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Police & Fire
Teen Boy On Stolen Motorcycle Seriously Hurt In Linden Crash Teen Boy On Stolen Motorcycle Seriously Hurt In Linden Crash
Teen Boy On Stolen Motorcycle Seriously Hurt In Linden Crash A 16-year-old boy riding a stolen motorcycle was seriously hurt in a Linden crash Friday, Aug. 26, authorities said. The 2017 Kawasaki traveling north on S. Stiles Street struck a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox that was making a turn onto W. Stimpson Avenue around 8:15 p.m., local police said. It was later learned that the motorcycle had been reported stolen from New York City. One of the motorcyclists, identified as a 16-year-old Brooklyn boy, was seriously injured in the crash. He was treated on scene and taken to Newark University Hospital where he remains in critical condition. A se…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Car Careens Into Linden Flower Shop Sending Victim Into Medical Episode Car Careens Into Linden Flower Shop Sending Victim Into Medical Episode
Car Careens Into Linden Flower Shop Sending Victim Into Medical Episode A driver who slammed his car through a Linden building caused a victim inside to suffer a medical episode Thursday, Aug. 18, authorities said. The Mazda sedan was heading east on E. St. George Ave when it lost control as it turned onto Adams Street around 3:35 p.m., police said. That's when the car went into the side of Charlie's Flowers and Gourmet Baskets, photos from the scene show. The vehicle occupants were not injured in the crash, however, a 46-year-old man inside the building suffered a medical episode and was taken to Trinitas Regional Medical Center for further evaluation. …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
PLOT TWIST: Attendant Helped Plan Gas Station Robbery Off Garden State Parkway, Feds Charge PLOT TWIST: Attendant Helped Plan Gas Station Robbery Off Garden State Parkway, Feds Charge
Plot Twist: Attendant Helped Plan Gas Station Robbery Off Garden State Parkway, Feds Charge Federal authorities charged a gas station attendant with planning the robbery of a newly-opened QuickChek where he worked just off the Garden State Parkway. An indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Newark accuses Tyrone Crutchfield-Davis, 27, of Linden of plotting the Dec. 15, 2019 holdup on North Avenue at Exit 137 in Cranford with three associates. Authorities had previously identified the other three men -- Wiggins Cadet, 24, and Khalil Brown, 23, of Roselle, and Zyquan McCray, 23, of Linden. It turns out Crutchfield-Davis -- a former standout high school quarterback with a cri…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Linden Nightclub Shooting Injures Three Victims Linden Nightclub Shooting Injures Three Victims
Linden Nightclub Shooting Injures Three Victims An argument that started inside of a Linden nightclub over the weekend ended in the shooting of three individuals, leaving two seriously injured, authorities said. A man involved went to his car during the argument at Menga Lounge on St. George's Avenue around 2:05 a.m. and returned with a gun, before firing several shots through the door into the vestibule on Saturday, Aug. 6, Linden police said. Three patrons were struck including a 24-year-old Bridgewater woman, a 23-year-old Irvington woman and a 28-year-old Elizabeth man, police said. The Bridgewater woman suffered non life-threatenin…

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by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
Toddler Drowned In North Jersey Pool Was Brother's Fearless Bestie Toddler Drowned In North Jersey Pool Was Brother's Fearless Bestie
Toddler Drowned In North Jersey Pool Was Brother's Fearless Bestie Support is surging for the brother and parents of a North Jersey boy who drowned in a backyard pool over the weekend. Christian Carter Ruiz was rushed to the hospital on Sunday, July 31, after his lifeless body was pulled from a pool on the 400 block of McKinley Street in Linden, according to police and those who know the family. Christian was pronounced dead at Trinitas Regional Medical Center, leaving his family in shock and disbelief. "Christian was a sweet little boy, funny, fearless, and could brighten even your darkest days," his godmother Marcia Pimentel wrote on a GoFundMe pag…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
2-Year-Old Boy Drowns In Backyard North Jersey Pool 2-Year-Old Boy Drowns In Backyard North Jersey Pool
2-Year-Old Boy Drowns In Backyard North Jersey Pool A 2-year-old boy drowned in his family's backyard pool over the weekend in Union County, authorities said. Family members pulled the boy from the pool on the 400 block of McKinley Street in Linden and immediately began CPR on Sunday, July 31, Linden Police Capt. Christopher Guenther said. The boy was rushed to Trinitas Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The incident remains under joint investigation by the Linden Police Detective Bureau, the Linden Police Juvenile Aid Bureau, and the Union County Homide Task Force.

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Linden Man Sexually Assaulted Boy, 2 Girls, Woman: Prosecutor Linden Man Sexually Assaulted Boy, 2 Girls, Woman: Prosecutor
Linden Man Sexually Assaulted Boy, 2 Girls, Woman: Prosecutor A 35-year-old Linden man was ordered detained pending pending disposition after his arrest for sexually assaulting a boy, two girls and a woman, authorities announced. An investigation into Johan A. Osorno began last month, when the Linden Police Department notified he sexually assaulted the two children, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel said. During the investigation, police learned Osorno had also molested a now-adult female when she was a minor between 2018 and 2020, according to Assistant Prosecutor Bryan Tiscia, who is prosecuting the case.  A woman was al…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
US Marine Cadet Struck In Route 1&9 Crash Dies US Marine Cadet Struck In Route 1&9 Crash Dies
US Marine Cadet Struck In Route 1&9 Crash Dies An 18-year-old US Marine cadet who was struck last April in a hit-and-run crash on Route 1&9 has died. Rayan Bien-Aima was crossing the street at Aviation Plaza north, around 11:15 p.m. Monday, April 25, Linden Police Capt. Christopher Guenther said. He was struck by a dark-colored coupe or sedan was heading north on W. Edgar Road. The vehicle fled the scene and Bien-Aima remained hospitalized ever since. A GoFundMe page that seeks to raise $15,000 said he died on Saturday, July 2. "Rayan leaves behind his parents and four siblings, three of whom attend Rahway Public Schools,…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Fentanyl Trafficking Network Dismantled In Pre-Dawn NJ Bust: Prosecutor Fentanyl Trafficking Network Dismantled In Pre-Dawn NJ Bust: Prosecutor
Fentanyl Trafficking Network Dismantled In Pre-Dawn NJ Bust: Prosecutor A fentanyl trafficking network was dismantled by authorities who seized nearly a quarter-pound of the highly-lethal drug, two handguns and several thousand dollars in suspected drug money, the Union County Prosecutor's Office announced. The three-month investigation concluded before dawn on June 20 with the execution of search warrants across Phillipsburg, Middlesex Borough and in homes on Charles and Hussa streets in Linden, according to Assistant Prosecutors Peter DeRose and Megan Tomlinson, who are prosecuting the case. Seized were approximately 100 grams of raw fentanyl, hundr…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Driver Charged In Fatal Central Jersey Crash, Victim ID'd Driver Charged In Fatal Central Jersey Crash, Victim ID'd
Driver Charged In Fatal Central Jersey Crash, Victim ID'd A 27-year-old man from Mercer County has been arrested in connection with a fatal crash in Central Jersey, authorities said. Egrevel Vasquez-Garcia of Hightstown was charged in the crash that occurred on Tuesday, June 28 on Route 130 in North Brunswick, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Joseph Battaglia of the North Brunswick Police Department. An investigation by Detective Jason Vallese of the North Brunswick Police Department, Detective Jonathan Berman and Detective James Alleva of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office determined tha…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Staten Island Motorcyclist Seriously Injured In Linden Crash Staten Island Motorcyclist Seriously Injured In Linden Crash
Staten Island Motorcyclist Seriously Injured In Linden Crash A 37-year-old Staten Island motorcyclist was hospitalized with serious injuries in a Linden crash Tuesday, June 28, authorities said. The man was struck by a Jeep Cherokee leaving the CVS parking lot at 1000 W. St. George Avenue onto N. Stiles Street around 7 p.m., local police said. The motorcyclist was in serious condition while the Jeep driver, 26, was not injured. The crash remains under investigation by the Linden Police Traffic Bureau, and anyone with information is urged to contact Inv. Ryan Zaccaro at (908) 474- 8505.

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Linden Woman Stole $350K In Years-Long Medicaid Fraud Scheme: Prosecutor Linden Woman Stole $350K In Years-Long Medicaid Fraud Scheme: Prosecutor
Linden Woman Stole $350K In Years-Long Medicaid Fraud Scheme: Prosecutor A 39-year-old Linden woman was arrested on accusations she stole nearly $350,000 through bogus Medicaid claims, authorities said. Leslie K. Lassen filed numerous falsified documents with Medicaid in which she under-reported her household income between January 2015 and December 2019, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel announced. In June 2020, the Prosecutor’s Office received a trip from the New Jersey Medicaid Fraud Division pertaining to the theft of Medicaid funds by Lassen, said Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Spagnoli, who is handling the case.  Based upon those bogus sub…

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by Cecilia Levine