Fair 63°
Police & Fire
Suspected Toms River Hookah Lounge Killer Extradited Months After Virginia Capture Suspected Toms River Hookah Lounge Killer Extradited Months After Virginia Capture
Suspected Toms River Hookah Lounge Killer Extradited Months After Virginia Capture Nearly nine months after his Virginia capture, a Monmouth County man will face charges in New Jersey, authorities announced. Asbury Park's Eric Manzanares, 24 — the accused gunman in a triple shooting that left one man dead and two others injured at a Toms River hookah lounge in 2022 — has been extradited from Prince William County, VA, to Ocean County, NJ, Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced on Thursday, Jan. 25.  Toms River police responded to a shooting at Top Tier Hookah Lounge on Hooper Avenue at around 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. Officers found three victim…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Fugitive Hunted In 'Bling Bishop' Robbery Killed By US Marshals In NJ Hotel Shootout Fugitive Hunted In 'Bling Bishop' Robbery Killed By US Marshals In NJ Hotel Shootout
Fugitive Hunted In 'Bling Bishop' Robbery Killed By US Marshals In NJ Hotel Shootout 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦: A fugitive wanted for robbing a "bling" bishop from Bergen County during an online service was killed by U.S. Marshals Wednesday afternoon during a shootout at a Route 1 hotel, federal sources confirmed. Ex-con Shamar Leggette was the subject of a manhunt following the infamous 2022 gunpoint robbery of "Bling Bishop" Lamor Whitehead of Paramus during a live-streamed church service in Brooklyn. Leggette, 41, of Brooklyn, also shot a man in Providence, RI last September, authorities there said. Members of the U.S. States Marshals Service NY/NJ Regional Task Force, assisting th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Fugitive Accused Of Choking Woman Unconscious Jersey Shore Fugitive Accused Of Choking Woman Unconscious
Jersey Shore Fugitive Accused Of Choking Woman Unconscious A Point Pleasant man is accused of nearly choking a woman to death and knocking her unconscious, authorities said. Juan Santiago-Rojas, 31, was charged with attempted murder on Monday, Jan. 22, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Santiago-Rojas was wanted in an incident in Point Pleasant on Monday, Aug. 22, 2022. Point Pleasant police responded to a report of an unconscious female at a home on Butler Avenue. When officers arrived, they found the woman also had serious injuries to her head and neck. The woman was rushed to Hackensack Meridian O…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
North Jersey Man Captured By NJSP After Shooting Dad, 70, Killing Two Family Dogs: Authorities North Jersey Man Captured By NJSP After Shooting Dad, 70, Killing Two Family Dogs: Authorities
North Jersey Man Captured By Njsp After Shooting Dad, 70, Killing Two Family Dogs: Authorities A 34-year-old North Jersey man was captured by State Police after shooting his 70-year-old father and killing two family dogs, authorities said. Donald Simpson was hospitalized in critical condition after being shot multiple times at his home on County Road 628 in Sussex County's Wantage Township shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Charles Marchan said. Responding NJSP troopers also found two dogs dead of multiple gunshot wounds, the sergeant said. Donald Simpson was airlifted to Morristown Medical Center. Meanwhile, state troopers searched various areas, i…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Woman Tried Killing Child: Prosecutor NJ Woman Tried Killing Child: Prosecutor
NJ Woman Tried Killing Child: Prosecutor A New Jersey woman has been charged with trying to kill a child, authorities announced. Alfonsina Anguita, 21, of Manville, became the center of an investigation after a 3-year-old child was hospitalized on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. The child had signs of physical abuse and strangulation, McDonald said alongside Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Chief of County Detectives Francisco Roman Jr., and Manville Borough Police Department Officer-In-Charge Lieutenant Craig Jeremiah. "Further medical examination revealed patterns and …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Boys — 15, 16 — Charged With Shooting 14-Year-Old Outside Paterson School Boys — 15, 16 — Charged With Shooting 14-Year-Old Outside Paterson School
Boys — 15, 16 — Charged With Shooting 14-Year-Old Outside Paterson School Two Paterson boys – one 15, the other 16 – are charged with shooting a 14-year-old outside a city grade school last fall. The victim was treated at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center after being wounded near the Halpine Street entrance to School #12 on Oct. 25. A lengthy investigation led to delinquency complaints signed this past week against both youngsters, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Department Officer-In-Charge Isa Abbassi said in a joint announcement. The complaints allege what would be the adult equivalent of attempted murder and weapons offen…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
HARDCORE AT 21: Paterson Ex-Con Charged In Separate Shootings After Prison Release HARDCORE AT 21: Paterson Ex-Con Charged In Separate Shootings After Prison Release
Hardcore AT 21: Paterson Ex-Con Charged In Separate Shootings After Prison Release A 21-year-old ex-con from Paterson who’s already spent three years behind bars had been free all of four months when he shot someone, then shot someone else while police searched for him this week, authorities charged. A SWAT team led a raid that ended a brief standoff at an Essex Street apartment in Paterson with Memphis Morales on Friday, Jan. 12, they said. Morales was previously convicted of a 2020 shooting and was incarcerated for three years before being released from New Jersey State Prison last May. Three months later, Morales shot a 34-year-old Secaucus man during a Sept. 17 robbe…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Driver Who Mowed Down Police, Bystanders On New Year's In NYC Has Drug History, Records Show NJ Driver Who Mowed Down Police, Bystanders On New Year's In NYC Has Drug History, Records Show
NJ Driver Who Mowed Down Police, Bystanders On New Year's In NYC Has Drug History, Records Show UPDATE: A wrong-way driver from Fort Lee who hit a half-dozen people in midtown Manhattan as he tried to flee police on New Year’s Day has a history of drug arrests and convictions, records show. Mohamed Alaouie, 44, was driving a Mercedes sedan that twice mounted the sidewalk on West 34th Street going the wrong way, hitting people, vehicles and a food cart overnight Monday before finally coming to rest, city police said. Alaouie was fleeing uniformed officers 90 minutes or so after the New Year’s ball drop in nearby Times Square when the chain-reaction crashes occurred near Madison Square …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! Accused Route 4 Road Rage Driver Caught, Charged With Attempted Murder In Stabbing GOTCHA! Accused Route 4 Road Rage Driver Caught, Charged With Attempted Murder In Stabbing
Gotcha! Accused Route 4 Road Rage Driver Caught, Charged With Attempted Murder In Stabbing UPDATE: A manhunt ended with the arrest in Belleville of a Paterson motorist on attempted murder charges following the stabbing of another driver during a noontime road rage incident on Route 4 in Paramus, authorities confirmed. Christian A. Velez, 24, and the victim got out of their vehicles in front of the Popeye's on the highway’s eastbound side during an unspecified argument around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 28, Paramus Police Chief Robert Guidetti said. The 28-year-old victim, who was driving a Mercedes van, was stabbed in the side and back and slashed once on the arm, the chief said. …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fugitive Wanted For Trying To Kill Twin In MD Captured Near NJ/NY Border After 50-Mile Pursuit Fugitive Wanted For Trying To Kill Twin In MD Captured Near NJ/NY Border After 50-Mile Pursuit
Fugitive Wanted For Trying To Kill Twin In MD Captured Near NJ/NY Border After 50-Mile Pursuit A fugitive wanted for the attempted murder of his twin sister in Maryland was captured just short of the New York State line in New Jersey following a nearly hour-long pursuit, authorities confirmed on Monday, Dec. 4. Reese E. Wetzel, 23, of Ellicott City, MD stabbed his sister multiple times during an argument, then stole her car and headed north, police in Edison, NJ, said. Edison police said they received a Sirius XM alert involving the stolen white 2019 Subaru Outback at 8:13 p.m. Sunday. It pointed them toward Route 1 at Main Street, they said. Edison Officer Phil Smith spotted the s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Attempted Murder For Gunman Who Struck 'Unrelated' Vehicle In Central Jersey: Prosecutor Attempted Murder For Gunman Who Struck 'Unrelated' Vehicle In Central Jersey: Prosecutor
Attempted Murder For Gunman Who Struck 'Unrelated' Vehicle In Central Jersey: Prosecutor A 25-year-old New Brunswick man who has been held in Middlesex County following a separate incident last month has been charged with attempted murder in a Somerset County shooting, authorities said. Nate Rowell, of New Brunswick, is believed to have fired a weapon while leaving a parking lot of a business on Easton Avenue in Franklin Township on Wednesday, Sept. 13, around 6:45 p.m., Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. A Franklin Township resident was driving near Girard Avenue and Easton Avenue when a loud noise was heard. The driver assumed it was debris in the roadway…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Two Teens Charged In Central Jersey Shooting: Prosecutor Two Teens Charged In Central Jersey Shooting: Prosecutor
Two Teens Charged In Central Jersey Shooting: Prosecutor Two teenagers have been charged in a February shooting in Central Jersey, authorities said. Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Director Anthony Caputo of the New Brunswick Police Department announced that the males are in custody and charged with acts of juvenile delinquency for offenses which if committed by an adult would constitute attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons offenses. On Feb. 25, at approximately 11 a.m., the New Brunswick Police Department received a 911 call about a shooting in the area of Joyce Kilmer Avenue and Delavan …

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by Jon Craig