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Man, 39, Gunned Down In Paterson Was Warren County Resident, Authorities Say Man, 39, Gunned Down In Paterson Was Warren County Resident, Authorities Say
Man, 39, Gunned Down In Paterson Was Warren County Resident, Authorities Say A registered sex offender from Paterson shot an out-of-county man dead on a street behind the public library last week, authorities said. Ex-con Jaquan Housey, 33, was charged with murder and weapons offenses in the slaying of Rodney Phelps, 39, of Warren County’s Washington Township. Responding officers found Phelps’s body in the middle of Van Van Houten Avenue between the library and the Edward W. Kilpatrick School shortly before 11:30 p.m. last Friday, Feb. 4. He’d been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Po…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Child Porn Probe: NY Bank Tech Busted By Passaic County Sheriff's Investigators Child Porn Probe: NY Bank Tech Busted By Passaic County Sheriff's Investigators
Child Porn Probe: NY Bank Tech Busted By Passaic County Sheriff's Investigators A West Milford man who works as a tech for a New York security company had a side pursuit, as well, authorities said. Steven F. Jackson, 44, was charged with being the leader of a child pornography network after investigators learned that he'd used a chat room to share videos and other images of child sexual abuse, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said. The Internet Crime Against Children Task Force detectives seized several electronic devices as part of a five-month investigation leading to Jackson's arrest, the sheriff said. The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office assisted, he said.…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Paterson Officer Indicted In Accused Beating Of Arab-American Resident Paterson Officer Indicted In Accused Beating Of Arab-American Resident
Paterson Officer Indicted In Accused Beating Of Arab-American Resident A Paterson police officer beat a 19-year-old Arab-American man and then lied about it, a federal grand jury charged. Officers Kevin Patino, 29, violated the civil rights of the victim, according to the indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Newark, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Osamah Alsaidi was walking with his hands in his pockets the night of Dec. 14, 2020 when Patino and Officer Kendry Tineo-Restituyo approached him, the U.S. attorney said. What they didn’t know was that area surveillance cameras were recording the incident (see below). “Patino grabbe…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Paterson Shooting Victim Drives Himself To Hospital Paterson Shooting Victim Drives Himself To Hospital
Paterson Shooting Victim Drives Himself To Hospital A Paterson shooting victim drove himself to the hospital, authorities said. The 28-year-old victim was shot in the arm outside a Broadway apartment building at East 23rd Street across from the former Broadway Baptist Church shortly 10:30 p.m., responders said. He drove the nearly two miles to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center on his own, they said. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora confirmed the shooting. They didn’t say whether any suspects had been arrested or identified. Anyone who might have witnessed the shooting or has informa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Paterson Officer Who Said She Was Forced To Retire After Shooting Settles With City For $185K Paterson Officer Who Said She Was Forced To Retire After Shooting Settles With City For $185K
Paterson Officer Who Said She Was Forced To Retire After Shooting Settles With City For $185K A former Paterson police officer who claimed she was forced to retire after shooting a civilian in a confrontation has settled a discrimination lawsuit against the city. Haydee Santana, 53, claimed she was treated differently from male colleagues in similar circumstances after she shot an unarmed man who authorities said charged at her in front of his children. Santana, who said she was forced to retire on a disability pension in 2018 after 24 years with the Paterson Police Department, settled her suit for $185,000, city officials confirmed. The civilian she shot, Larry Bouie, settled a su…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Authorities: Paterson Tenant Kills Roommate With Rock Authorities: Paterson Tenant Kills Roommate With Rock
Authorities: Paterson Tenant Kills Roommate With Rock A Paterson man bashed his roommate in the head with a rock, killing him, authorities said Tuesday. The victim – initially identified only by the initial M.B. – was found face down on the living room floor of the 12th Avenue apartment he shared with Raymond Menafield, 40, at 6:20 a.m. Sunday. He had a large gash in the back of his head, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora said in a joint announcement. The victim was pronounced dead 20 minutes later, they said. Menafield killed him during some type of dispute, Valdes and Baycora said. He w…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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3rd Suspect Charged In Cold-Blooded Killing Of Paterson Man Gunned Down In Front Of His Mom 3rd Suspect Charged In Cold-Blooded Killing Of Paterson Man Gunned Down In Front Of His Mom
3rd Suspect Charged In Cold-Blooded Killing Of Paterson Man Gunned Down In Front Of His Mom A third arrest was made nearly two weeks ago in the cold-blooded ambush killing a 22-year-old Paterson man in front of his mother last Fourth of July weekend, authorities announced Monday. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora didn’t explain why they waited nearly two weeks to announce the arrest of Dashawn A. Rhoden, 22, in the shooting death of Juan Garcia, 28 last July 3. They'd done the same earlier Monday when they announced the capture of a suspect in another murder case,  Garcia was gunned down in front of his mother in a targeted…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Paterson Ex-Con Sent To Fed Pen For Nearly 5 Years For Selling Revolvers, Pistols, Rifles, Ammo Paterson Ex-Con Sent To Fed Pen For Nearly 5 Years For Selling Revolvers, Pistols, Rifles, Ammo
Paterson Ex-Con Sent To Fed Pen For Nearly 5 Years For Selling Revolvers, Pistols, Rifles, Ammo UPDATE: An ex-con from Paterson who'd already done state prison time for a gun conviction is headed to federal prison for nearly five years for selling 16 weapons smuggled into New Jersey. Rather than face trial, Floyd “HK” Henry, 36, took a deal from the government, pleading guilty via videoconference with a federal judge in Newark last summer to gun selling, as well as being a convicted felon in possession of firearms and ammo. Henry sold two semi-automatic rifles, three revolvers and 11 semi-automatic pistols – as well as over 100 rounds of ammunition -- when ATF agents arrested him in S…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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20 Years Later, Detectives Still Pursue Cold-Blooded Christmastime Killing Of Clifton Grandma 20 Years Later, Detectives Still Pursue Cold-Blooded Christmastime Killing Of Clifton Grandma
20 Years Later, Detectives Still Pursue Cold-Blooded Christmastime Killing Of Clifton Grandma Before the explosion of social media and cold-case TV shows and streams, a beloved grandmother was stabbed dead in her Clifton home. Known for her generous volunteer work, Gertrude Bizarro, 72, was the matriarch of her family and the de facto grandmother of her Dutch Hill neighborhood, a row of two-story homes near the Passaic border. She was "all-around great woman loved by many," recalled Clifton Police Detective Lt. Robert Bracken, who knew her. Twenty years ago this Saturday, Bizarro's husband took their youngest daughter to a hair appointment in anticipation of a Christmas gathering i…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Passaic Judge Orders Man Detained For Sexually Assaulting 2 Prepubescent Children: Prosecutor Passaic Judge Orders Man Detained For Sexually Assaulting 2 Prepubescent Children: Prosecutor
Passaic Judge Orders Man Detained For Sexually Assaulting 2 Prepubescent Children: Prosecutor A Passaic County judge ordered a Paterson man detained for assaulting two prepubescent children, authorities said. Oscar Q. Palacios, 46, repeatedly sexually assaulted two minors he was caring for while their mom was at work, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Hawthorne Police Chief James W. Knepper said. The now-adult victims told their stories to Hawthorne police on Oct. 19, the prosecutor and police chief said. Palacios was arrested without incident on Nov. 23, after an investigation. Pretrial detention was ordered by Judge Scott T. Rumana on Dec. 3, 2021. Palacios wa…

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by Cecilia Levine
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SEEN HIM? Dangerous Fugitive ID’d As Shooter Of Child, 4, Four Others At Passaic Party SEEN HIM? Dangerous Fugitive ID’d As Shooter Of Child, 4, Four Others At Passaic Party
Seen HIM? Dangerous Fugitive ID’d As Shooter Of Child, 4, Four Others At Passaic Party A Passaic man who was released following a New Year’s Day shooting earlier this year is being sought by authorities for another shooting last month that wounded a 4-year-old child and four other victims at a backyard party. It’s unclear under what circumstances Ernest Fuentes, 20, was freed after city detectives arrested him on Jan. 5 and sent to the Passaic County Jail in connection with a shooting four days earlier at Third and Mercer streets. No injuries were reported in that incident. Fast forward to Tuesday, when Fuentes was identified as one of two gunman who opened fire at a backyar…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Child, 4, Among Five Shot At Backyard Party In Passaic Child, 4, Among Five Shot At Backyard Party In Passaic
Child, 4, Among Five Shot At Backyard Party In Passaic A 4-year-old child was one of five people wounded when two men started shooting at an overnight backyard party in Passaic, authorities said. City police responding shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday reported finding the child, along with two women – one 21 from Passaic, the other 25 from Newark – and a 29-year-old Newark man all wounded by gunfire. They been struck at a home near the corner of Lafayette and Howe avenues “when two unknown gunmen opened fire,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Passaic Police Chief Luis A. Guzman said in a joint release. All four were taken to St. Jos…

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by Jerry DeMarco