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48°
Sunday, apr 28
Tag:
Union County, NJ
Police & Fire
Elizabeth Driver Charged In Central Jersey Crash That Killed Passenger
A 26-year-old driver from Union County has been charged with vehicular homicide in a Sayreville crash that killed one of his passengers, authorities said. Brandon Witkowski, of Elizabeth, was charged Thursday, April 18, in the Route 35 crash that killed Zion Jackson, 24, of Keansburg, last fall, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone. On Oct. 28, 2023, at 5 a.m., authorities responded to Route 35 South in the vicinity of Fred’s Bait and Tackle Shop, following the report of a fatal crash. Police found a 2009 Acura TL that had rolled over onto two parked vehic…
Police & Fire
Man Who Admitted To Selling Cocaine In Union, Ocean Counties Sentenced: Prosecutors
A Kenilworth man will spend several years in prison after admitting to selling cocaine throughout Ocean and Union counties, authorities said. Pedro Reyes-Sevilla, 32, was sentenced on Friday, Apr. 19 to 10 years in prison, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced in a news release. He pleaded guilty on Friday, Feb. 16 to possession of five ounces or more of cocaine with intent to distribute. Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Lakewood police officers, and investigators from Union and Ocean counties conducted a two-week-long investigation in January…
Police & Fire
NJ Teacher Who Posed As Woman To Lure 70 Boys Into Sending Him Nudes Gets 17½ Years: Feds
UPDATE: It's a measure of how despicably and disgustingly a former Union County grade-school teacher and youth soccer coach from Morristown abused dozens of boys he'd met online that a plea bargain got him "only" 17½ years in federal prison. Steven Brooks, 37, must serve at least 85% of the negotiated sentence handed down in federal court in Newark on Thursday, April 18, for posing as a woman to lure at least 70 underage boys into sending him nude photos and videos. That means he'll be in his early 50s before he'll be eligible to experience freedom again. FBI agents who investigated Brooks…
News
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…
News
JCP&L Will Trim Trees Along 3,400 Miles Of Power Lines To Reduce Outages
Jersey Central Power & Light is planning to trim trees to protect more than 3,400 miles of power lines across the Garden State, officials said. JCP&L will clear trees as part of a $32.5 million plan to prevent power outages during severe weather, the company said in a news release on Wednesday, Apr. 10. It's the first part of an annual $1.5 million increase in tree-trimming costs as part of a settlement with the state Board of Public Utilities. JCP&L also said it will spend $2.5 million more in each of the next five years to expand trimming zones along 18 high-priority circ…
Police & Fire
Notorious NJ Consultant Used COVID Rules To File Fake Petitions For Partner, Indictment Charges
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A controversial New Jersey political consultant was indicted by a state grand jury for filing nearly 2,000 bogus petitions in what authorities called a transparent attempt at getting his life partner on the Democratic primary ballot for governor. James Devine, 62, of Lambertville, initially received a summons last May after state authorities said he filed 1,948 fraudulent petitions with the Secretary of State’s office to get Lisa McCormick on the ballot for the June 2021 primary. Grand jurors in Trenton, in turn, returned an indictment charging Devine with offenses concerning nomin…
Police & Fire
Drug Dealer Admits To Selling Cocaine In Union, Ocean Counties: Prosecutors
A Kenilworth man admitted to selling cocaine throughout Ocean and Union counties, authorities said. Pedro Reyes-Sevilla, 32, pleaded guilty on Friday, Feb. 16 to possession of five ounces or more of cocaine with intent to distribute. Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced the guilty plea in a news release on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Lakewood police officers, and investigators from Union and Ocean counties conducted a two-week-long investigation in January 2021. Investigators said Reyes-Sevilla was distributing cocaine throughout Ocean Co…
Police & Fire
Wanted Truck Rams Police Vehicle In 50-Mile Turnpike Pursuit That Ended In Crash: Cops
A fugitive from Delaware took New Jersey State Police on a wild chase from Mount Holly more than 50 miles to Elizabeth before crashing his truck, authorities said. On Thursday, Feb. 8, at approximately 12:20 p.m., troopers spotted a white Penske trunk going north on the New Jersey Turnpike in the area of milepost 35 in Mount Laurel Township, according to State Police Detective I Jeffrey Lebron. ALSO SEE: New Footage Shows Driver Flipping Box Truck After 50-Mile NJ Turnpike Pursuit The vehicle, being operated by 21-year-old Joel Espinal, of New York, NY, had been wanted by Delaware Sta…
Police & Fire
Gotcha
! NJ Duo Charged With Beating Gas Station Attendants In Armed Tri-County Robbery Spree
Two men wanted for beating attendants during a two-day spree of quick-stop armed gas station robberies in three New Jersey counties were captured by federal agents, authorities said. Ex-con Ahmad Singletary, 24, and Joseph Young, 26, both of Newark, committed three of the robberies last Sept. 5, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Four more holdups -- also in a single day -- followed exactly a week later, the U.S. attorney said. Singletary "threatened, assaulted, and struck victims in the head" with a Ruger 9 mm P95 handgun, injuring all of them, a complaint filed by the ATF says. Th…
Weather
Snow Showers Could Close Out 2023 In Some Parts Of NJ, Mostly Dry Elsewhere: NWS
It won't be white but there will be flurries. New Year's Eve could come with snow (just a dusting of it) in parts of New Jersey, the National Weather Service says. We're gonna actually see our local star for a fair amount of today, which is something we haven't seen much of for the... Posted by US National Weather Service Philadelphia/Mount Holly on Friday, December 29, 2023 The week will close out with sunny skies and temps near 50 on Friday, Dec. 29, according to the NWS. Temperatures will drop to around 45 on Saturday, Dec. 30, and slightly lower Sunday, Dec. 31. Sunday evening…
News
Winners
! North Jersey Lotto Players Strike It Rich
It was a lucky Tuesday, Nov. 28 for two Mega Millions players in North Jersey. Two tickets, one sold in Union County and another sold in Bergen County, matched four of the five winning numbers plus the gold Mega Ball, winning $10,000. The ticket sold in Bergen County was bought with a Megaplier, increasing the prize to $30,000. Only 12 lottery players in the country took home $10,000. The tickets were sold at A & S Discount Liquors in Linden and Rocklin's in Teaneck. The winning numbers were 27, 37, 42, 59, 61 and the gold Mega Ball was 11.
Police & Fire
Matricide
: NJ Woman Fatally Stabbed Mother, Jury Finds
A 26-year-old New Jersey woman was found guilty of fatally stabbing her mother on Friday, Nov. 3, authorities said. Malika Jones, of Rahway, was convicted of aggravated manslaughter for the incident, which occurred in February 2020, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel and Rahway Police Director Nicholas Breiner said. At 3 p.m. on February 16, the Rahway Police Department responded to 100 East Albert Street and found Inell Jones, 58, fatally stabbed at the scene, authorities said. Malika was immediately taken into custody, authorities said. Jones was a former Barnard student who had …
Police & Fire
Feds: Digital Fingerprints Lead NJ Agents To Convicted Sex Offender's Child Porn Collection
Federal agents working a child porn investigation traced digital fingerprints to a convicted sex offender living in Union County who was downloading more horrifying illegal images when they came busting in, authorities said. Matthew T. Williams, 43, was seized during a raid of his Westfield apartment on Wednesday, Nov. 1. Homeland Security Investigations agents from Newark reported more than 40 child sexual abuse videos found on a drive attached to Williams's computer that was pulling more from the Internet when they arrived. Williams was living in New York State when he was previously con…
Police & Fire
Are You Ready To React In Crisis? These Port Authority Citizens Police Academy Participants Are
Not everyone is prepared to react in a moment of crisis, which Samantha Perez-Gora said made it more than worthwhile to participate in the Port Authority Citizens Police Academy. The second annual PAPD citizens academy included presentations on the department's history, duties and functions -- highlighting, among other things, de-escalation techniques, counterterrorism measures and emergency medical response. Participants also got behind the wheel of the patrol vehicle driver simulator. Four sessions were held for 28 adult residents of New York and New Jersey. PAPD The academy is "des…
Police & Fire
Teen Girl Found At High School After Hours-Long Search Of Watchung Reservation
A 14-year-old girl was found after an hours-long search across Union County. Sources tell Daily Voice that Sophia Hetrick was found at Watchung Hills High School, nearly seven miles from where she went missing, sometime around 11 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22. The teen, who has autism, went missing around 3 p.m. while hiking with her family in the Loop Recreation area of Watchung Reservation, Union County officials said. A large-scale search was carried out, bringing a dive team and multiple agencies to the reservation. EMS 77 was sent to the Watchung Reservation in Mountainside to provide r…
Police & Fire
3-Alarm Fire Ravages NJ Mirror, Glass Business
A New Jersey mirror and glass company was destroyed by a fire overnight. The Kenilworth Fire Department and Rescue Squad responded to New Jersey Mirror and Glass on the 700 block of Kenilworth Boulevard around 3:25 a.m., the rescue department said. 🚨 WHILE YOU SLEPT: 🚨 Early this morning around 0326, the Kenilworth Fire Department and Rescue Squad was dispatched to a... Posted by Kenilworth, NJ Fire Dept. and Rescue Squad on Saturday, October 7, 2023 Smoke and flames were shooting out of the building, and a second alarm was called. Fire departments responded for mutual aid and firefigh…
Police & Fire
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…
Police & Fire
Woman Fatally Struck By NJ Transit Train
A woman was struck and killed by an NJ Transit train this weekend in Union County, officials said. The unidentified woman was near the North Elizabeth station when she was struck by train No. 7844 at approximately 4 p.m., a spokesperson for NJ Transit said. The train had left Trenton just before 3 p.m. and was scheduled to arrive at NY Penn Station that evening. None of the passengers or crew members were injured. New Jersey Transit Police are leading the investigation.
Police & Fire
Gotcha
! NJ Driver Busted A Second Time For Using Plate-Flipping Gizmo At GWB Tolls (
Video
)
Port Authority police busted a New Jersey driver with a license plate flipper that they said he used to avoid the tolls at the George Washington Bridge – and it wasn’t the first time. The remote-controlled after-market electronic device is an ingenious invention (see video below). It flips the vehicle’s genuine license plate over to reveal a second plate when passing toll scanners. Authority police first caught Adam Jimenez, 22, using it in February, PANYNJ Spokesperson Lenis Valens said The Union County resident was charged with various offenses and later released, then was taken into c…
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. …
Weather
22,000+ NJ Residents Without Power, Severe Thunderstorm Watch Remains In Effect
Thousands of New Jersey residents were without power after a round of powerful afternoon storms swept through the region. The National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for much of the region through 11 p.m., and that comes after a round of quarter-sized hail and gusty winds. As of 5:25 p.m., the following areas were without power: JCP&L Essex County: 7,005 customers (most in Millburn [3.2K], Livingston [2.3K]) Monmouth County: 2,563 (most in Howell [1.9K]) Morris County: 11,300 (most in Boonton [1.6K], East Hanover [2.2K], Florham Park [1.2K], Montville [3…
Police & Fire
Burglar With Hit List Of Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, DE Gets 50 Months In Federal Prison
UPDATE: A member of a second-story crew who targeted Asian and Asian-American homeowners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware for burglaries was sentenced to a plea-bargained four years and two months in federal prison, authorities said. Randi Barr, 42, of Union County, NJ, was part of a group that worked from a hit list of dozens of homes based on “stereotype and opportunity,” federal authorities said. Local, state and federal law enforcement authorities who teamed up to smash the ring found notes in the defendants’ cars that had the home addresses of individuals of Asian des…
Weather
Thousand Of NJ Residents Without Power Hours After Storm
A storm that swept through much of the region left thousands without power Sunday, Aug. 13. Winds left a path of destruction from Berks County, PA, northeastward into parts of northern New Jersey Saturday, Aug. 12, the National Weather Service said. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect Saturday until around midnight. The Summit Fire Department said it received more than 40 calls as of 8 a.m. Sunday, in sharing a photo of an uprooted and fallen tree (above). 🚧 There are power lines on the ground on Spring Ridge Dr, between Oak Ridge Rd and Runnymeade Rd. Please avoid this... Post…
Police & Fire
Kosher Bergen Chef Arrested At JFK Airport Days After Sex Assault Charges Dismissed: Officials
Just days after a judge dismissed charges against him, Bergen County kosher chef Shalom "Sal" Yehudiel was arrested again on similar, new ones, authorities said. Shalom "Sal" Yehudiel, 41, was arrested at Terminal One of JFK Airport on Tuesday, Aug. 8, Port Authority Spokesperson Lenis Valens said. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol notified PAPD that they had a fugitive in custody with a warrant out in New Jersey, Valens said. Yehudiel was charged with one count of second-degree sexual assault and one count of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, announced Union…
Police & Fire
Police ID Bicyclist, 44, Struck, Killed In Central Jersey Crash
Police have identified a 44-year-old bicyclist from Union County killed in a weekend crash in Middlesex Borough, authorities said. Darwin O. Mestanza Rivera, of Scotch Plains, died in the crash at 6:57 a.m. on Saturday, July 29, Middlesex Borough Police Chief Matthew P. Geist said. Mestanza Rivera was struck from behind by a Jeep Patrol as he rode west on South Avenue near the corner of Howard Street, Geist said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, he said. The driver of the Jeep Patriot declined medical attention. Charges are possible but had not been filed, a polic…
Business
Korean Fried Chicken Franchise Plots North Jersey Expansion
Fans of Korean fried chicken in North Jersey will be 매우 흥분 by this news. Bonchon, a Korean fried chicken franchise, announced a planned expansion in Hudson, Union and Morris counties. The franchisee, Seung Kim, said he is currently searching for specific sites for the fried chicken joints and an opening date has not been announced. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bonchon Chicken (@bonchonchicken) Bonchon has more than 122 locations in the United States, including spots in Midland Park, Hackensack, Fort Lee, Lodi, Nutley, Parsip…
News
Winners
: 3 Mega Millions Lottery Tickets Worth $10K Each Sold In North Jersey
Three winning Mega Millions tickets each worth $10,000 were sold in North Jersey. The third-tier prizewinning tickets from the Friday, July 28 drawing matched four of the five white balls and the Gold Mega Ball drawn winning the $10,000 prize. Those tickets were sold at: Morris County: Garden State News, 43 Main St., Madison Passaic County: Jackpocket, 355 Warwick Tpke., Hewitt Union County: Quick Chek #23, 186 Westfield Ave., Clark The winning numbers for the Friday, July 28, drawing were: 05, 10, 28, 52 and 63. The Gold Mega Ball was 18, and the Megaplier Multiplier was 05. The Me…
News
NY Dealer Gets 11 Years, No Parole, For Moving Fentanyl, Meth, Coke By The Pound Into NJ
A dealer who admitted flooding four North Jersey counties with massive quantities of fentanyl, meth and coke is headed to federal prison for more than a decade. Juan Carlos Merced Moreno, 45, of Manhattan must serve out just about all of his plea-bargained 11-year sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Moreno and his partners operated a fentanyl mill in Washington Heights that supplied traffickers in New Jersey with at least 25,000 pills that were distributed throughout the Garden State, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Authorities disco…
Police & Fire
Man, 29, Killed By NJ Transit Train
A 29-year-old Union County man was struck and killed by an NJ Transit train earlier this week in Essex County, officials said. Evan Krupp was struck by the Morris & Essex Line train near the Summit station around 1:20 p.m. Monday, July 24, NJ Transit spokesman Kyalo Mulumba said. The train had left Hackettstown just before noon and was set to arrive in Hoboken at 2 p.m., Mulumba said. No injuries were reported to the 45 passengers. The crash suspended service for several hours.
News
$1.5M Grant Will Transform Abandoned Railroad Into Hiking, Biking Trail In North Jersey
A long-abandoned railroad track that runs through Union County will soon be transformed into a hiking and biking trail, thanks to a $1.5 federal grant. Rahway Valley Railroad tracks that run through Roselle Park and Kenilwroth are slated to become multi-use tracks designed for pedestrians and bicyclists, the New Jersey Department of Transportation said. The trails will connect communities, businesses, shopping and create recreational opportunities. The completion of the project is expected to "significantly" improve modes of transportation in Union County, specifically as it …
Police & Fire
Days-Long Argument Culminates In Summit Shooting: Police
A days-long argument ended in a shooting this weekend in one Union County town, authorities said. Jaime Tapia-Lobos, 33, of Irvington, had been arguing with his 35-year-old Vauxhall victim before the incident Saturday morning, June 24 in Summit, local police said. Tapia-Lobos and two other men were standing on the sidewalk around 8:35 a.m., at 130 Park Ave., in Summit when the victim drove up, got out of his vehicle, and approached the group, authorities said. Authorities in a Union County town are on the hunt for a shooting suspect who left one victim wounded.Summit PD "The suspect a…
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