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Police & Fire
Trio Indicted In Plot To Murder Man In Jackson Township, Prosecutors Say Trio Indicted In Plot To Murder Man In Jackson Township, Prosecutors Say
Trio Indicted In Plot To Murder Man In Jackson Township, Prosecutors Say A grand jury indicted three men accused of plotting to shoot and kill another man in Jackson Township, authorities said. Michael Vulpis of Freehold Borough, Noah Phelps of Monroe Township, and Glenn Franzson of Jackson Township were indicted on Wednesday, Sept. 18, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. The three were facing charges in the shooting on Thursday, June 27. Jackson police responded to the shooting report on Larsen Road at around 12:20 a.m. and officers found a 27-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his face. He was treat…

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by Chris Spiker
Business
OceanFirst Bank Agrees To $15M Settlement For Redlining In Ocean County, Feds Say OceanFirst Bank Agrees To $15M Settlement For Redlining In Ocean County, Feds Say
OceanFirst Bank Agrees To $15M Settlement For Redlining In Ocean County, Feds Say A Jersey Shore bank will pay more than $15 million in a settlement for racially discriminatory lending practices known as redlining, authorities said. OceanFirst Bank agreed to the settlement to resolve the accusations that date back to 2018, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. The Toms River-based bank was accused of redlining in predominantly non-white neighborhoods in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties. The $15 million settlement came after the Department of Justice launched its Combating Redlining Initiative in October 2021, aiming to s…

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by Chris Spiker
News
Ocean County Landlords Among 25 Facing Fines For Considering Tenants' Criminal Histories Ocean County Landlords Among 25 Facing Fines For Considering Tenants' Criminal Histories
Ocean County Landlords Among 25 Facing Fines For Considering Tenants' Criminal Histories Twenty-five landlords are facing fines after state officials said they violated state laws by considering potential tenants' criminal histories. According to NJ Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR), the notices of violation allege that the housing providers violated the law by, among other things, asking criminal history-related questions on housing applications that are prohibited by the law. The Notices of Violation announced Monday, Sept. 16 were served on housing providers located in 15 municipalities across Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, C…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Barnegat Drug Dealer With Stolen Gun Sentenced, Prosecutors Say Barnegat Drug Dealer With Stolen Gun Sentenced, Prosecutors Say
Barnegat Drug Dealer With Stolen Gun Sentenced, Prosecutors Say A Barnegat Township man will spend several years in prison after admitting to having heroin, cocaine, and a stolen gun, authorities said. Quaison Ellis, 25, was sentenced on Friday, Sept. 13 to 10 years in state prison, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. He pleaded guilty on Monday, July 15 to several charges related to two incidents. Investigators established surveillance outside a home on Hawthorne Lane in Barnegat on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. Ellis was seen leaving the home and then entered a vehicle's front passenger seat. Detectives fol…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Brick Township Cocaine Dealer Gets 10-Year Prison Sentence, Prosecutors Say Brick Township Cocaine Dealer Gets 10-Year Prison Sentence, Prosecutors Say
Brick Township Cocaine Dealer Gets 10-Year Prison Sentence, Prosecutors Say A Brick Township man will spend a decade in prison after having more than 100 grams of cocaine and nearly $20,000 in cash, authorities said. Ezra Wheeler, 27, was sentenced on Friday, Sept. 13 to 10 years in state prison, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. He pleaded guilty on Monday, July 15 to possession of more than one half-ounce but less than five ounces of cocaine with intent to distribute. Brick Township police established surveillance on a Coventry Court home as part of a drug investigation on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Detectives saw …

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Barnegat Ex-Con Pleads Guilty To Cocaine, Gun Charges: Prosecutors Barnegat Ex-Con Pleads Guilty To Cocaine, Gun Charges: Prosecutors
Barnegat Ex-Con Pleads Guilty To Cocaine, Gun Charges: Prosecutors A Barnegat ex-convict admitted to selling cocaine and having a gun, authorities said. Clifford Holland, 48, pleaded guilty on Monday, Sept. 9 to two charges, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release on Wednesday, Sept. 11. He was arrested in Barnegat on Friday, Feb. 23. Police executed a search warrant at a home on Gunning River Road. Detectives seized an undisclosed amount of cocaine and a .22-caliber revolver. Holland was taken into custody at the scene. He's been held in the Ocean County Jail since his arrest. Holland pleaded guilty to posses…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Campfire Accidentally Sparked Fishers Pit Wildfire In Bayville, Investigators Say Campfire Accidentally Sparked Fishers Pit Wildfire In Bayville, Investigators Say
Campfire Accidentally Sparked Fishers Pit Wildfire In Bayville, Investigators Say An illegal and abandoned campfire started a massive wildfire that burned for three days in Ocean County, authorities said. Investigators determined the wildfire was accidentally started by "an unknown person(s) improperly extinguishing a campfire," Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The roughly 189-acre wildfire burned near Fishers Pit, a sand and gravel pit in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township. In its final update, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said the wildfire was 100 percent contained a…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Smoke Diminishes As Crews Begin Containing Fishers Pit Wildfire In Bayville (UPDATE) Smoke Diminishes As Crews Begin Containing Fishers Pit Wildfire In Bayville (UPDATE)
Smoke Diminishes As Crews Begin Containing Fishers Pit Wildfire In Bayville (Update) Smoke has diminished as a massive wildfire burned for a second day in Ocean County, officials said. The fire was first spotted at the Cedar Bridge fire tower at 4:44 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 9, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said in an update. The roughly 189-acre wildfire was burning near Fishers Pit, a sand and gravel pit in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township. Conditions have improved after "erratic fire behavior" caused problems for the first firefighters at the scene. "Fire crews continue to secure and reinforce containment lines by mopping up hot …

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Late-Night Wildfire Breaks Out At Fishers Pit In Bayville, Firefighters Say (DEVELOPING) Late-Night Wildfire Breaks Out At Fishers Pit In Bayville, Firefighters Say (DEVELOPING)
Late-Night Wildfire Breaks Out At Fishers Pit In Bayville, Firefighters Say (Developing) Firefighters were battling a massive wildfire in Ocean County that broke out late Monday, Sept. 9, officials said. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service said the fire was burning near Fishers Pit, a sand and gravel pit in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township. The NJFFS first posted on Twitter about the wildfire at 7:30 p.m. Monday. As of Tuesday morning, the fire had been 20 percent contained to 150 acres, after spreading near Northern Boulevard in the Barnegat Pines neighborhood of Berkeley. "When firefighters arrived on scene initial attack efforts were unsuccessful due to erratic…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Sidewalk Pedestrian Airlifted After Being Struck By Man With History Of Careless Driving In NJ Sidewalk Pedestrian Airlifted After Being Struck By Man With History Of Careless Driving In NJ
Sidewalk Pedestrian Airlifted After Being Struck By Man With History Of Careless Driving In NJ A woman was flown to the hospital after a careless driver drove onto the sidewalk and struck her while she was walking her dog in an Ocean County town on Friday, Sept. 6, police said. Eugenio Carta of Berkeley Township was operating a 1999 Buick Sedan when he drove off the roadway, struck the victim walking her dog on the sidewalk, then came to rest after hitting a tree around 3 p.m. at the intersection on Doral Drive at Cohansey Drive, local police said. The woman suffered a head injury from the crash and was airlifted to Jersey Shore Medical Center where she was in critical but stable con…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Four-Year-Old Pulled From South Seaside Park Pool Dies On Labor Day: Investigators Four-Year-Old Pulled From South Seaside Park Pool Dies On Labor Day: Investigators
Four-Year-Old Pulled From South Seaside Park Pool Dies On Labor Day: Investigators A young boy died on Labor Day after he was pulled from an Ocean County swimming pool a few days earlier, authorities said. The four-year-old was pronounced dead at Jersey Shore University Medical Center on Monday, Sept. 2, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. Berkeley Township police responded to "an accidental submersion" at a home in South Seaside Park at around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30. Paramedics performed CPR on the boy before he was rushed to the Neptune hospital.  The boy was originally listed in critical but stable…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Manahawkin Bay Boater Struck By Propeller, Sucked Under Water: Police Manahawkin Bay Boater Struck By Propeller, Sucked Under Water: Police
Manahawkin Bay Boater Struck By Propeller, Sucked Under Water: Police A 59-year-old boater was hospitalized after being struck by the propeller of a boat after being ejected from his own and sucked under water in Ocean County over Labor Day Weekend, police said. The Neshanic Station man was heading east on Manahawkin Bay in Long Beach on a personal watercraft when his boat was struck by a 28-foot vessel heading north around 4:35 p.m., New Jersey State Police Sgt. Charles Marchan said. The boater was ejected from his boat upon impact and sucked underwater by the other vessel’s propulsion. The propellers of the vessel then struck the man, who was hospitali…

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by Cecilia Levine