Tag:

Andrew J. Bruck

West New York Killer Brutally Beat Inmate For Latin Kings 'Hit Squad,' Indictment Charges West New York Killer Brutally Beat Inmate For Latin Kings 'Hit Squad,' Indictment Charges
West New York Killer Brutally Beat Inmate For Latin Kings 'Hit Squad,' Indictment Charges A convicted killer from West New York sent a fellow inmate to the hospital with a severe head injury as part of a deal with a prison "hit squad" run by a Latin Kings leader, authorities said. Daniel Balbuena, 29, carried out the beating in exchange for an assault on a rival of the Gran Familiar Mexicana gang by hit squad members, an indictment returned by a grand jury in Trenton alleges. Authorities last year charged Frank “Lafay” Blake of Hillside and several other current and former shank-armed inmates with an assault at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, as well as with plans to carry …
Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection
Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection UPDATE: Police were justified in shooting a fleeing motorist when he pointed a gun at them at a convergence of highways in Wayne, a state grand jury has found. Bradley G. Pullman, 48, of Queens is seen on dashcam video pointing the gun out of his Lexus sedan following a high-speed chase that ended at the “spaghetti bowl” intersection of Route 46, 23 and 80 near the Willowbrook Mall. The video was among the evidence reviewed by the grand jury, along with witness testimony, reports and autopsy results, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Grand jury reviews are mandated …
Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection
Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection UPDATE: Police were justified in shooting a fleeing motorist when he pointed a gun at them at a convergence of highways in Wayne, a state grand jury has found. Bradley G. Pullman, 48, of Queens is seen on dashcam video pointing the gun out of his Lexus sedan following a high-speed chase that ended at the “spaghetti bowl” intersection of Route 46, 23 and 80 near the Willowbrook Mall. The video was among the evidence reviewed by the grand jury, along with witness testimony, reports and autopsy results, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Grand jury reviews are mandated p…
CHILLING AUDIO: Local NJ Police Try To Convince Man To Drop Sword Before Shooting Him CHILLING AUDIO: Local NJ Police Try To Convince Man To Drop Sword Before Shooting Him
Chilling Audio: Local NJ Police Try To Convince Man To Drop Sword Before Shooting Him "Patrick, drop it," a New Jersey police officer says in a calm, steady voice, pleading several times with a man wielding a 3-foot sword to surrender. "Listen to me, I know you're going through some...," the officer says before his voice rises. "Patrick drop it! Get on the ground! Get on the ground!" he screams. "Drop the knife!" Then four shots are heard. The confrontation in Somerset County early last fall lasted barely a minute. About an hour and 20 minutes later, Patrick Chin, 43, was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. The comman…
Directors Of Fallen Officers Charity Went To Disney, Pocketed $200,000, Jersey AG Charges Directors Of Fallen Officers Charity Went To Disney, Pocketed $200,000, Jersey AG Charges
Directors Of Fallen Officers Charity Went To Disney, Pocketed $200,000, Jersey AG Charges Operators of a Jersey Shore-based charity to benefit the families of law enforcement officers killed or injured in the line of duty helped themselves instead, state authorities charged. The National Police Relief Association and several of its board members went to dinner and to Walt Disney World on the dimes of donors while directly pocketing more than $200,000, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Meanwhile, families of slain officers got a grand total of $14,000, he said. “It’s disgusting that people would raise money for fallen and injured law enforcement officers o…
Paterson Police Justified In Shooting Agitated Gunman Who Pointed Weapon At Them: Grand Jury Paterson Police Justified In Shooting Agitated Gunman Who Pointed Weapon At Them: Grand Jury
Paterson Police Justified In Shooting Agitated Gunman Who Pointed Weapon At Them: Grand Jury Paterson police were justified in shooting a gunman after he refused to drop his weapon and then raised it in a confrontation, a grand jury has found. Bystanders looked on in horror as Luan Agolli, 42, of Pequannock lifted the gun several times, refusing to drop it, before police shot and killed him as he paced the intersection of Carroll and Harrison streets on April 23, 2020. Video obtained by Daily Voice also captured the fatal confrontation. Agolli held the weapon with both hands and pointed it at the converging officers several times. "I'm giving him all these opportunities," an off…
Dramatic Bodycam Video Shows NJ Police Officer Shooting Driver To Stop Backhoe Rampage Dramatic Bodycam Video Shows NJ Police Officer Shooting Driver To Stop Backhoe Rampage
Dramatic Bodycam Video Shows NJ Police Officer Shooting Driver To Stop Backhoe Rampage Dramatic bodycam video released Thursday shows a police officer in South Jersey shooting a man to finally stop him from continuing a destructive rampage with a backhoe in a mobile home park last month that had already left a huge swath of wreckage in its wake. Joshua Gonzalez, 20, of Millville had rammed three police SUVs and an ambulance, damaged civilian vehicles -- including one with a woman inside it -- and either smashed or trampled several properties in the pre-dawn rampage in Vineland on Dec. 18, other footage shows. At one point, Gonzalez used the backhoe to flip a police vehicle o…
AG: Somerset County Man Shot By Police Came At Them With Large Knife AG: Somerset County Man Shot By Police Came At Them With Large Knife
AG: Somerset County Man Shot By Police Came At Them With Large Knife A man shot and killed by local police in Somerset County came at officers with a large knife, New Jersey's top law enforcement official said Wednesday. Joshua Mathis 19, confronted Hillsborough police who responded to a report of a man with a gun at an apartment on Corporal Langon Way shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Mathis "was holding a large knife" and "advanced toward the officers with the knife" in the apartment, Bruck said. An officer fired his service weapon, stopping Mathis, he said. Police and EMS workers rendered first aid bef…
AG: 9MM Handgun, Spent Casings Found Near Paterson Man Shot, Killed By City Detective AG: 9MM Handgun, Spent Casings Found Near Paterson Man Shot, Killed By City Detective
AG: 9MM Handgun, Spent Casings Found Near Paterson Man Shot, Killed By City Detective A Facebook video recorded by a civilian was included in recordings released Wednesday by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office as part of a required investigation into the fatal shooting last month of a Paterson man by a city police detective. A 9mm handgun was recovered -- along with nine 9mm shell casings -- near the body of Thelonious McKnight, 25, in a backyard alleyway off East Main Street shortly before 9 p.m. on Dec. 29, 2021, Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. It all happened in an instant. Storefront and city surveillance cameras shows a group of men hanging out and…
Authorities ID Ex-Con Shot, Killed After Stabbing Officer During Jersey Shore Drugstore Robbery Authorities ID Ex-Con Shot, Killed After Stabbing Officer During Jersey Shore Drugstore Robbery
Authorities ID Ex-Con Shot, Killed After Stabbing Officer During Jersey Shore Drugstore Robbery UPDATE: An ex-con who was shot and killed by police who interrupted a robbery at a Keansburg drug store had stabbed an officer with a large knife and threatened a pharmacy worker, New Jersey's top law enforcer said Tuesday. James Sutton, 55, of Keansburg, was holding up the Keansburg Pharmacy in Keansburg Plaza on Main Street when officers responding to multiple 911 calls arrived shortly before 3:30 p.m. last Thursday, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Sutton "was holding a large knife and threatening to harm an employee of the pharmacy" and then stabbed an …
Missing Underage NJ Girl Rescued From Sex Trafficking Trio Missing Underage NJ Girl Rescued From Sex Trafficking Trio
Missing Underage NJ Girl Rescued From Sex Trafficking Trio An underage girl who'd been reported missing was rescued from a trio of South Jersey human traffickers who were prostituting her, authorities said. Marquise Ogawa, 28, Chyaire Lee, 26, and Jazmin Scott, 21, all of Lawnside, were being held in the Camden County Correctional Facility in Camden, charged with various child prostitution, trafficking and endangerment counts. The victim was reported missing out of Voorhees in late October of last year, Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck and New Jersey State Police Supt. Col. Patrick J. Callahan said in a joint release Tuesday. Detectives fro…
AG: Somerset County Man Shot, Killed In Confrontation With Local Police AG: Somerset County Man Shot, Killed In Confrontation With Local Police
AG: Somerset County Man Shot, Killed In Confrontation With Local Police A man was shot and killed in a confrontation with local police in Somerset County over the weekend, state authorities said Monday. Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck confirmed the shooting, which he said occurred shortly before 6:30 p.m. Sunday inside an apartment on Corporal Langon Way in Hillsborough. No one else was injured, he said. Township police were responding to a 911 call at the residence when the confrontation occurred, the attorney general said. "Officers and emergency medical personnel rendered first aid to the man, and he was pronounced deceased at the scene …
Fatal Police Shooting Reported In South Jersey Fatal Police Shooting Reported In South Jersey
Fatal Police Shooting Reported In South Jersey A man was shot and killed in a confrontation with police in Millville, authorities confirmed Wednesday. Officers responding to a 911 call for an emergency at a Burns Road home encountered the man outside the Cumberland County house, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Bruck continued: "During the encounter, one officer discharged his service weapon, fatally wounding the man. Officers and emergency medical personnel rendered first aid to the man, and he was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at 10:56 p.m." The man's identity was t…
Services Scheduled For Paterson Man Shot, Killed By Detective Services Scheduled For Paterson Man Shot, Killed By Detective
Services Scheduled For Paterson Man Shot, Killed By Detective Services are scheduled this coming Saturday for a Paterson man who was shot and killed last week in a confrontation with city police detectives. Witnesses insist that Thelonious “RaRa” McKnight, 25, was gunned down in cold blood last Wednesday night after detectives chased him down an alley in a mixed-use neighborhood of multi-family homes and businesses near the Passaic River New Jersey's top law enforcer, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck, said that a 9mm handgun was found near McKnight's body. Investigators had made an arrest there hours earlier and were looking fo…
Services Scheduled For Paterson Man Shot, Killed By Detective Services Scheduled For Paterson Man Shot, Killed By Detective
Services Scheduled For Paterson Man Shot, Killed By Detective Services are scheduled this coming Saturday for a Paterson man who was shot and killed in a confrontation with city police detectives. Witnesses insist that Thelonious “RaRa” McKnight, 25, was gunned down in cold blood last Wednesday night after detectives chased him down an alley in a mixed-use neighborhood of multi-family homes and businesses near the Passaic River New Jersey's top law enforcer, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck, said that a 9mm handgun was found near McKnight's body. Investigators had made an arrest there hours earlier and were looking for another …
Authorities: Long Island Couple In $1 Million Securities Scam Targeted Elderly NJ Investors Authorities: Long Island Couple In $1 Million Securities Scam Targeted Elderly NJ Investors
Authorities: Long Island Couple In $1 Million Securities Scam Targeted Elderly NJ Investors Several New Jersey seniors were scammed out of more than $1 million combined by a Long Island couple, Garden State authorities have charged. Salvatore Magaraci, 63, and A. Kirsten Gallardo, 60, of Huntington, NY specifically targeted elderly victims to pitch unregistered securities to for a crooked – and now defunct -- company, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. The Woodbridge Group of Companies purported to be a commercial lender that made hard-money loans secured by mortgages on commercial property. It ended up being ordered to pay $1 billion -- and saw its foun…
Man, 20, Shot By Police In NJ Backhoe Rampage ID'd Man, 20, Shot By Police In NJ Backhoe Rampage ID'd
Man, 20, Shot By Police In NJ Backhoe Rampage ID'd Authorities on Wednesday identified a rampaging man who was shot and killed by a police officer in South Jersey after he damaged two police vehicles, an ambulance and an occupied civilian sedan with a hijacked backhoe. Joshua Gonzalez, 20, of Millville, kept police at bay for nearly a half-hour during the rampage in Vineland, which began around 5 a.m. Dec. 18, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Video shows one police vehicle being smashed and another being knocked onto its side. An ambulance was toppled, and a sedan was repeatedly struck with a female driver inside. …
NJ Man Was Using Hijacked Backhoe To Flip Patrol Cars Before He Was Killed By Police (VIDEO) NJ Man Was Using Hijacked Backhoe To Flip Patrol Cars Before He Was Killed By Police (VIDEO)
NJ Man Was Using Hijacked Backhoe To Flip Patrol Cars Before He Was Killed By Police (Video) A New Jersey man shot and killed by police was "bent on destruction" when he hijacked a backhoe and then flipped it over police cars and other vehicles Saturday, the New Jersey State Police PBA confirmed. Vineland resident Aida Morales was woken up by loud noises outside when she saw the backhoe flipping cars over around 5 a.m. at the Penn Lincoln Mobile Home Park, she said in an interview with Fox News. Posted by NJ State PBA on Sunday, December 19, 2021 Morales saw the backhoe flip an ambulance, and then she started recording, she told reporters. "It looked like something out of a mo…
6 Thieves Targeted Luxury Cars, Led Police Pursuits Across NJ: AG Charges In Indictment 6 Thieves Targeted Luxury Cars, Led Police Pursuits Across NJ: AG Charges In Indictment
6 Thieves Targeted Luxury Cars, Led Police Pursuits Across NJ: AG Charges In Indictment Six members of a luxury car theft ring that targeted dealerships and high-end cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars are named in an indictment filed by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.  The defendants from Newark, East Orange and Blackwood arrested in "Operation Dealer No Deal" targeted dealerships in Essex, Hudson, Bergen, and Union and took key fobs to steal the luxury vehicles off the lots, Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck today said. The defendants (listed below) were charged in connection with thefts of 22 vehicles valued at over $787,000 …
VIDEO: Driver From Poconos Shot By NJ Troopers After He Shoots Dog VIDEO: Driver From Poconos Shot By NJ Troopers After He Shoots Dog
Video: Driver From Poconos Shot By NJ Troopers After He Shoots Dog A country music song plays on the car stereo as a Pennsylvania driver who'd just crashed his car into a ditch off Route 80 shoots his dog and is then shot and killed by New Jersey State Police troopers, video released Monday shows. Dashboard and body cameras captured clear and disturbing video of the 1:30 a.m. Nov. 7 encounter on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. The collection of videos released by state Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck show the two troopers approaching the disabled vehicle from either side on Starlite Hill Road in the Columbia section of Knowlton in Warren Count…
Obsession Produces One Year Without Parole For NJSP Trooper Who Stalked Female Driver Obsession Produces One Year Without Parole For NJSP Trooper Who Stalked Female Driver
Obsession Produces One Year Without Parole For Njsp Trooper Who Stalked Female Driver A New Jersey state trooper is headed to prison for a plea-bargained 12 months without parole for stalking a female driver while on duty and disabling his dashcam to cover it up. Trooper Michael Patterson, 30, of Bayonne also forfeited his job -- and any future public employment in New Jersey -- as part of a deal in which he pleaded guilty this summer to tampering with public records. Patterson admitted pulling the victim over twice and then following her home to hit on her in January 2020, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Patterson’s behavior “stands in stark contr…
HIGHWAY HORROR: Two Children Killed When Wrong-Way Vehicle Slams Into Police Car In NJ HIGHWAY HORROR: Two Children Killed When Wrong-Way Vehicle Slams Into Police Car In NJ
Highway Horror: Two Children Killed When Wrong-Way Vehicle Slams Into Police Car In NJ Two children were killed when a wrong-way vehicle collided with a police car at a Route 1 intersection in Middlesex County late on Thanksgiving Day, authorities confirmed. The driver of the civilian vehicle slammed into an Old Bridge Township police cruiser containing two officers and a civilian at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 130 in North Brunswick shortly after 11:30 p.m., Acting New Jersey Attorney Andrew J. Bruck said Friday. "Both children in the civilian vehicle died from injuries sustained in the crash," Bruck said. "Both officers and the civilian within the police vehicle s…
NJ Co-Leads Nationwide Consumer Protection Probe Into Whether Instagram Is Putting Kids At Risk NJ Co-Leads Nationwide Consumer Protection Probe Into Whether Instagram Is Putting Kids At Risk
NJ Co-Leads Nationwide Consumer Protection Probe Into Whether Instagram Is Putting Kids At Risk New Jersey is co-leading a nationwide investigation into whether Instagram is violating state consumer protection laws and putting children, teenagers and young adults at risk, Acting State Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck announced Thursday. "Emerging research" suggests a connection between increased time spent online by young people and "depression, anxiety, isolation, body image issues, cyber-bullying, eating disorders, and sleeplessness," among other symptoms, said Bruck (photo above). Research by Meta Platforms Inc. -- the parent company of both Instagram and Facebook -- shows fou…
Grand Jury: Officers Justified Killing Pair In 2019 Jersey City Firefight Grand Jury: Officers Justified Killing Pair In 2019 Jersey City Firefight
Grand Jury: Officers Justified Killing Pair In 2019 Jersey City Firefight Police were justified in shooting a couple who killed a fellow officer and three civilians in Jersey City, authorities on Wednesday said a state grand jury has found. Some would question the need for such a review given the circumstances of the fateful Dec. 10, 2019 firefight at a kosher grocery store. The answer: It’s required under New Jersey law and state attorney general’s guidelines. Authorities had no choice. David Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, had slain Jersey City Police Officer Joseph Seals in a nearby cemetery. They then wounded another officer before killing Mindy Fere…
NJ, PA Trio Trafficked Dozens Of 'Ghost Guns,' Indictment Charges NJ, PA Trio Trafficked Dozens Of 'Ghost Guns,' Indictment Charges
NJ, PA Trio Trafficked Dozens Of 'Ghost Guns,' Indictment Charges Two Philadelphia men and one from Camden trafficked no fewer than two dozen untraceable “ghost guns” from Pennsylvania into New Jersey, a grand jury indictment alleges. Even more guns, as well as parts, large-capacity magazine and ammo, were seized during the investigation, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said Tuesday. According to the indictment returned in Trenton, Eduardo T. Lazo Jr., 26, of Camden, organized the operation and sold the illegal guns in Camden. Juan Enrique Fernandez, 29, and Ericknell Rivera-Mercado, 31, both of Philadelphia, are accused of bringing th…
AG: NJ Police Officer Busted For Child Porn AG: NJ Police Officer Busted For Child Porn
AG: NJ Police Officer Busted For Child Porn A Lawrence Township police officer was busted on child porn charges, authorities announced Thursday. Officer Shane Hickey, 29, who lives in the Mercer County town where he works, was issued a summons charging him with possession of child sexual abuse materials, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. State Police charged Hickey with emailing himself 45 child porn files on a cellphone following an investigation by the NJSP Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit. Hickey has been suspended from the department pending the outcome of the case, Bruck said.
Grand Jury: No Reason To Charge Officer Whose SUV Struck, Killed Boy, 12, On Rainy Route 208 Grand Jury: No Reason To Charge Officer Whose SUV Struck, Killed Boy, 12, On Rainy Route 208
Grand Jury: No Reason To Charge Officer Whose SUV Struck, Killed Boy, 12, On Rainy Route 208 Following what was an unimaginable tragedy for all involved, a grand jury found no cause to pursue charges against a Bergen County sheriff's officer who struck and killed a 12-year-old boy who'd run into his path of his SUV on a dark and rainy highway, authorities announced Wednesday. Christian Tawadros was with three other juveniles who hopped the divider and dashed across Route 208 just north of Fair Lawn Avenue in Fair Lawn on April 14, 2019. Christian, who was in a special education program at the Thomas Jefferson Middle School, had joined his 7th-grade brother and two friends to go out…
9 Charged With Stealing $1.3M Worth of Vehicles In NJ, NY, PA, CT, MA, Shipping Them Overseas 9 Charged With Stealing $1.3M Worth of Vehicles In NJ, NY, PA, CT, MA, Shipping Them Overseas
9 Charged With Stealing $1.3M Worth of Vehicles In NJ, NY, PA, CT, MA, Shipping Them Overseas An international ring of identity thieves stole $1.3 million worth of vehicles and watercraft from dealerships in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts using fraudulently obtained digital driver's licenses, authorities charged. Nine defendants used the stolen identities of U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico -- along with fake Puerto Rico driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, debit cards and birth certificates -- to obtain the licenses from motor vehicle agencies in Jersey City and North Bergen, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. They used thos…
AG: Driver Shoots Dog After Crash, Shot By NJ State Police Off Route 80 Near Delaware River AG: Driver Shoots Dog After Crash, Shot By NJ State Police Off Route 80 Near Delaware River
AG: Driver Shoots Dog After Crash, Shot By NJ State Police Off Route 80 Near Delaware River A driver who crashed a vehicle into a ditch off Route 80 on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River was shot and killed by state troopers after he fired a weapon from inside, authorities said. The State Police troopers approached the vehicle on Starlite Hill Road in the Columbia section of the Warren County town of Knowlton while responding to an accident call shortly after 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Inside it were the driver and a dog, he said. The troopers were "attempting to communicate with the driver" when he "fired a weapon from with…
Suspect Shoots Detective, Dies In Exchange Of Gunfire After Nine-Hour Jersey Shore Standoff Suspect Shoots Detective, Dies In Exchange Of Gunfire After Nine-Hour Jersey Shore Standoff
Suspect Shoots Detective, Dies In Exchange Of Gunfire After Nine-Hour Jersey Shore Standoff UPDATE: An out-of-state man who shot and wounded a detective trying to serve a warrant and then remained holed up for nearly nine hours in a Long Branch apartment was gunned down when he came out firing, authorities said. The wounded Monmouth County prosecutor's detective was working a homicide investigation with colleagues when they went to 274 Chelsea Avenue with the warrant Friday afternoon, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. The man, whose identity was temporarily being withheld, moved into a room of the apartment and then fired as they followed him, hitting the de…
Paterson PD: Detectives Nab Dealer Slinging On One Of City's Deadliest Corners Paterson PD: Detectives Nab Dealer Slinging On One Of City's Deadliest Corners
Paterson PD: Detectives Nab Dealer Slinging On One Of City's Deadliest Corners Detectives seized a Paterson man after watching him sell crack on one of the Silk City's deadliest drug corners, authorities said. City detectives moved in after seeing Tony Williams, 23, sling bags of crack at Godwin Avenue and Summer Street, Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. They seized 147 bags of the drug and $179 in proceeds, he said. Several victims have been shot dead or wounded -- including four in the past seven months -- in the neighborhood. The violent 42-50 street gang have controlled the area amid frequent gunfire. Reputed ringleader Marvin Goodman was wounded …