Repeat Package Pirate From NY Nabbed By Rutherford PD In FedEx Thefts Repeat Package Pirate From NY Nabbed By Rutherford PD In FedEx Thefts
Repeat Package Pirate From NY Nabbed By Rutherford PD In FedEx Thefts A habitual offender with an apparent affinity for FedEx packages was identified and charged by Rutherford police who caught him in the act, authorities said. A Rutherford police officer responding to a call of a FedEx box burglary on May 8 spotted Thomas Mensah trying to crack open another one, Police Chief John Russo said. Mensah, 25, of Flushing, NY fled in a vehicle with stolen license plates, the chief said. That didn't deter Detective Russell Snyder, who gathered and reviewed area surveillance video and pulled a fingerprint off a package that Russo said Mensah handled but didn't ake. …
UPDATE: Grand Jurors Clear Montclair Officer In Pursuit That Killed Driver, Passenger UPDATE: Grand Jurors Clear Montclair Officer In Pursuit That Killed Driver, Passenger
Update: Grand Jurors Clear Montclair Officer In Pursuit That Killed Driver, Passenger A Montclair police officer did his job properly before a robbery suspect he was pursuing was involved in a crash that killed him and a passenger, a grand jury has found. Officer Michael Kupchak had activated the overhead emergency lights on his marked patrol cruiser in an attempt to stop a vehicle driven by Gregory Dukes on May 10, 2022. In another police vehicle behind him was Officer Brandon Taylor. Video released last year by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin shows Dukes at first stopping the four-door silver Hyundai on Maple Avenue while investigating a robbery. The …
Plainfield High School Student Stabbed: School Officials Plainfield High School Student Stabbed: School Officials
Plainfield High School Student Stabbed: School Officials A Plainfield High School student was stabbed at a local park on Tuesday, Sept. 27, school officials said. The stabbing occurred following an altercation and the injured student was transported to a nearby hospital. School officials said Plainfield Police are investigating the incident and are offering support and counseling services to students. The following day, an armed weapon was dropped into a dumpster by an unidentified individual at Cedarwood K-8 Center at 2:50 p.m., school officials said. The Plainfield Police Department, school Division of Safety and administrators responded "We w…
Member Of Notorious Jersey City Street Gang Gets 7½ Years, No Parole, In Stabbing Member Of Notorious Jersey City Street Gang Gets 7½ Years, No Parole, In Stabbing
Member Of Notorious Jersey City Street Gang Gets 7½ Years, No Parole, In Stabbing UPDATE: A member of a ruthless Jersey City street gang must spend the next 7½ years in federal prison for stabbing a rival during an ambush. Sheldon “Thottie” Mays, 23, was among eight members of a street gang at the Curries Woods public housing complex in Greenville who rolled up on the victim in two vehicles, seeking revenge for a previous incident, as he walked down a city street in August 2020. The Tay Tay Shrimp Gang members parked in the middle of the street, hopped out and descended on the victim. They were punching and kicking him, authorities said, when Mays stabbed him, infli…
Feds: Mailbox ‘Fisher’ Who Plagued Bergen, Morris, Hudson Gets 27 Months Without Parole Feds: Mailbox ‘Fisher’ Who Plagued Bergen, Morris, Hudson Gets 27 Months Without Parole
Feds: Mailbox ‘Fisher’ Who Plagued Bergen, Morris, Hudson Gets 27 Months Without Parole UPDATE: A member of a crew that fished more than $100,000 worth of checks from mailboxes in Bergen, Hudson and Morris counties is headed to federal prison for more than two years. Brando Mancebopujols, 24, will have to serve just about all of the plea-bargained 27-month sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Mancebopujols, formerly of Paterson, admitted that he and his associates pocketed the money by depositing the checks into bank accounts that they controlled, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. As many as 40 postal boxes had been broken into…
Bayonne Burglar Busted With $950 E-Bike: Police Bayonne Burglar Busted With $950 E-Bike: Police
Bayonne Burglar Busted With $950 E-Bike: Police James Bostic, 42-year-old Bayonne man was arrested and charged on Wednesday, Sept. 27 with multiple burglaries this month, police said. On Tuesday, Sept. 19, police responded to 7th Street and Humphrey Avenue and found a parked minivan with a broken window and an open door, officers said. On Monday, Sept. 25, a person reported to police that their $950 e-bike was stolen from 23rd Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard, officers said.  When police went to arrest Bostic, they found the stolen e-bike at his residence, officers said. While arresting Bostic, police found he was wanted on eigh…
Sussex County Police Officer Stole $1.2K Item While On Duty: Prosecutor Sussex County Police Officer Stole $1.2K Item While On Duty: Prosecutor
Sussex County Police Officer Stole $1.2K Item While On Duty: Prosecutor A police officer in Sussex County has been charged in an on-duty theft, authorities said. Konstantinos Protogeropoulos, 26, a Hardyston police officer, stole a "certain movable property valued at $1,225," Acting Sussex County Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart said. Taggart did not say what the item was, but that he knowingly deprived that person thereof on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Protogeropoulos was charged with third-degree theft and second-degree official misconduct, Taggart said on Wednesday, Sept. 27.
GOTCHA! NJ Driver Busted A Second Time For Using Plate-Flipping Gizmo At GWB Tolls (VIDEO) GOTCHA! NJ Driver Busted A Second Time For Using Plate-Flipping Gizmo At GWB Tolls (VIDEO)
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 cu…
Man Who Went On 11-Day Burglary Spree Resists Arrest In Somerset County: Prosecutor Man Who Went On 11-Day Burglary Spree Resists Arrest In Somerset County: Prosecutor
Man Who Went On 11-Day Burglary Spree Resists Arrest In Somerset County: Prosecutor A 53-year-old man has been arrested in a string of burglaries across one Central Jersey town. Brian F. Cicerelle, of South Bound Brook, burglarized cars in the early-morning hours between Aug. 29 and Sept. 9, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. An investigation identified Cicerelle as the suspect. Around 3:10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, a South Bound Brook officer made contact with Cicerelle following a motor vehicle stop as a result of this investigation. Cicerelle was told that he was under arrest and resisted the officers by refusing to comply with the arrest, McDona…
Garfield Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Underage Teen Garfield Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Underage Teen
Garfield Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Underage Teen An unemployed 32-year-old Garfield man sexually assaulted an underage teen, investigators charged. Jarrell M. Taver Hudson is charged with a single offense against the child, who Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said was between 13 and 14 at the time. Detectives arrested Hudson on Wednesday following an investigation that began with a tip two months ago from the state Division of Child Protection & Permanency, the prosecutor said on Thursday, Sept. 27. Hudson -- who lives on River Drive near the Wall Street Bridge -- remained held in the Bergen County Jail pending a first appeara…
ONLY IN JERSEY: Convicted Paterson Mayor Joey Torres Indicted For Trying To Run Again ONLY IN JERSEY: Convicted Paterson Mayor Joey Torres Indicted For Trying To Run Again
Only IN Jersey: Convicted Paterson Mayor Joey Torres Indicted For Trying To Run Again A court order banned ex-Paterson Mayor Joey Torres from ever running for public office again after being convicted of corruption. But he did it, anyway. Now he's in another familiar position: under indictment. A grand jury in Trenton returned an indictment on Tuesday, Sept. 26, charging Jose "Joey" Torres, 64, with criminal contempt. “It takes remarkable brashness to flout a state court order and then attempt to strong-arm the city clerk, via civil litigation, into allowing an impermissible campaign to proceed,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. “That is bold," the attorne…
Jersey City Teen Arrested After Swinging Knife Outside Police Station Jersey City Teen Arrested After Swinging Knife Outside Police Station
Jersey City Teen Arrested After Swinging Knife Outside Police Station A 16-year-old Jersey City teenager was arrested after officers spotted him with a knife on Monday, Sept. 25, outside a police station, authorities said. At 11:29 p.m., police observed the teenage boy with a knife start chasing another man at 1 Jackson Ave., Kimberly Wallace-Scalfione, a spokesman for the mayor's office said. The teenager proceeded to swing the knife at the 51-year-old man before police were able to apprehend him, Wallace-Scalfione said. The two people were known to each other, Wallace-Scalfione said. The 16-year-old also had a pocket knife and two boxcutters, Wallace-Scalfi…
Body Recovered At NJ Beach ID'd As Missing Boater Derek Narby: State Police Body Recovered At NJ Beach ID'd As Missing Boater Derek Narby: State Police
Body Recovered At NJ Beach ID'd As Missing Boater Derek Narby: State Police The body recovered at Point Pleasant Beach has been identified as the 21-year-old missing boater lost in Manasquan Inlet after his fishing vessel capsized earlier this month, authorities said. On Tuesday, Sept. 26, the body was positively identified as Derek Narby of Brick Township, according to Detective I Jeffrey Lebron, a New Jersey State Police spokesman. Troopers were dispatched to Channel Drive in Point Pleasant Beach at 3:05 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23 on a report of an unidentified body found washed up onshore, the State Police said. The cause of the incident remains under investiga…
Stolen Handgun, Hundreds Of Doses Of Heroin And Crack, $25G In Proceeds Seized: Passaic Sheriff Stolen Handgun, Hundreds Of Doses Of Heroin And Crack, $25G In Proceeds Seized: Passaic Sheriff
Stolen Handgun, Hundreds Of Doses Of Heroin And Crack, $25G In Proceeds Seized: Passaic Sheriff A stolen handgun, dozens of vials of crack, more than 125 heroin folds and more were seized by Passaic County sheriff’s detectives and Haledon police during a joint operation. Members of the strike force hit a pair of apartments, one on Mangold Street near Belmont Avenue in Haledon and the other at the corner of Garrison and Marion streets in Paterson, Passaic County Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said Wednesday, Sept. 27. Detectives from the sheriff’s Bureau of Narcotics and the borough seized a 2018 Ford Fusion along with the drugs, the gun and more than $25,000 in cash following a month-long…
Staten Island Man Burglarized Bayonne Bar: Police Staten Island Man Burglarized Bayonne Bar: Police
Staten Island Man Burglarized Bayonne Bar: Police Jeffrey Reader, a 32-year-old Staten Island resident was arrested and charged with burglarizing a bar on Friday, Sept. 15, Bayonne police said. An employee at the Starting Point Bar and Grill entered the bar that morning and found $2,100 missing from the cash register and the bar to be disarray, police said. Following an investigation, Reader was arrested on Tuesday, Sept. 26 and charged with burglary and theft, police said.
Wrongly Sent Bomb Threat Over Canadian Transgender Teacher Brings Tactical Teams To NJ District Wrongly Sent Bomb Threat Over Canadian Transgender Teacher Brings Tactical Teams To NJ District
Wrongly Sent Bomb Threat Over Canadian Transgender Teacher Brings Tactical Teams To NJ District A misdirected bomb threat intended for a school more than 600 miles away brought the bomb squad, K-9 unit and SWAT team to Glen Rock on Tuesday. A Central School in Hamilton, Ontario, apparently was the intended target of an email directed to the school of the same name in Glen Rock, borough Police Chief Dean Ackermann said on Sept. 26. No fewer than six schools in the Hamilton-Wentworth district in Ontario reported receiving an unrelenting string of threats that began late last week. Their Central School wasn’t one of them, however. Not taking any chances, the Glen Rock police chief summ…
'Distressing': Chess Club Teacher Sexually Assaulted North Jersey Student, Authorities Say 'Distressing': Chess Club Teacher Sexually Assaulted North Jersey Student, Authorities Say
'Distressing': Chess Club Teacher Sexually Assaulted North Jersey Student, Authorities Say Matthew Swajkowski, a 36-year-old Verona resident and teacher, was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a student, prosecutors said. Swajkowski oversaw the chess club at Verona High School and the victim was a member of the club, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II said. Police began investigating Swajkowski in July  and determined he engaged in sexual conduct with the minor and also gave them alcohol, Stephens said. Swajkowski was arrested on Friday, Sept. 22, Stephens said. Prosecutors did not say how old the victim is, but noted  "while the ag…
Video Captures Pedestrian Struck By Jeep In Hudson County Video Captures Pedestrian Struck By Jeep In Hudson County
Video Captures Pedestrian Struck By Jeep In Hudson County A 33-year-old woman was injured after she was struck by a Jeep Cherokee in North Bergen on the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 25, police said. The Jeep driver, a 39-year-old woman, was turning left onto 83rd Street when she struck a pedestrian in the crosswalk around 4:50 p.m., North Bergen Police Capt. Jorge Raposo said. The victim was taken to Palisade Medical Center with a minor back injury. The driver was issued a summons for failing to yield. Footage of the crash was shared by HudPost on Monday evening. View this post on Instagram A post sh…
Sex Assault Strangulation Among Charges For Somerset County Attacker: Prosecutor Sex Assault Strangulation Among Charges For Somerset County Attacker: Prosecutor
Sex Assault Strangulation Among Charges For Somerset County Attacker: Prosecutor A 42-year-old Somerset County man has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman who he knew earlier this month, authorities said. Mateo Espinal-Brito, of Franklin Township, is accused of sexually assaulting the woman early Monday, Sept. 11, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. The alleged incident occurred in Franklin Township and was reported that day around 5 a.m., the prosecutor said alongside Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Detectives Francisco Roman Jr., and Franklin Township Public Safety Director Quovella M. Maeweather. Following an investig…
NJ Man, 68, Gets 6½ Years For Child Porn That Included Dog Fellatio, Infant Penetration NJ Man, 68, Gets 6½ Years For Child Porn That Included Dog Fellatio, Infant Penetration
NJ Man, 68, Gets 6½ Years For Child Porn That Included Dog Fellatio, Infant Penetration A South Jersey man who was caught with more than 27,000 mostly horrific images of child porn -- including a toddler “engaged in fellatio” with a dog and penetration of months-old babies -- must spend the next 6½ years in federal prison. Bruce Makley, 68, of Voorhees, must serve out just about all of the plea-bargained sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Makley’s wife and stepson were home when U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents raided their Dutchtown Road home in August 2020, according to a complaint. Agen…
Ex-CT Police Officer Being Held As Fugitive In Burglary Spree In NJ: Police Ex-CT Police Officer Being Held As Fugitive In Burglary Spree In NJ: Police
Ex-CT Police Officer Being Held As Fugitive In Burglary Spree In NJ: Police A former police officer in Connecticut was being held as a fugitive in New Jersey, in connection with a string of burglaries, authorities said. Connecticut State Police said only that Patrick Hemingway was being held in Essex County, and that the arrest warrant had not yet been served.  Hemingway is a former officer with the Glastonbury Police Department, who last week said only that one of their former officers is a person of interest in a burglary investigation spanning multiple jurisdictions. Hemingway, 37, was identified as the officer by CT Insider. Glastonbury Police Lt. Kevin …
Man Pinned Beneath Huge Rock In Northeast Bergen Brook Rescued By Firefighters Man Pinned Beneath Huge Rock In Northeast Bergen Brook Rescued By Firefighters
Man Pinned Beneath Huge Rock In Northeast Bergen Brook Rescued By Firefighters Firefighters rescued a man trapped under a large rock in a stream in Demarest. The 49-year-old victim was walking along the Cresskill Brook behind Academy Lane just south of the Alpine Country Club when a 200-pound rock gave way Saturday afternoon, Sept. 23, Demarest Police Chief Anthony Dimitriadis said. The boulder pinned the man, whose head and chest were above the water, the chief said. Joining Demarest firefighters were their colleagues from Haworth and Closter, as well as Hackensack members of the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and both Demarest and Alpine police, Dimitriadis …
Woman Carjacked, Assaulted In Her Driveway: Verona Police Woman Carjacked, Assaulted In Her Driveway: Verona Police
Woman Carjacked, Assaulted In Her Driveway: Verona Police A woman in Verona was carjacked in her own driveway by three men on Sunday, Sept. 24, Verona Police said. At 3:26 p.m., a Floyd Road resident was approached by three men who demanded her car keys and proceeded to punch her in the head and face, knocking her to the ground, police said. The suspects fled in her car and the vehicle they arrived in, police said. Officers spotted them in the area of Bloomfield Avenue and Mount Prospect Avenue and pursued them into West Orange, police said. Officers eventually terminated the pursuit due to the conditions and the suspect's reckless driving, police…
Man Slashed With Samurai Sword In Jersey City: Authorities Man Slashed With Samurai Sword In Jersey City: Authorities
Man Slashed With Samurai Sword In Jersey City: Authorities A 37-year-old Jersey City man was arrested and charged with slashing another man with a samurai sword on Thursday, Sept. 21. authorities said. At 4:45 p.m., police responded to 11 Van Nostrand Avenue and discovered Darryl Colbourne had used the samurai sword to slash a 24-year-old in the right hand, left chest, left ear and left side of his head, Kimberly Wallace-Scalfione, a spokeswoman for the mayor's office said. The incident began as a verbal dispute and the two men knew each other, Wallace-Scalfione said. Colbourne was hit with multiple weapons charges and also charged with assault, Wa…
Peruvian Nationals Charged With Stabbing Man, 50, In Paterson's Peru Square Peruvian Nationals Charged With Stabbing Man, 50, In Paterson's Peru Square
Peruvian Nationals Charged With Stabbing Man, 50, In Paterson's Peru Square Two Peruvian nationals were nabbed by Paterson police right after they stabbed a 50-year-old city man downtown, authorities said. Bryan Canales-Arias, 29, and Ernesto Canales-Arias, 23, who also live in the city, were seized shortly after the victim was stabbed near the corner of Main and Market streets – in the area known as Peru Square -- shortly before 1:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 25. The victim was taken to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center with what Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Department Officer-In-Charge Isa Abbassi described in a brief release as m…
Hawthorne Bicyclist, 48, Struck By Fair Lawn Driver, 81, Summons Issued: Glen Rock PD Hawthorne Bicyclist, 48, Struck By Fair Lawn Driver, 81, Summons Issued: Glen Rock PD
Hawthorne Bicyclist, 48, Struck By Fair Lawn Driver, 81, Summons Issued: Glen Rock PD An 81-year-old driver from Fair Lawn received a summons after he knocked down a 48-year-old bicyclist from Hawthorne in Glen Rock, authorities said. The victim, meanwhile, was taken by ambulance to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood with injuries that Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said weren’t considered life-threatening. The motorist made a left from Pomona Avenue in Fair Lawn onto westbound Harristown Road on the Glen Rock side when his 2007 Volvo struck the bicyclist shortly before 6:30 p.m. Sept. 19, the chief said. The bicyclist was riding on the side of the road past the Herit…
Of All Places For A DWI Crash: South Hackensack Police Nab Driver Outside HQ Of All Places For A DWI Crash: South Hackensack Police Nab Driver Outside HQ
Of All Places For A DWI Crash: South Hackensack Police Nab Driver Outside HQ South Hackensack police didn’t have far to bring a suspected drunk driver following a mid-afternoon rollover crash. Surveillance cameras outside their headquarters captured video of Linus P. Rodrigues, 48, of the Bronx swinging a 2009 Toyota RAV 4 onto Franklin Street at 2:15 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24, Detective Sgt. James Donatello said. The Toyota hit a parked 1998 Buick Century, then rolled onto its side and slid about 20 feet, the sergeant said. South Hackensack firefighters extricated Rodrigues and turned him over to the Little Ferry First Aid Corps, Donatello said. Rodrigues – who had n…
DUI Essex County Sheriff's Officer Charged In Wrong-Way Crash That Injured 8: Prosecutor DUI Essex County Sheriff's Officer Charged In Wrong-Way Crash That Injured 8: Prosecutor
DUI Essex County Sheriff's Officer Charged In Wrong-Way Crash That Injured 8: Prosecutor An Essex County Sheriff's Officer has been charged in a 2022 wrong-way crash that left eight people injured, during which he had been under the influence, authorities in Hudson County said. Michael Johnson, 36, was under the influence when he drove a Jeep Cherokee east in the westbound lanes of the Route 280 entrance ramp near Harrison Avenue around 11:20 p.m. Saturday, June 4, 2022, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Johnson, of Irvington, struck a Chevy Traverse and a Nissan Rogue, leaving eight people injured, Suarez said. He was not on duty at the time of the crash. …
Bergen Sheriff's Officer Helping Motorist On Route 4 Nearly Struck By OD'ing Driver Bergen Sheriff's Officer Helping Motorist On Route 4 Nearly Struck By OD'ing Driver
Bergen Sheriff's Officer Helping Motorist On Route 4 Nearly Struck By OD'ing Driver A Bergen County sheriff's officer escaped severe injury or worse when an overdosing driver sideswiped her cruiser as she helped another motorist who'd broken down on Route 4, authorities said. Christopher A. Hanna, a 42-year-old Parlin resident with an extensive criminal record, was headed west on the highway in a 2008 Infiniti G35 when the crash occurred near Madison Avenue in Teaneck shortly before 3 p.m. Sept. 20, local police records show. The sheriff's officer told Teaneck police she was out of her 2021 Ford Explorer with its lights on when she spotted the Infiniti swerving in and out …
Back-To-Back Tractor-Trailer Crashes Jam Route 80 Back-To-Back Tractor-Trailer Crashes Jam Route 80
Back-To-Back Tractor-Trailer Crashes Jam Route 80 Westbound Route 80 near the border of Bergen and Passaic counties had two tractor-trailer crashes on Monday. No serious injuries were reported in either, although the driver in the second rig had to be extricated. The first occurred near Exit 58 B in Paterson around 9 a.m. Sept. 25. A witness driving to work on the eastbound side reported seeing the rig in the center lane begin to fishtail to the left. The driver overcorrected and the rig slammed into the concrete median, the witness said. It then slid on its side and landed right-side-up, knocking out chunks of the median, he said. "Th…
NY Dental Hygienist Who Traveled To NY To Meet Child For Sex Could Be Freed Next Summer NY Dental Hygienist Who Traveled To NY To Meet Child For Sex Could Be Freed Next Summer
NY Dental Hygienist Who Traveled To NY To Meet Child For Sex Could Be Freed Next Summer UPDATE: A dental hygienist who was arrested in Bergen County after coming from Rockland to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old girl was sent to state prison for what could be less than a year. Dariush Ghamarnezhad, 42, of Pomona was among 16 men from Bergen, Passaic, Rockland and Westchester counties who were busted by authorities during a five-day 2019 sting operation dubbed “Operation Home Alone." Various law enforcement agencies united to nab men who they said tried to lure youngsters into sex through social media. Just about all of them were arrested when they showed up at a residen…