Art Teacher ODs In Front Of NJ Students: Police Art Teacher ODs In Front Of NJ Students: Police
Art Teacher ODs In Front Of NJ Students: Police A 57-year-old art teacher was charged with drug-related crimes after authorities in Union County said he overdosed in a classroom. Frank Thompson was found unresponsive on the floor of a second-floor classroom at Roosevelt Intermediate School around 9:05 a.m. Nov. 29, 2022, Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro said. Thompson was actively being treated by a school nurse when officers arrived, identifying signs of a drug overdose, Battiloro said. Officer Riga deployed and administered Narcan, reviving Thompson, who was later found with drugs and varioius paraphernalia…
GOTCHA! Accused $76,000 Gunpoint Bank Robber Captured By Marshals In Passaic Fits The Profile GOTCHA! Accused $76,000 Gunpoint Bank Robber Captured By Marshals In Passaic Fits The Profile
Gotcha! Accused $76,000 Gunpoint Bank Robber Captured By Marshals In Passaic Fits The Profile An ex-con captured by federal Marshals in Passaic after authorities said he robbed a South Jersey bank of $76,000 at gunpoint during Christmas week fit the profile, investigators said. William Ray, 43, of East Orange, is, in fact, being eyed in at least one other bank holdup, as well, just weeks earlier and barely seven miles away. It was shortly after 4:30 p.m. last Dec. 22 that a robber identified as Ray held employees at gunpoint at the Investors Bank on Route 70 in Cherry Hill. After trying and failing to lock them in the vault, he fled with the cash, authorities said. It was a fairly …
Franklin Lakes Detectives Tie Break-Ins To Statewide Theft Ring Franklin Lakes Detectives Tie Break-Ins To Statewide Theft Ring
Franklin Lakes Detectives Tie Break-Ins To Statewide Theft Ring A team of persistent Franklin Lakes police detectives tied two members of a major statewide auto theft ring to nearly a dozen vehicle and residential burglaries in town, authorities announced Friday. “Patient and painstaking work” by Detectives Jon Rynander and Frank O’Brien, assisted by Detective David Blum, led to charges against Carlos J. Sanchez and James A. Lanier, both 23 of Newark, Capt. Mark McCombs said on Jan. 6. Sanchez and Lanier were originally arrested during a November takedown by New Jersey State Police of a ring that stole more than 30 vehicles – including BMWs and Land Rov…
23,000 Fentanyl Doses, 30 Homemade Guns Seized In NJ Latin Kings Takedown: Feds 23,000 Fentanyl Doses, 30 Homemade Guns Seized In NJ Latin Kings Takedown: Feds
23,000 Fentanyl Doses, 30 Homemade Guns Seized In NJ Latin Kings Takedown: Feds More than 23,000 doses of fentanyl, nearly 30 homemade firearms and a host of parts designed to create fully-automatic machine guns were seized in the takedown of a drug and gun trafficking network run by New Jersey members of the Latin Kings, federal authorities announced. Nine reputed members of the ring were charged with a variety of drug and weapon offenses that include creating and selling private-made firearms (PMFs), more commonly known as “ghost guns," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. PMFs were actually being made on 3D printers at the moment law enforcers raided one of sever…
Union County Dad Of 3, Lab Tech Jared Vassallo Dies, 33 Union County Dad Of 3, Lab Tech Jared Vassallo Dies, 33
Union County Dad Of 3, Lab Tech Jared Vassallo Dies, 33 Dedicated Union County dad of three and lab technician Jared Vassallo died on Sunday, Dec. 11 aged 33. Born in Livingston, Jared grew up in Westfield before moving to Newport, Rhode Island, and returning to Kenilworth, his obituary says. Jared graduated from the Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains in 2007 and earned his plumbing certification at the Community College of Rhode Island. He was employed as a plumber for several years and most recently worked as a lab technician and phlebotomist at Toplab in Millburn, according to his memorial. Jared was a former parishioner at churche…
Armed Robber Admits Role In Multiple Liquor, Convenience Store Holdups In NJ, NY Armed Robber Admits Role In Multiple Liquor, Convenience Store Holdups In NJ, NY
Armed Robber Admits Role In Multiple Liquor, Convenience Store Holdups In NJ, NY UPDATE: A member of a New Jersey-based armed robbery crew copped to holding up five liquor and convenience stores in two states, federal authorities said. Jaime Fontanez, 45, of Elizabeth and two accomplices went on a six-month armed robbery spree beginning in August 2018, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Federal authorities tied the crew to 13 holdups in all in Essex, Union and Middlesex counties, as well as in the Bronx and upstate New York, the U.S. attorney said. The robbers followed a basic script, with two of them going into the business with their faces covered while a wheelm…
FEDS: Getaway Minivan Driver Gets 12 Years, No Parole, For Armed Robbery Spree In NJ, PA FEDS: Getaway Minivan Driver Gets 12 Years, No Parole, For Armed Robbery Spree In NJ, PA
Feds: Getaway Minivan Driver Gets 12 Years, No Parole, For Armed Robbery Spree In NJ, PA UPDATE: The man who drove the getaway car -- actually a minivan -- in an armed robbery spree in New Jersey and Pennsylvania must spend the next 12 years in federal prison. Omar Feliciano-Estremera, 45, was the wheelman for a fellow Trentonian Gabriel Lopez, who authorities said fired a gun during one of the holdups. The pair committed the robberies at mostly convenience stores in Mercer and Union counties in New Jersey and in Bucks County, PA in May and June of 2019, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Lopez "entered the businesses, brandished a handgun, and demanded money from the sto…
Overturned Ambulance Halts Rush Hour Traffic On Garden State Parkway Overturned Ambulance Halts Rush Hour Traffic On Garden State Parkway
Overturned Ambulance Halts Rush Hour Traffic On Garden State Parkway An ambulance that overturned at a Garden State Parkway toll station halted rush hour traffic Friday, Nov. 18. Photos along the highway show the ambulance overturned at the Union County toll station in Hillside near exit 142 on the northbound side. This is a developing story. Check back for more.
Rahway Murder Suspect Captured In Newark Rahway Murder Suspect Captured In Newark
Rahway Murder Suspect Captured In Newark A 31-year-old man has been charged with murder in the weekend killing of the 44-year-old victim in Union County, authorities said. Brandan Melford, of Rahway, was captured in Newark and charged in connection with the death of Jack Harris, of Roselle, on Saturday, Nov. 12,  Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel said. Harris was found having suffered gunshot wounds around 12:40 p.m. on the 1400 block of Witherspoon Street in Rahway, and pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation led by the Union County Homicide Task Force and assisted by the Rahway Police Department, the Un…
NJ Tax Preparer Admits Helping Dozens Of Clients Cheat IRS Out Of $500,000 NJ Tax Preparer Admits Helping Dozens Of Clients Cheat IRS Out Of $500,000
NJ Tax Preparer Admits Helping Dozens Of Clients Cheat IRS Out Of $500,000 A Union County tax preparer admitted that she helped dozens of clients cheat the government out of nearly a half-million dollars, federal authorities said. Nehemie Leon, of Roselle, worked for Preferred Tax Choice in Irvington, records show. While there, Leon admitted in court, she “fabricated and inflated” certain tax credits, itemized deductions, expenses, and exemptions for a host of clients, said Tammy Tomlins, the acting special agent in charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation’s Newark Field Office. Altogether, Leon prepared more than 100 individual returns for 31 clients, Tomlins said. …
Police ID Union County Murder Victim, 44 Police ID Union County Murder Victim, 44
Police ID Union County Murder Victim, 44 A 44-year-old Roselle man was shot and killed in broad daylight over the weekend in Rahway, authorities said. Jack Harris was found suffering gunshot wounds on the 1400 block of Witherspoon Avenue around 12:40 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, the Union County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. He was pronounced dead at the scene. This is an ongoing investigation and anyone with information regarding this incident should contact Union County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force Detective Patrick Bradley at 908-418-2187 Or Rahway Police Department Detective Sidra Colvin at 732-827-2200. Tip…
Election Day 2022: Hottest House Races In NJ Election Day 2022: Hottest House Races In NJ
Election Day 2022: Hottest House Races In NJ Polls are open for the 2022 midterm elections Tuesday, Nov. 8. All 12 of New Jersey's seats in the US House of Representatives are contested, and Republicans are hoping to win back the four seats flipped in the 2018 midterms. If the 435-member House flips to Republican control, that is considered a "referendum" on Joe Biden's first-term problems as president.  Here's a rundown of the key races in New Jersey. 3rd Congressional District: Andy Kim (D) has held the position since being elected in 2018, and is up against Bob Healey Jr. (R), who works as an executive at his family's yacht-build…