Fair 28°
Police & Fire
'Cowboy Hero' Dies After Lightning Strike While Warning Kids On NJ Beach About Storm: Reports 'Cowboy Hero' Dies After Lightning Strike While Warning Kids On NJ Beach About Storm: Reports
'Cowboy Hero' Dies After Lightning Strike While Warning Kids On NJ Beach About Storm: Reports A Toms River man died after a reported lightning strike on an Ocean County beach, authorities said. Patrick Dispoto, 59, was found unconscious on the beach near J Street at around 7:38 p.m. on Sunday, June 23, a Seaside Park Police Department spokesperson told Daily Voice. He was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police said Dispoto had no visible signs of injuries. There were also no witnesses so investigators haven't confirmed if his death was caused by lightning or "another medical issue." Dispoto's girlfriend Ruth said he tried to warn a group of children on the beach …

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Wild Street Brawl Sends Repeat Offender, Officers To Hospital: Hasbrouck Heights PD Wild Street Brawl Sends Repeat Offender, Officers To Hospital: Hasbrouck Heights PD
Wild Street Brawl Sends Repeat Offender, Officers To Hospital: Hasbrouck Heights PD A repeat offender from Toms River who was high on PCP fought violently with police who kept him from running into traffic outside a 7-Eleven in North Jersey, authorities said. The incident was another in a recent series of episodes involving Albert P. Fischetta III, 40, of Toms River, whose violent reaction sent two officers – and himself – to the hospital, they said. Fischetta had been freed after police at the Jersey Shore said he attacked an elderly man while not wearing any clothes last fall, records show. This time, his girlfriend told Hasbrouck Heights that Fischetta suddenly bailed …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Movie Filming In NJ Casting Soldiers, Topless Woman Movie Filming In NJ Casting Soldiers, Topless Woman
Movie Filming In NJ Casting Soldiers, Topless Woman A feature film shooting in New Jersey throughout the summer is casting a variety of paid roles. "Retrograde Victory" is about  a young man who finds new importance in life after the psychological toll inflicted on himself while being inducted to the Vietnam war, the casting call reads. The director and producer is M.J. Walker of Superion Films.  Actors are needed to play a young solder age 7 to 12; a mourning woman 25 to 40; an M60 solder ages 18 to 25; a variety of other solders; and a topless woman. Roles pay between $100 and $150 for one hour of work. The casting call say…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
NJ Ex-Con Featured On 'America's Most Wanted' Sentenced For Deadly Stabbing NJ Ex-Con Featured On 'America's Most Wanted' Sentenced For Deadly Stabbing
NJ Ex-Con Featured On 'America's Most Wanted' Sentenced For Deadly Stabbing An Ocean County ex-convict and parolee once featured on the TV show "America's Most Wanted" will spend more than a decade in prison after admitting to his role in the stabbing death of another man, authorities said. Angelo Grenci, 47, of Berkeley Township, was sentenced on Friday, Apr. 19 to 20 years in state prison, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. He pleaded guilty on Monday, Jan. 29 to aggravated manslaughter in the killing of 50-year-old Carlton Williams of Seaside Heights. Toms River and Berkeley Township police responded to RWJBarnabas C…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Motorcyclist Killed In Crash With State Trooper Guitarist For Hackensack Band Motorcyclist Killed In Crash With State Trooper Guitarist For Hackensack Band
Motorcyclist Killed In Crash With State Trooper Guitarist For Hackensack Band They called him Frankie Fender. Frank Lando, that is: The 65-year-old Toms River motorcyclist, guitarist, and father killed in an April 9 crash in Southampton with a New Jersey state trooper. On Friday, April 19, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin released Lando's identity, as well as that of the trooper involved: Anthony Fernandes. Fernandes was conducting routine patrol duties along Route 70 around 11:35 a.m. in Southampton that day, when his marked patrol car collided with Lando's motorcycle near Burrs Mill Road, Platkin said. Lando was taken to Virtua Mount Holly …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Where Is Central Jersey? Monmouth U. Poll Finds Answers To NJ's Tricky Regional Debate Where Is Central Jersey? Monmouth U. Poll Finds Answers To NJ's Tricky Regional Debate
Where Is Central Jersey? Monmouth U. Poll Finds Answers To NJ's Tricky Regional Debate Monmouth University pollsters have tried to answer a question that has been hard to solve for many in the Garden State: Where is Central Jersey exactly? The Monmouth University Polling Institute released a survey on Tuesday, Apr. 16 that asked New Jerseyans what region they live in and if they believe their region gets a fair share of state resources. The pollsters also asked people to pick their favorite convenience store. According to the poll, 41 percent of New Jerseyans said they live in North Jersey, 34 percent said they're in Central Jersey, and 23 percent said they're from South…

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by Chris Spiker
News
NJ Supermarket Celebrates Selling $1.13B Mega Millions Ticket: 'Thrilled For This Community' NJ Supermarket Celebrates Selling $1.13B Mega Millions Ticket: 'Thrilled For This Community'
NJ Supermarket Celebrates Selling $1.13B Mega Millions Ticket: 'Thrilled For This Community' A Jersey Shore supermarket celebrated selling the ticket that earned someone the largest lottery jackpot in the Garden State's history. The New Jersey Lottery said the winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at ShopRite Wine & Spirits on Route 66 in Neptune. The jackpot reached $1.13 billion in the drawing on Tuesday, Mar. 26. The NJ Lottery held a news conference at the grocery store to formally announce the lucky ticket on Wednesday, Mar. 27. "I used to live in Neptune," said NJ Lottery executive director James Carey. "I live right down the street right now in Monmouth County…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Suspected Toms River Hookah Lounge Killer Will Stay In Jail For Trial: Prosecutors Suspected Toms River Hookah Lounge Killer Will Stay In Jail For Trial: Prosecutors
Suspected Toms River Hookah Lounge Killer Will Stay In Jail For Trial: Prosecutors The man accused of murder in a triple shooting at a Toms River hookah lounge will have to stay in jail through his trial. A judge ordered on Thursday, Feb. 22 that Eric Manzanares, 24, of Asbury Park, will remain detained in the Ocean County Jail pending his trial, county prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced. He was charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon. Manzanares has been held in the county jail since Wednesday, Jan. 24, when he was extradited to New Jersey from Virginia. H…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Jacket With Name, Phone Number Led Feds Right To Capitol Rioter From New Jersey: DOJ Jacket With Name, Phone Number Led Feds Right To Capitol Rioter From New Jersey: DOJ
Jacket With Name, Phone Number Led Feds Right To Capitol Rioter From New Jersey: DOJ A Toms River man wearing a jacket with his business's name and phone number on the front of it to the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection has been arrested more than three years later. Robert Coppotelli was charged with four misdemeanor counts of illegally entering the Capitol and disrupting the joint session of Congress to count the electoral college votes in the 2020 Presidential election. The accusations against Coppotelli were outlined in a court document filed on Friday, Feb. 16. Prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice said an anonymous tip in July 2021 identified …

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by Chris Spiker
Obituaries
Former Toms River Track Star Diego Rodriguez Garibaldi Dies Following Crash, 19 Former Toms River Track Star Diego Rodriguez Garibaldi Dies Following Crash, 19
Former Toms River Track Star Diego Rodriguez Garibaldi Dies Following Crash, 19 Family and loved ones are mourning the death of a teen from Toms River. A GoFundMe page was created in the memory of Diego Rodriguez Garibaldi, who died on Friday, Jan. 26 at 19 years old, according to his obituary.  The memorial fundraiser was created after a car crash sent Rodriguez Garibaldi to the hospital. Details in the crash were not immediately available. The GoFundMe page raised more than $28,500 from at least 500 donations as of Thursday, Feb. 8. "Your overwhelming support has meant the world to his family during this challenging time," the fundraiser page said. "We are gra…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
NJ Ex-Con Featured On 'America's Most Wanted' Pleads Guilty In Deadly Stabbing NJ Ex-Con Featured On 'America's Most Wanted' Pleads Guilty In Deadly Stabbing
NJ Ex-Con Featured On 'America's Most Wanted' Pleads Guilty In Deadly Stabbing An Ocean County ex-convict and parolee once featured on the TV show "America's Most Wanted" admitted to his role in the stabbing death of a Seaside Heights man, authorities said. Angelo Grenci, 47, of Berkeley Township, pleaded guilty on Monday, Jan. 29 to aggravated manslaughter, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Grenci was charged in the killing of 50-year-old Carlton Williams. Prosecutors will pursue a prison sentence of 25 years for Grenci. He'd have to serve 85 percent of his term before being eligible for parole under the state's No Early Release…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Suspected Toms River Hookah Lounge Killer Extradited Months After Virginia Capture Suspected Toms River Hookah Lounge Killer Extradited Months After Virginia Capture
Suspected Toms River Hookah Lounge Killer Extradited Months After Virginia Capture Nearly nine months after his Virginia capture, a Monmouth County man will face charges in New Jersey, authorities announced. Asbury Park's Eric Manzanares, 24 — the accused gunman in a triple shooting that left one man dead and two others injured at a Toms River hookah lounge in 2022 — has been extradited from Prince William County, VA, to Ocean County, NJ, Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced on Thursday, Jan. 25.  Toms River police responded to a shooting at Top Tier Hookah Lounge on Hooper Avenue at around 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. Officers found three victim…

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by Chris Spiker