Find Your Daily Voice
48°
Ex-Con Kidnapper Gets 43 Years, No Parole, For Rape, Arson, Assault Rampage Through NJ, NY, PA
UPDATE: An ex-con who kidnapped and raped his ex-girlfriend in Pennsylvania, then torched a used car dealership in Paterson and rammed a stolen SUV into police cars at both ends of the George Washington Bridge was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison.
Luis Figueroa, 42, first took a plea deal from the government that called for him to serve 26 years in a federal penitentiary.
Then he abruptly withdrew his plea, took his chances with a trial – and lost.
Federal jurors in Newark convicted Figueroa in May 2022 of kidnapping, criminal sexual abuse, illegal gun possession and assaulting…
Montvale's Justin Wilson Dies: 'He Was So Filled With Joy'
Much of Justin Wilson's life was filled with tragedy — but you'd never know it.
The 39-year-old Montvale native lost his dad, Michael Murphy, in 2010, when he was shot in the back of his head by his business partner. Eight years later, Justin was diagnosed with cancer.
Still, Justin Wilson was rarely without a smile, loved ones say. He died peacefully on Valentine's Day 2023, surrounded by family.
"Justin truly had a love for life, he was so filled with joy," reads his obituary. "Justin was best known for his infectious laughter, excellent head of hair and his love of music."
A …
PD: North Jersey Ex-Con Made Dozens Of Threatening Calls To Police, Local School
An ex-con with a history of making threats used racial slurs in alarming calls to a New Milford school, followed by 26 similar calls to borough police, authorities charged.
The first call by Sean Michael Persons, 39, of Hackensack last week was “threatening, offensive and had racial rhetoric,” alarming school administrators, Police Capt. Kevin Van Saders said.
The following day, Persons “called the New Milford Police Department 26 times with the same harassing statements,” Van Saders said on Monday, Dec. 19. “Some were three-way calls with the New Milford Police Department and New Milford …
Prosecutor: CT Pair Nabbed In NJ Turnpike Stop With Ghost Gun, Hollow-Nose Bullets
Two unemployed Connecticut men stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike in Bergen County were packing two handguns and hollow-nosed bullets in their vehicle, authorities said.
One of the weapons was a homemade ghost gun, they said.
The passenger, Jeffrey Torres, 23, of Bristol, CT, bailed out and tried to run after Narcotic Task Force detectives stopped them on northbound Route 95 in Ridgefield, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
A Superior Court judge in Hackensack later ordered that both Torres and the driver, Angel Ramos-Ortiz, 24, of Hartford, CT, remain held in the Bergen County Ja…
Barricaded NJ Man Seized With Knives, Grenade, Young Daughter In Home
A troubled Ridgefield man was seized after barricading himself in his home with his 12-year-old daughter, authorities said.
A Bergen County Regional SWAT team joined local officers during the Maple Avenue standoff, which ended when Osvaldo Salas-Kechichian, 44, was taken into custody shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday, nearly three hours after it began, Ridgefield Deputy Chief Robert Meurer said.
His roommate had come to headquarters earlier to report that Salas-Kechichian threw his belongings outside and threatened him with a knife, Meurer said.
Salas-Kechichian, who was known to have several …