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Sunday, sep 24
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
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 NJ 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
Man Assaulted, Robbed In Jersey Shore Restaurant Bathroom; Teenagers Charged: Police
Two teenagers were arrested in connection with an assault and robbery of a man in a Jersey Shore restaurant bathroom, authorities said. On Sunday, Sept. 17, at approximately 2 a.m., Toms River police were called to a restaurant on Route 37 East for a report of an injured man. Police did not identify the restaurant. The 25-year-old male victim told police he had been in the restroom washing his hands when he was assaulted by two males. The males then allegedly took his car keys and left in his vehicle which was parked in the parking lot, police said. The victim was taken to&…
Police & Fire
Somerset Suspect Arrested With Weapons On Jersey Shore: Police
Brick police arrested two teenagers with weapons after they were spotted by a resident driving in ski masks, authorities said. On Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6:26 p.m., Brick police received a call from a resident who observed a Black Honda drive past them with the driver and passenger both wearing ski masks, police said. Due to the recent spike in burglaries, the resident thought it was suspicious and reported it to police. Moments later, this vehicle was observed by police traveling on Mantoloking Road. After a motor vehicle stop on Chambers Bridge Road near Kohl’s Plaza, an officer ob…
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
Teenagers Indicted In Fatal Jersey Shore Shooting: Prosecutor
Two teenagers allegedly involved in a fatal shooting in Asbury Park last summer have been indicted by a Monmouth County grand jury, authorities said. Lydell Brown, 19, and Joseph Argilagos, 17, both from Asbury Park, were charged with first-degree murder and two related weapons offenses, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said on Friday, Sept. 22.. Argilagos' name previously was not released to the public but under a motion by prosecutors granted by the court this week he will be tried as an adult, Santiago said. Shortly after 5:45 p.m. on July 8, 2022, Asb…
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
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
Linden Man, 59, Killed In Route 9 Central Jersey Crash With Dump Truck
A 59-year-old man from Union County was killed while pulling into a gas station in a collision with a dump truck on Route 9 in Central Jersey, authorities said. Renan Perez, of Linden, died Thursday, Sept. 21 after the crash in the Parlin section of Sayreville, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone alongside Chief Daniel Plumacker of the Sayreville Police Department. At 5:16 a.m., police responded to Route 9 South in the vicinity of 912 US 9 South after the report of a fatal crash. Police found a 2020 Kenworth dump truck and 2000 Ford Ranger. …
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
Attempted Murder: Somerset County Man Indicted In Chase With Police Lieutenant
A Somerset County man has been indicted on charges for first-degree attempted murder and other offenses following a June police chase with a local lieutenant, authorities announced Thursday, Sept. 21. Brian A. Niziolek, 37, of Fairview Avenue in Somerville, was charged with first-degree attempted murder, second- and third-degree aggravated assault, second-degree eluding, second-degree burglary, resisting arrest, motor vehicle theft, and various weapons offenses following the police pursuit in Manville on Thursday, June 29, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. Officers respondin…
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
Feds Help Dismantle Meth, Fentanyl Ring In North Jersey: Cops
An investigation by multiple North Jersey police departments and the Department of Homeland Security led to the arrest of three men for running a meth and fentanyl ring on Wednesday, Sept. 20, authorities said. Nilo Ibarra, a 38-year-old Jersey City resident, Ramon Lopez Arias, a 32-year-old West New York resident and Alexander Sanchez-Castillo, a 37-year-old North Bergen resident were arrested following an operation conducted by the Secaucus Police Department, the Jersey City Police Department Street Crimes Unit and the North Bergen Police Department, Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Mill…
Police & Fire
Hamilton Motorcyclist Killed In Route 1 Crash In Central Jersey
A motorcyclist from Hamilton was killed in a Route 1 crash in Edison, authorities said. The name or age of the motorcycle rider had not been released by police. The crash occurred at about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20, on Route 1 northbound, Edison police said. The motorcyclist was traveling at a high rate of speed and ultimately got trapped under a vehicle stopped in traffic, according to Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan. "The cyclist dismounted from the motorcycle just prior to striking the vehicle and came to rest underneath the vehicle with the motorcycle striking him," Bryan said…
Police & Fire
Out-Of-State Man Recorded Sex With Underage NJ Teen: Prosecutor
An unemployed man from Minnesota recorded himself sexually assaulting an underage teen multiple times in Teaneck, authorities charged. Isaiha Price, 25, of St. Paul, was arrested earlier this week and was being held at the Adult Detention Center in St. Paul, MN (in photo above), pending extradition to New Jersey, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. An investigation by his Special Victims Unit detectives and Teaneck police “revealed that Price recorded himself sexually assaulting a child who was under the age of 16 on more than one occasion in Teaneck,” the prosecutor said on Th…
Police & Fire
Drivers Not Seriously Injured In Crash That Closed Garden State Parkway For Hours
Two drivers suffered minor injuries in a crash that closed the Garden State Parkway for hours, authorities said. A Nissan and Volkswagon collided in the northbound lanes just before 8 p.m. near mile post 168.1 in Hillsdale, right past Demarest Farms on Wednesday, Sept. 20, according to witnesses and New Jersey State Police. One car was positioned in the southbound lanes under the Werimus Road overpass. The other was in the northbound lanes, facing the opposite way. Both cars were believed to have been heading north. Police said only that both drivers were taken to an area hospital with non…
Police & Fire
Serious Crash Closes Route 1 In Central Jersey (
Developing
)
A serious crash had closed all lanes of Route 1 in Edison, authorities said. The crash occurred shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20, on Route 1 northbound, according to the New Jersey Department of Transportation. CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Code Enforcement Officer Double-Dipped In 3 Towns He Worked For: Prosecutor
A former code enforcement officer who worked for three towns in Ocean County has been charged with official misconduct, authorities said. Michael Ruvo, 56, of Toms River, was charged on Wednesday, Sept. 20, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. Among the offenses were instances of double-dipping in the towns he worked for, totaling more than 150 excess hours paid, the prosecutor said. The investigation revealed that while Ruvo was employed in Beachwood as the Code Enforcement-Zoning Officer, he was also employed by the Borough of Point Pleasant Beach as a Code Enf…
Police & Fire
Predator
Sting
: PA Man Expected Sex With Girl, 12, At NJ Hotel, Homeland Security Says
A Pennsylvania man who arranged what he thought was sex with a pre-teen in a New Jersey hotel was instead seized by federal agents when he showed up, authorities said Wednesday. Louis Goldenberg, 41 of Philadelphia, "began interacting on a messaging application with an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent, who was posing as a middle-aged woman with a 12-year-old niece" last month, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said on Sept. 20. Goldenberg messaged the purported aunt, "continuously expressing interest in having sexual contact," the U.S. att…
Police & Fire
Crime Fighters From NJ Work Case Of Baby, 1, Killed By Fentanyl At NYC Day Care Center
The owner of a Bronx daycare center where a 1-year-old boy died from fentanyl exposure was seized by federal authorities on Tuesday along with her husband’s cousin. Grei Mendez De Ventura, 36, the owner of Divino Niño Daycare, and her alleged accomplice, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, were charged by the federal government on Sept. 19 with possession with the intent and conspiracy to distribute drugs resulting in death. Meanwhile, a manhunt continued for De Ventura’s fugitive husband, who was identified as the leader of the drug operation. Children who napped where the defendants were cutting…
Police & Fire
Rash Of Burglaries, Vehicle Break-Ins, Home Invasion Reported In Jersey Shore Town: Police
There was a rash of burglaries, vehicle break-ins and a home invasion robbery in Brick Township since Friday, Sept. 15, authorities said. During the night of Sunday, Sept. 17, multiple vehicle burglaries were reported to Brick police in the Shore Acres and Baywood sections of the township, police said. The suspects were operating what appears to be a light blue or silver BMW sedan. (See photo) In a separate home invasion incident, suspects entered a home in Lake Riviera during the early morning hours of Monday, Sept. 18, police said. Suspects stole personal items including a key fob fr…
Police & Fire
Police Fully Justified In Shooting West New York Man Who Fired At Them, Grand Jury Rules
It was as open-and-shut as a police shooting can possibly get. That’s why a state grand jury found that police were more than justified in shooting a West New York gunman who’d just wounded one officer while firing point-blank at them with a gun in each hand. Dramatic police bodycam footage shows Kevin Colindres, 32, opening fire after emerging from his 59th Street home on June 3, 2022. In a clip recorded through the front-door window, Colindres is seen entering the vestibule in a t-shirt and shorts with both hands behind his back as police investigate a domestic violence call. He suddenl…
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Man Had Online Sex With Minors, Then Shared It, US Homeland Security Agents Charge
UPDATE: Federal authorities have taken custody of an accused child porn trafficker from the Jersey Shore who they said had online sex with at least two minors he met on a social media app. Ocean County prosecutor’s detectives initially investigated Christopher Budelman, 36, of Brick, leading to an arrest in late September 2022. Following up on a referral from the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the prosecutor's investigators learned that Budelman used the Kik Messenger App to upload and share images of child sexual abuse, authorities said at the time. F…
Police & Fire
Police Probe Burglary At Somerset County Wireless Store
Know anything? Police are investigating an early morning burglary at a wireless store in Somerset County. The burglar was seen on surveillance footage taking several Apple products from the Best Wireless store on Somerset Street in North Plainfield around 5:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 1, police said in a Monday release. Anyone with information is asked to contact DSgt. Domizi at 908-769-2937 or send an email to adomizi@northplainfieldnj.gov. Tips can also be sent to tips@npmail.org.
Police & Fire
'Chopped' Kosher Chef Jailed On New Child Sex Assault Charges Out Of NJ
A kosher chef from Teaneck who appeared on the Food Network show "Chopped” was jailed after a grand jury in Hackensack indicted him on charges of sexually assaulting a child. Shalom "Sal" Yehudiel, 41, was arrested at JFK Airport last month when authorities said he tried to flee the country. He'd only just had previous child sex assault charges against him dismissed by a judge in Hackensack at the time. A new indictment charges Yehudiel with sexually assaulting a girl who was 14 and 15 twice in Teaneck between November 2016 and April 2017. Yehudiel -- now lives in Aventura, FL -- surr…
Police & Fire
Footage Released Of Ex-Con Shot Dead By Newark Police Following Killings Of Boy, 8, Man
UPDATE: State authorities released body-camera footage of a Newark police foot chase that ended with a local ex-con suspected of a double homicide shot dead this past spring. Officers responding to the fatal May 3 shootings of a man and 8-year-old boy on Johnson Avenue in Newark saw Everett Rand toss what turned out to be a semi-automatic handgun with a large capacity magazine into a Dumpster, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Monday, Sept. 18. Rand, 29, then took off on foot with several uniformed officers on his tail. A basic background search turned up a six-year his…
Police & Fire
DWI Toms River Driver Gets Prison Time For Fatal Crash
A 32-year-old woman from Toms River has been sentenced to five years in New Jersey State Prison for a DWI crash that killed a 62-year-old man, authorities said. Ashley Beams' drunken-driving crash resulted in the death of James Cruz of the Parlin section of Old Bridge Township, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. Beams pleaded guilty to a vehicular homicide charge on July 24. Additionally, before her sentencing on Friday, Sept. 15, Beams pleaded guilty to the motor vehicle offense of Driving While Under the Influence of Alcohol, Billhimer said. At approximately 10:30…
Police & Fire
Major Search For Hackettstown Teen Possibly Already In Another State
Police have issued an alert for a Hackettstown teen who has been missing for five days and may be on his way to Florida. Mauricio Tiul-Morales, 16, was last seen at his home on Mountain Avenue on Wednesday, Sept. 13, Hackettstown Police said in a Monday release. Tiul-Morales stands 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighs between 140 and 150 pounds, and has brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen wearing an orange shirt, blue jeans, black sneakers, a black hat, and has an earring in the shape of a cross in his right ear. He should be carrying a black suitcase and has a possible destination …
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