friday, Nov. 3. The site spans 1,150 acres and includes woodlands, fields, and several freshwater tributaries of the Neshanic River. Meanwhile, there are plenty of opportunities for passive recreational activities like hiking, horseback…
Arsonist Found Unconscious After Setting Fire To His NJ Apartment: Prosecutor Arsonist Found Unconscious After Setting Fire To His NJ Apartment: Prosecutor
Arsonist Found Unconscious After Setting Fire To His NJ Apartment: Prosecutor A 40-year-old arsonist was found unconscious after setting a fire that ignited a Somerset County apartment, authorities said. Dashawn Holmes, a tenant in an East Main Street building in Somerville, was found unconscious by firefighters responding to the alarm set off just before midnight on Wednesday, Oct. 25, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. Holmes was taken to an area hospital for treatment. The Somerville Fire Marshall responded to the scene and determined the fire to be suspicious in nature, said McDonald alongside Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of…
Prosecutor Details Sneaky Upskirt Tactics Utilized By NJ Sunoco Station Cashier For Months Prosecutor Details Sneaky Upskirt Tactics Utilized By NJ Sunoco Station Cashier For Months
Prosecutor Details Sneaky Upskirt Tactics Utilized By NJ Sunoco Station Cashier For Months A cashier at a Sunoco station has been arrested for taking multiple upskirt photos of women while at work over the course of nearly two years, authorities in Somerset County said. Miguel A. Melchor-Gomez, 54, of North Plainfield, who worked at the Sunoco station on Stirling Road in Watchung, filmed underneath his unsuspecting victims' clothing in one of two ways from December 2021 to Aug. 19, 2023, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald. said. Melchor-Gomez either pretended that the credit card machine malfunctioned and directed his victims to the counter where he would stand clos…
Gang Member Admits Planning Murder, Committing Gunpoint Robbery: NJ Feds Gang Member Admits Planning Murder, Committing Gunpoint Robbery: NJ Feds
Gang Member Admits Planning Murder, Committing Gunpoint Robbery: NJ Feds A member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang admitted his role in planning a murder and robbing a victim at gunpoint, federal authorities said. Federal prosecutors used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law to charge Tre Byrd, 22, and dozens of other reputed gang bangers rounded up by a collection of crime-fighting “supergroups.” Byrd, they said, belonged to the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips – a violent drug-selling gang -- for seven years. He was in on planning the rubout of a rival who was shot dead in March 2019 in Irvington, then more than a year later r…
Four Die From Fentanyl Sold By NJ Dealer: Feds Four Die From Fentanyl Sold By NJ Dealer: Feds
Four Die From Fentanyl Sold By NJ Dealer: Feds Four people were killed by fentanyl peddled by a dealer from Somerset County who was captured in the middle of another sale, authorities said. A federal judge in Newark ordered Mauricio Gutierrez, 50, of Somerset held following an initial court appearance on charges of distributing drugs that killed users. Special agents of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Newark took custody of Gutierrez after he was busted selling coke in Piscataway on Thursday, Sept. 28, authorities said. One of the buyers shared it with two other people that fateful June 2022 day, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger…
Firearms, Ammo Seized From 18-Year-Old Man Charged With Attempted Murder In NJ Shooting Spree Firearms, Ammo Seized From 18-Year-Old Man Charged With Attempted Murder In NJ Shooting Spree
Firearms, Ammo Seized From 18-Year-Old Man Charged With Attempted Murder In NJ Shooting Spree Numerous firearms and ammunition were seized from the home of an 18-year-old man who police say fired shots into three Somerset County homes in early-September. Ryan Vandermeer, 18, of Hillsborough, is being held in the Somerset County Jail on charges of attempted murder and various weapons offenses in connection with the incidents on Sept. 3 and Sept. 5, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. Vandermeer is believed to have fired shots into the rear sliding glass door of a Robin Road home on Sunday, Sept. 3, between 10:15 p.m. and 10:45 p.m., McDonald said alongside local po…