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Newly Transplanted NJ Boy, 14, Shot, Killed In Harlem, NYPD Says Newly Transplanted NJ Boy, 14, Shot, Killed In Harlem, NYPD Says
Newly Transplanted NJ Boy, 14, Shot, Killed In Harlem, Nypd Says A 14-year-old boy who'd just moved to New Jersey with his family was identified by authorities as the victim shot and killed on a Harlem street. Justin Streeter of Plainfield had just stopped at an East 128th Street deli with a friend and was riding a push scooter when gunfire erupts around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, the NYPD said. "As they're walking towards the corner of Park Avenue a male emerges on the corner and fires a volley of gunshots at the two young men," said Jeffrey G. Maddrey, the department's chief of patrol. It was unclear why, the chief said. The boys ran between two vehicles, b…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Former Bergen Man Gets Federal Prison Time For Assisting Massage Parlor Prostitution Former Bergen Man Gets Federal Prison Time For Assisting Massage Parlor Prostitution
Former Bergen Man Gets Federal Prison Time For Assisting Massage Parlor Prostitution A former Bergen County resident must spend nearly three years in federal prison for producing bogus training certificates for massage parlors that sold sex. Naresh Rane, 68, gave 10 of those certificates to a former local councilman who was later found dead of suicide along with his wife, authorities said. Rane, formerly of Closter, owned and operated the now-defunct Axiom Healthcare Academy on Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen, which touted itself as a provider of massage therapy training. Anyone who didn't want to go through the training could pay Rane anywhere from $1,000 to $2,600 for …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Ex-NJ Priest Wanted For Teen Boy's Rape Kills Teaching Partner, Himself In Ecuador: Reports Ex-NJ Priest Wanted For Teen Boy's Rape Kills Teaching Partner, Himself In Ecuador: Reports
Ex-NJ Priest Wanted For Teen Boy's Rape Kills Teaching Partner, Himself In Ecuador: Reports A 59-year-old former Union County priest indicted for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy shot three people and his pet before turning the gun on himself last week in Ecuador, various news reports say. Manuel Gallo Espinoza killed his partner in an English language school, Byron Carreño, and wounded two more partners on July 2, LaHora.com reports. Espinoza killed his pet and then himself, the outlet said. Nota de pesar.✝️ Posted by WEI English Institute - Formar on Saturday, July 2, 2022 According to NJ Advance Media, Gallo Espinoza had fled to Ecuador in 2003 after an alleged vict…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Man Struck Dead By NJ Transit Train: Officials Man Struck Dead By NJ Transit Train: Officials
Man Struck Dead By NJ Transit Train: Officials A man was struck and killed by an NJ Transit train in Union County Thursday, June 2, officials said. The unidentified pedestrian was hit by Gladstone Branch Train No. 419 around 1:40 p.m. near the Valley Avenue Bridge in Berkeley Heights, the agency said in a release. The train had left Hoboken and was heading toward Gladstone. None of the 10 passengers were injured, and service to the Gladstone Branch was suspended near the Berkeley Heights Station. New Jersey Transit Police were leading the investigation. Editor's note: NJ Transit officials initially reported that a woman was injur…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Woman Left Elderly Disabled Person In Sun Causing Heatstroke: AG Woman Left Elderly Disabled Person In Sun Causing Heatstroke: AG
Woman Left Elderly Disabled Person In Sun Causing Heatstroke: AG A 28-year-old woman from Union County has been indicted for allegedly neglecting an elderly disabled person in her care, authorities said. Valerie Pinchinat, of Linden, was indicted for third-degree neglect of an elderly or disabled person., they said.  The indictment was returned by a grand jury on Wednesday, May 11, according to Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. The victim purportedly suffered heatstroke and second-degree burns as a result of the defendant’s alleged neglect, Plotkin said. On July 4, 2019, Pinchinat allegedly left the elderly disabled person in her ca…

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by Jon Craig
News
More Students Come Forward In NJ Drama Teacher’s Child Sex Case, Total Reaches Six More Students Come Forward In NJ Drama Teacher’s Child Sex Case, Total Reaches Six
More Students Come Forward In NJ Drama Teacher’s Child Sex Case, Total Reaches Six UPDATE: Five more male students have come forward since a retired drama teacher and theater director at a New Jersey middle school was accused last year of sexually abusing another youngster, authorities announced. Ronald E. Wells, 70, of Summit originally was arrested in June 2021 for allegedly fondling a student after luring him to a private third-floor room at the Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School in 2016, authorities said at the time (SEE: Retired Union County Middle School Theater Director Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student). A joint investigation by Summit police and detectiv…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Abuser Admits Killing Ex-GF, Abducting Son In High-Profile NJ Amber Alert Case Abuser Admits Killing Ex-GF, Abducting Son In High-Profile NJ Amber Alert Case
Abuser Admits Killing Ex-GF, Abducting Son In High-Profile NJ Amber Alert Case UPDATE: An East Orange man admitted killing his former girlfriend and kidnapping their young son last summer in exchange for what prosecutors said will be a 30-year state prison sentence. Originally charged with counts that included murder, Tyler Rios, 27, took a deal from prosecutors rather than risk trial in what had been a highly-publicized Amber Alert incident. He pleaded guilty on Monday, April 4, to first-degree aggravated manslaughter for killing 24 year-old Yasemin Uyar on July 8, 2021, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel announced Tuesday. Rios also pleaded guilty to desec…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Union County Ex-Con Admits Robbing Bergen County Bank UPDATE: Union County Ex-Con Admits Robbing Bergen County Bank
Update: Union County Ex-Con Admits Robbing Bergen County Bank An ex-con from Union County admitted robbing a Rutherford bank of $2,300 while wearing a New York Yankees cap that police later recovered from a nearby recycling bin, authorities said. Seneca Wilson, 43, of Clark, entered the Kearny Bank (formerly Kearny Federal Savings) at Park and West Newall avenues at 4:12 p.m. April 7, 2021, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. He had on a dark t-shirt with a white logo, a windbreaker and sunglasses, as well as a neck gaiter over his face, a glove on his left hand and the baseball cap, witnesses said. Wilson “handed the teller a note…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Man, 34, Turns Gun On Himself At RTSP Shooting Range: Police Man, 34, Turns Gun On Himself At RTSP Shooting Range: Police
Man, 34, Turns Gun On Himself At Rtsp Shooting Range: Police A 34-year-old Queens, NY man shot and killed himself at a popular Union County gun range early this week, authorities confirmed. Union Township officers responded to RTSP on Route 22 east around 2:30 p.m. Monday, March 28, where they found the man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Police Capt.Pietro DiGena said. The victim was identified as a customer of the establishment. His name was not released. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available: Call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Robbery Goes Sideways: Repeat Offender Released Under Bail Reform Shot Dead By Pal, Police Say Robbery Goes Sideways: Repeat Offender Released Under Bail Reform Shot Dead By Pal, Police Say
Robbery Goes Sideways: Repeat Offender Released Under Bail Reform Shot Dead By Pal, Police Say A botched robbery in Paterson cost a repeat offender from Union County his life, although New Jersey’s bail reform law also had something to do with it. It was a week ago that Kyle Newton, 28, was arrested in Lyndhurst while he and another man were scoping out vehicles to steal, authorities said. Newton (inset in photo above), of Hillside, had a history of arrests in multiple counties over the past few years. Just as in the those cases, he was released from custody after last Monday’s arrest in Lyndhurst because of New Jersey’s bail reform law, records show. He ended up dead less tha…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Off-Duty Union County Police Officer Killed 2 People In Reckless Jersey Shore Crash: Prosecutor Off-Duty Union County Police Officer Killed 2 People In Reckless Jersey Shore Crash: Prosecutor
Off-Duty Union County Police Officer Killed 2 People In Reckless Jersey Shore Crash: Prosecutor A police officer who was off duty and on his way to work in Union County when he had a fatal crash on the Jersey Shore has been charged with vehicular homicide, authorities said. He was driving under the influence when his vehicle drifted off the Garden State Parkway in Tinton Falls last fall, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.  John P. McClave III, 34, of Toms River has been arrested and charged with being criminally responsible for the motor vehicle crash that killed two people, she said. McClave, a member of the Hillside Polic…

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by Jon Craig
News
Getaway Driver Takes Guilty Plea In Armed Robbery Spree Across NJ, PA Getaway Driver Takes Guilty Plea In Armed Robbery Spree Across NJ, PA
Getaway Driver Takes Guilty Plea In Armed Robbery Spree Across NJ, PA A Trenton resident admitted driving the getaway car for a stickup man who robbed a string of convenience stores at gunpoint in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Omar Feliciano-Estremera, 44, took a deal from the government rather than go to trial after accused robber Gabriel Lopez died. Feliciano-Estremera pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Trenton on Tuesday, March 15, to three counts of robbery and one each of conspiracy and aiding and abetting the possession of a gun that was fired during one of the holdups, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He and Lopez committed the robberies i…

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by Jerry DeMarco