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Woman Assaulted, Robbed Behind Somerset County Church, Suspect’s ID Sought: Prosecutor Woman Assaulted, Robbed Behind Somerset County Church, Suspect’s ID Sought: Prosecutor
Woman Assaulted, Robbed Behind Somerset County Church, Suspect’s ID Sought: Prosecutor Authorities are seeking the public’s help identifying a man who assaulted and robbed a woman behind a Somerset County church. The assault occurred on the path behind the Blessed Sacrament Church on Washington Valley Road in Bridgewater just before 9:55 a.m. on Sunday, July 9, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. The victim, a Bridgewater resident, told investigators that she had been walking on the path behind the church when the man “came up behind her and placed his hands over her eyes and mouth.” Both fell to the ground, and after a brief struggle, the man took the victim’s…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Mercer County Man Charged In Home Invasion, Sexual Assault: Middlesex Prosecutor Mercer County Man Charged In Home Invasion, Sexual Assault: Middlesex Prosecutor
Mercer County Man Charged In Home Invasion, Sexual Assault: Middlesex Prosecutor A Mercer County man has been charged with attempted murder in a home invasion, authorities said. Justin Surofsky, 26, of Hightstown was arrested in East Windsor without incident and charged with two counts of first-degree Aggravated Sexual Assault, first- degree Criminal Attempt-Murder, second-degree Burglary, third-degree Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact, second-degree Kidnapping, third-degree Criminal Restraint, second-degree Aggravated Assault, and first-degree Robbery, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone.  On Thursday, July …

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
AT LONG LAST: Fort Lee Bar Owner’s Killer Returned To NJ After 30 Years AT LONG LAST: Fort Lee Bar Owner’s Killer Returned To NJ After 30 Years
AT Long Last: Fort Lee Bar Owner’s Killer Returned To NJ After 30 Years Justice may have been delayed, but it isn't being denied to loved ones of a Bergen County businessman who was tortured, robbed and savagely slain in his Hudson River apartment three decades ago. Jimmy Polites began the night of Aug. 4, 1994 with friends at the tavern he co-owned in Fort Lee. Hours later he was bound to a chair and hanged with an electrical cord in his Edgewater townhouse. It has taken nearly 30 years for his killer to finally pay. Thomas Christopher James was released from a New York State prison late this week after serving 28 years for murdering a reputed Long Island mo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hackensack Ex-Con Charged With ½ Pound Of Coke, $12G Sketchy Cash In Illegally Parked Corvette Hackensack Ex-Con Charged With ½ Pound Of Coke, $12G Sketchy Cash In Illegally Parked Corvette
Hackensack Ex-Con Charged With ½ Pound Of Coke, $12G Sketchy Cash In Illegally Parked Corvette A hardcore ex-con was charged with having nearly a half-pound of cocaine and $12,000 in suspect cash in a stolen car that he left idling in a fire lane outside a shopping mall in Hackensack. Jarrett Bruce, 39, was initially released at the Shops at Riverside just off westbound Route 4 after Lt. Sean Briggs ran a computer check, found a mismatched VIN and impounded the 2022 Chevy Corvette in early April, Hackensack Police Capt. Michael Antista said. Discovering that the ‘vette had been reported stolen, police had grounds to seek -- and obtain -- a search warrant. They found the drugs and cas…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Addicted Hooker, Longtime Guy Pal Rob Drug Buyer Lured To Route 23 Motel: Wayne PD Addicted Hooker, Longtime Guy Pal Rob Drug Buyer Lured To Route 23 Motel: Wayne PD
Addicted Hooker, Longtime Guy Pal Rob Drug Buyer Lured To Route 23 Motel: Wayne PD A convicted hooker with a heart of coal and her longtime running mate were both captured after authorities said they lured a man to a Wayne motel and then robbed him at gunpoint. It wasn’t much of a surprise to police who flushed Katherine Berg, 34, of Paterson, and Emin Goroveci, 37, of Succasunna from the woods behind the Wayne Inn that they were the ones who concocted the setup, given their drug-related, violent histories. Three years ago, the pair robbed a Leonia man whom Berg met online of several valuables – including his car -- after she slipped the victim a mickey that knocked him u…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
HOME INVASION: Accused NYPD Impersonators Jailed In Gunpoint Bergen Robbery HOME INVASION: Accused NYPD Impersonators Jailed In Gunpoint Bergen Robbery
Home Invasion: Accused Nypd Impersonators Jailed In Gunpoint Bergen Robbery UPDATE: Two men accused of posing as New York City detectives to rob a Fair Lawn resident at gunpoint during a home invasion last fall have been brought to Bergen County after being arrested out of state. Whether local or federal authorities will be prosecuting them and four alleged accomplices -- three of whom have already been released -- remains an open question, at least publicly. All seven were arrested in New York State last month and charged in a Nov. 17, 2022 home invasion in which residents were zip-tied and an undisclosed amount of cash and jewelry was stolen. The two main defen…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Central Jersey Man Admits Sexual Assault At State Park: Prosecutor Central Jersey Man Admits Sexual Assault At State Park: Prosecutor
Central Jersey Man Admits Sexual Assault At State Park: Prosecutor A Somerset County man has admitted to committing a sexual assault at a New Jersey state park, authorities said. Rogelio Calyeca Postrero, 38, of Raritan pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated sexual assault, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone. Calyeca Postrero previously was charged by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office on Aug. 5, 2022, for violent sexual assaults in Bridgewater on July 18, 2021, and Franklin Township on May 16, 2022, according to earlier reports. Those charges are still pending, Ciccone's spokeswoman said. On Sept. 28, 2021, between 4:3…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Pharmacy Robbed In Central Jersey: Police Pharmacy Robbed In Central Jersey: Police
Pharmacy Robbed In Central Jersey: Police A pharmacy reportedly was robbed by three suspects in South Brunswick, authorities said. On Thursday, June, at 7 p.m., police received a report of a robbery at South Brunswick Pharmacy at 485 Georges Road. Three suspects stole multiple items, and then fled the scene on Georges Road toward Quincy Circle, South Brunswick police said. Police are asking residents in the area of Georges Road, Lincoln Lane, and Quincy Circle to check exterior video footage for any helpful information. Anyone with information can contact Det. Brian Luck at (732)329-4000 ext. 7469.

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
HOME INVASION: Seven Captured, Charged With Posing As NYPD To Tie Up And Rob Fair Lawn Resident HOME INVASION: Seven Captured, Charged With Posing As NYPD To Tie Up And Rob Fair Lawn Resident
Home Invasion: Seven Captured, Charged With Posing As Nypd To Tie Up And Rob Fair Lawn Resident UPDATE: Two men accused of posing as law enforcement officers to rob a Fair Lawn resident at gunpoint during a home invasion last fall have been brought to Bergen County after being arrested out of state. Whether local or federal authorities will be prosecuting them and four alleged accomplices -- three of whom have already been released -- remains an open question, at least publicly. All seven were arrested in New York State last month and charged in a Nov. 17, 2022 home invasion in which residents were zip-tied and an undisclosed amount of cash and jewelry was stolen. The two main defend…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Worker Wrestles Gun From Gas Station Convenience Store Robber On Route 46 Worker Wrestles Gun From Gas Station Convenience Store Robber On Route 46
Worker Wrestles Gun From Gas Station Convenience Store Robber On Route 46 A robber seemed desperate as she pointed a handgun and demanded money from a convenience store worker on the graveyard shift at a Route 46 gas station in Elmwood Park. The steel-nerved worker wasn’t rattled, though. The gun had no magazine. Gambling that there wasn't a bullet chambered, he snatched the weapon from her hands, then shouted to a colleague outside to call police. A male accomplice then rushed in and punched him in the head, freeing his partner. Elmwood Park police nabbed the Paterson couple moments later, Police Chief Michael Foligno said. Krystina Tracey-Vaughan, 30,…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
3 Teens Charged In Deadly Shooting Of Taxi Driver In Somerset County: Prosecutor 3 Teens Charged In Deadly Shooting Of Taxi Driver In Somerset County: Prosecutor
3 Teens Charged In Deadly Shooting Of Taxi Driver In Somerset County: Prosecutor Three teen boys have been charged, two of them with murder, in last week’s shooting of a taxi driver investigators say was motivated by robbery. The first two suspects, ages 14 and 13, of Somerset and New Brunswick, were each charged with first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder, first-degree conspiracy, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, and various weapons charges, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said Monday, May 15. The third suspect, age 13, of New Brunswick, was charged with robbery and conspiracy. The charges come after officers responding to a shooting report …

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Taxi Driver Shot Dead In Somerset County: Prosecutor Taxi Driver Shot Dead In Somerset County: Prosecutor
Taxi Driver Shot Dead In Somerset County: Prosecutor A 57-year-old taxi driver was shot dead in Somerset County late on Thursday, May 11, authorities announced. Officers responding to the shooting report near Rose Street and Sydney Place in Franklin Township found Kofi Addo, of North Brunswick, with a gunshot wound behind the wheel of a taxi crashed into a parked vehicle just after 9:55 p.m., Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said in a release. Addo was rushed to a local trauma center and pronounced dead a short time after. According to investigators, Addo had just picked up a fare near Rose Street when he was confronted and shot b…

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by Valerie Musson