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92°
Wednesday, jun 26
Tag:
Mexico
Weather
First Named Storm Of 2024 Hurricane Season Forms: Meet Alberto
What could be one of the most active hurricane seasons ever now has its first named storm. Tropical Storm Alberto formed late Wednesday morning, June 19 as it moved across the western Gulf of Mexico. Heavy rain, coastal flooding, and gusty winds are forecast along the coasts of Texas and northeastern Mexico through Thursday, June 20. Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued in those areas. It could make landfall, probably in Mexico, Thursday night. Up to 12 inches of rainfall is possible in parts of northern Mexico. In late May, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forec…
Police & Fire
'Our Little Teddy': 20-Year-Old Hit By Car In Central Jersey While Walking Home From Work Dies
A Monmouth County man died less than a week after he was hit by a car while walking home from work, according to a fundraising campaign. A GoFundMe page said 20-year-old Frank Luna Santamaria of Red Bank was hit by a car a block away from his home on Wednesday, May 15. He died from his injuries on Monday, May 20. Santamaria's death was about a week before his 21st birthday. "He was coming back from work covering a shift on his day off," wrote Marlen Luna, the GoFundMe's organizer. "He was a sweet boy, very kind and generous with a charming smile. He was 20 years old but with a kid's heart,…
Lifestyle
International Soccer Stars Will Date Unsuspecting NJ Women On Brand-New TV Dating Show
Three New Jersey women will be dating massive, international soccer stars on a brand-new Peacock dating show. The twist? She has no idea how famous they are back home. "Love Undercover" will follow five male athletes who must leave their lavish lives behind to take on secret identities in dating single women in America, all completely unsuspecting of their fame overseas. Among them: Jacklyn Romano of Sea Isle City, Kai Hilbert of Orange, and Gabrielle Findley of Newark. The Garden State singles will be dating Premier League stars Jamie O’Hara, 36 of the United Kingdom; …
Sports
Garden State 'El Clasico': Real Madrid, FC Barcelona To Play At MetLife Stadium This Summer
One of the most famous sports rivalries in the world is coming to the Garden State this summer. Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona will play an edition of 'El Clasico' at MetLife Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 3, the Spanish soccer clubs announced on Tuesday, Mar. 19. Two of La Liga's biggest powerhouses will hold the friendly match as part of a preseason summer U.S. tour. This will be the fourth edition of Spain's most historic rivalry played in the U.S. The first was at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, with Lionel Messi and Barcelona defeating their Madrid rivals 3-2 on Monday, July 2…
News
'Most Visible Eclipse For US In 100 Years' Coming Soon
In just over a month, what's being called the astronomy event of the decade will occur when a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and earth, completely blocking the face of the sun and the sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk. Many are planning road trips to places where the best viewing conditions are expected for what Space.com says will be "the longest and most visible for the US in 100 years," with a four-minute duration expected beginning…
News
NJ Professor Nailed These 'Jeopardy!' Questions: Can You?
Brianne Barker has returned to "Jeopardy!" for the Champions Wildcard Tournament Friday, Dec. 1. The Drew University biology department chair from Madison was one of 105 past winners called up to play against each other. Barker's prior episodes aired in July 2022. Barker — who is Harvard and Duke educated — was seated on a beach in Mexico when producers called, she said. She played in the Hearts Group against Bryce Hwang, an ophthalmology resident from Philadelphia, and Garett Marcotte, a software engineer from Colorado. Here are some of the questions that Barker…
Police & Fire
NJ Man Was Supposed To Fly To Turkey 10 Days Ago — He's Been Missing Ever Since
Enes Aydin was supposed to fly to Turkey from Newark Airport on Nov. 5. But the 23-year-old missed his flight, and his family hasn't been able to reach him since. According to Matt Kahraman, a friend of the family, Aydin is from Turkey originally and was vacationing in Mexico last year, before he flew to Edgewater Park to visit his grandfather. "He was supposed to go to Turkey 10 days ago," Kahraman, "but he never flew." Aydin was last seen last month in New York City. His family is working with the Turkish officials and Edgewater Park police to find him.
Police & Fire
Hudsonite Who Got Mail-Order Fentanyl From Mexico Gets Two Years, No Parole, In Federal Prison
A Hudson County man who had mail-order fentanyl from Mexico shipped to his home was sentenced Thursday to a month short of two years in federal prison. Miguel Polanco, 31, must serve out just about all of the 23-month plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Polanco became the focus of an investigation after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted the package from Mexico City on its way to his Union City apartment, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger previously said. Polanco had watched a how-to video sent to him by a conspirator on h…
Obituaries
Rutgers Nursing Student Killed In Parkway Crash Mourned As Dedicated Athlete With Bright Future
Family and friends are mourning the loss of a 19-year-old Rutgers University nursing student killed in a weekend crash. Jessica "Jessy" Molina-Colmenares, of Egg Harbor Township, is being remembered as a gentle, intelligent, and caring young woman, having just finished her first year as a nursing student at Rutgers University her obituary says. Jessica, who had dreams of becoming a traveling nurse, was riding in a Honda Civic that veered off the Garden State Parkway and overturned at about 6:30 p.m. in Stafford Township on Saturday, July 15, Daily Voice reported. Her brother-in-law, Tyle…
Business
It's Taco Time In Bergen County
Elias Itzep was driving around Bergen County craving some Mexican food and he couldn't find any. So he decided to take matters into his own hands. Itzep, who lives in Englewood Cliffs, recently opened Taco Time, a fast casual Mexican restaurant in Norwood. Itzep has more than 20 years of experience in the food industry and said he plans on serving up classic Mexican specialties like tacos, burritos, fajitas and tostadas. Itzep hails from Mexico and it's where most of his family is from. He said it's very important to be able to connect people with the food from his homeland. "We're u…
Police & Fire
Montclair Lawyer James Ray III Convicted Of Murder
A 60-year-old Montclair lawyer has been convicted of murder in the 2018 death of the mother of his 6-year-old daughter, authorities announced. James R. Ray III was found guilty of first-degree murder and weapons offenses following a six-week trial before Superior Court Judge Verna G. Leath, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II said Friday, May 12. The murder occurred nearly five years ago in the house the couple shared with their daughter on North Mountain Avenue in Montclair, when Ray shot Angela Bledsoe, 44, in the chest, face, and back, after she dropped the girl …
News
El Chapo Sons, Dubbed ‘Pioneers' Of Fentanyl Epidemic, Charged In Massive Sinaloa Cartel Case
Four sons of notorious druglord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman are among more than two dozen members of Mexico's reigning Sinaloa cartel charged in a massive fentanyl-trafficking offensive announced by federal officials on Friday. The infamous quartet known as the Chapitos – each of whom had $5 million U.S. bounties placed on their heads – were dubbed “the pioneers” of fentanyl’s introduction to American users by DEA Administrator Anne Milgram during an April 14 news conference in Washington, D.C. “Death and destruction are central to their whole operation,” said Milgram, a former New Jersey a…
News
NJ Soccer Player Fell To His Death From Balcony Helping Hotel Guest In Mexico: Reports
Henry Meacock's death may be an indication of the way he lived: Selflessly. The 19-year-old New Jersey soccer player was apparently trying to retrieve a fallen belonging of another hotel guest when he fell to his death earlier this month while on Spring Break, the New York Post reports citing officials in Mexico. Reports on social media say the Ohio State University athlete and Westfield native went out to a balcony on the third floor to get the other guest's ID, when he stepped on a piece of plexiglass that gave way on Wednesday, March 15. "He was a gentleman to his very core and as genui…
News
Feds: Hudsonite Nabbed Accepting Mail-Order Fentanyl From Mexico Pleads Out
A Hudson County man admitted accepting mail-order fentanyl destined for New Jersey’s streets that shipped to his home from Mexico, federal authorities said. Miguel Polanco, 31, even watched a how-to video on how to handle the shipment, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said following a plea hearing in Newark on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Polanco became the focus of an investigation after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted the package from Mexico City on its way to his Union City apartment, Sellinger said. He had previously received a video from a conspirator “exp…
News
DEA Warns Of 'Rainbow Fentanyl' Made To Look Like Candy
As if the drug wasn’t already terrifying enough: The DEA says it’s seeing increasing amounts of “rainbow fentanyl” being seized across the United States. The trend “appears to be a new method used by drug cartels to sell highly addictive and potentially deadly fentanyl made to look like candy to children and young people,” the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warned. This month alone, the agency said, law enforcers at various levels have seized brightly covered fentanyl power and pills in 18 states. Some of it even comes in blocks that resemble sidewalk chalk, federal authorities said. …
News
Ex-NJ High School Basketball Star Cuts Deal, Gets 22 Years For Killing Tijuana Sex Club Worker
UPDATE: A former New Jersey high school basketball star who walked onto the Rutgers University team was sentenced to 22 years in prison in Mexico after admitting that he killed a sex club worker in Tijuana last year, according to multiple reports. Authorities had collected surveillance video from the notorious Adelita nightclub that shows Logan Kelley coming up from behind 20-year-old Isis Montoya, pulling a four-inch knife from his hoodie pocket and slicing her throat in February 2021. They charged him with what's known there as femicide, a hate crime in Mexico. Rather than face tria…
Sports
MetLife Stadium Hosting 2026 FIFA World Cup
MetLife Stadium is among 16 stadiums across the US, Mexico and Canada chosen to host the 2026 Fifa World Cup games, FIFA’s president said Thursday, June 16. Other East Coast host cities include Philadelphia, Boston and Miami. “We are honored to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup with our neighbors across the Hudson, and we are fully prepared to deliver the world-class experience that the beautiful game deserves,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said. “Future generations of New Jerseyans will remember fondly that, on the heels of a global pandemic, the biggest sporting event in the world was hosted…
Police & Fire
Accused Sex Offender Found Hiding In Mexico After Nearly 2 Decades As Fugitive At Large
A man who’s spent nearly two decades as a fugitive at large following the alleged sex assault of a juvenile was found hiding out in Mexico, authorities said. Juan Francisco Aguillon, 43, went on the run after a warrant was issued for his arrest by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office for the sexual assault of a juvenile in Alexandria Township in 2003, state police said. Aguillon, of Mexico, was placed on the New Jersey State Police’s Most Wanted List in 2013 as a fugitive at large, police said. An investigation between the State Police Fugitive Unit and the United States Marshals Task …
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Man Gets 7 Years Behind Bars For Leaving Fatal Crash Scene: Prosecutor
A 28-year-old man from Ocean County has been sentenced to seven years in New Jersey state prison for leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle crash, authorities said. Roberto Alcazar-Sanchez, of Jackson, was sentenced as a result to a previously entered guilty plea to knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. On Dec. 24, 2020, at approximately 6 p.m., Jackson police were summoned to Cedar Swap Road and Interstate-195 for a motor vehicle crash with serious injuries. An in…
Police & Fire
Lakewood Man, 36, Killed In 3-Vehicle Crash: Police
A 36-year-old man from Lakewood was killed in a three-vehicle crash, authorities said. Oliver Vazquez has been identified as the victim of the crash on Madison Avenue just south of 9th Street on Saturday, April 2 just before 9 p.m. A GoFundMe was launched in an effort to help bring his body to Mexico, his home country. Upon arrival, police determined that a 2006 Ford F-350, operated by 38-year-old Matthew Sebolt of Colts Neck had side-swiped a 2010 Honda Accord as he was traveling north along Madison Avenue, police said. The Honda Accord, operated by 34-year-old Moshe Mashitz also was tr…
Business
Old Friends Bring New Taqueria To Bergen County
A Colombian chef and her former colleague have opened a taqueria in Bergen County. Aura Montoya and Gregory Michelson came up with the idea for their taqueria just before the COVID-19 pandemic. They continued coming up with recipes during the lockdown, but as soon as they had the green light, they set off to Mexico to get an idea of what they wanted El Taco Bar to be. All they knew is that they wanted their Closter shop to be authentic. View this post on Instagram A post shared by el Taco Bar (@el_tacobar) "We wanted to make Mexican stree…
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Man Admits Leaving Fatal Crash, Fleeing To Mexico: Prosecutor
A 27-year-old man from Ocean County has admitted leaving the scene of a fatal crash before fleeing to Mexico, authorities said. Roberto Alcazar-Sanchez, of Jackson, pleaded guilty to knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death on Thursday, Feb. 24, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. On Dec. 24, 2020, at approximately 6:00 p.m., Jackson police responded to I-195 for a motor vehicle crash with serious injuries. An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and Jackson Township Po…
News
Gotcha
! NJ Fugitive Wanted For Sex Trafficking Captured At Newark Airport
A fugitive from Bergen County wanted for running a massive sex-trafficking ring in North Jersey, Rockland and New York City was captured trying to re-enter the United States from Colombia, authorities confirmed. Birmania “Nancy” Rincon, 62, a Colombian national living in Teaneck, was among the ringleaders of a crew that forced dozens of women into prostitution, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. She was in the wind, however, when authorities seized 21 defendants during a series of early-morning raids at 19 homes and other locations in Bergen and Hudson counties exactly two weeks ag…
Obituaries
Beloved Sussex County Resident, ‘True Artist’ Annahy Perez Dies Suddenly At Age 20
Beloved artist Annahy Ponce Perez died suddenly on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at her Sussex County home. She was 20. Born in Englewood, Perez was raised in Mexico before moving back to Englewood and settling in Stanhope, her obituary says. Perez enjoyed cooking and was well-known for her artistic abilities. “She was a true artist and had the ability to recreate paintings simply by sight,” reads her memorial. More than $12,700 had been raised on GoFundMe as of Friday for Perez’s funeral expenses. Perez leaves behind her mother, Martina Perez Aparisio; her father, Isaias Ponce Torres; siblings, Isa…
News
MS-13 Members Convicted Of Murder Of Innocent West New York Man, 19, Other Gang-Related Crimes
Three ranking MS-13 members from El Salvador were convicted by federal jurors in Newark of the murder of an innocent 19-year-old dishwasher from West New York, among other charges stemming from their participation in the international gang. It was one of many offenses that jurors agreed were committed by Juan Pablo “Humilde” Escalante-Melgar, 31, Elmer “Locote” Cruz-Diaz, 33, and Oscar “Snappy” Sanchez-Aguilar, 25 – among them, extortion, witness tampering, and drug trafficking. Federal prosecutors told the jurors that Escalante-Melgar and Sanchez-Aguilar instructed an MS-13 member and an …
News
Deportee Who Raped Paterson Girl, 15, After Illegally Re-Entering US Gets 7¾ Years
UPDATE: A deportee who snuck back into the U.S. and was living illegally in Paterson was sentenced Tuesday to 95 months in federal prison for raping a 15-year-old city girl. Juan Carlos Morales-Pedraza, a 35-year-old Mexican citizen who was born in Ecuador, had been deported in 2010, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. He'd re-entered the United States when he approached the girl in Passaic County in April 2019, had sex with her, then took her with him on a planned trip to Chicago, Honig said. They never made it that far, however. An Ohio state trooper pulled Morales-Pedraza’s 201…
Obituaries
Doylestown Man Who Drowned In Delaware River, 33, Was Soon-To-Be Father Of Baby Boy
The PA man who was pulled from the Delaware River in Hunterdon County was a soon-to-be father of a baby boy, according to a fundraiser created in his honor. Jorge Herrera-Salmoran, 33, was pronounced dead at the scene after being pulled from the water near the Bull’s Island Recreation Area (2185 Daniel Bray Highway) in Delaware Township shortly before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, state police said. Herrera-Salmoran, of Doylestown, died the day before his birthday and two days before his wife, Tania, was scheduled to deliver the family’s first child, a baby boy, according to a GoFundMe launched by clo…
News
Man Who Says He's Dulce Alavez's Dad Posts YouTube Birthday Tribute & Police Want To Know More
Authorities are hoping to speak with the father of Dulce Alavez, who was abducted from a South Jersey park in 2019 and been missing ever since, NJ.com reports. A man who identified himself in the YouTube video Edgar Perez, Dulce's father, posted the tribute online in honor of her 7th birthday. "I'm really sad and hurt," Perez says over the music as slides of his daughter go by. "I don't know where she is, who she is with -- I don't know if my baby girl is okay. Just like everyone, I want to know where she is." Perez was deported in 2018 and is living in Mexico, NJ.com says. He has only be…
Police & Fire
Know
HIM? $500 Reward Offered In Arrest Of Hunterdon County Sexual Assault Fugitive
The Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office is offering a reward of up to $500 for information that leads the the arrest of a local man accused of sexual assault. Juan Francisco Aguillon, 42, has been charged and indicted on a true bill of sexual assault, Acting Prosecutor Michael J. Williams said in a joint release Thursday. Aguillon, of Flemington, committed the acts in Alexandria Township, Williams said. Aguillon is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Authorities have issued a warrant for his extradition from the U.S. and Mexico, Williams said. The p…
Police & Fire
Caught
: US Border Patrol Nabs Jersey Shore Fugitive In Texas For Howell Woman's Hit-Run Death
A fugitive in a fatal hit-and-run Christmas Eve crash on the Jersey Shore has surrendered in Texas, authorities said. Roberto Alcazar-Sanchez, 27, of Jackson, who had fled to Mexico after a fatal motor vehicle crash was captured on Wednesday, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. Alcazar-Sanchez surrendered to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Protection Agents in Laredo, Texas, the prosecutor said on Friday. Alcazar-Sanchez previously was charged with knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death, according to Billhimer.…
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Featured On 'America's Most Wanted' Arrested In Near-Fatal Jersey Shore Stabbing
A 44-year-old parolee from the Jersey Shore has been arrested in connection with a near-fatal stabbing last weekend, authorities said. The suspect was once featured on "America's Most Wanted," wrote a book called "Inabsentia," and has served at least nine years in New Jersey State Prison, according to earlier news accounts. Angelo Grenci was charged with attempted murder on Monday for a violent fight in Berkeley Township, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Berkeley Township Police Chief Karin DiMichele. Berkeley and Toms River police were called to Comm…
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