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Ocean County Sheriff’s Office

Police & Fire
Bodycam Footage Released In Toms River Man’s Death During Arrest, AG Identifies Officers Bodycam Footage Released In Toms River Man’s Death During Arrest, AG Identifies Officers
Bodycam Footage Released In Toms River Man’s Death During Arrest, AG Identifies Officers Authorities have released body camera video of the incident when a Toms River man died while police tried to detain him. The state Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability made the footage public on Tuesday, Nov. 26. The video showed the Friday, Apr. 19 encounter that ended with the death of 47-year-old John Cassidy. The incident began at a gas station on Route 37 near West End Avenue at around 1 p.m. Island Heights police officers Peter Muscarella, Dominique D’Amico-Violante, and Lt. Paul Rutledge attempted to arrest Cassidy on active warrants. The f…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Wall Township Man Admits To Selling Borrowed Vehicle To Someone In Georgia, Prosecutors Say Wall Township Man Admits To Selling Borrowed Vehicle To Someone In Georgia, Prosecutors Say
Wall Township Man Admits To Selling Borrowed Vehicle To Someone In Georgia, Prosecutors Say A Wall Township man admitted to stealing a vehicle he borrowed and selling it in Georgia, authorities said. Jaquel Accoo, 29, pleaded guilty on Monday, Oct. 28 to motor vehicle theft and witness tampering, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. A man reported to Toms River police on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, that his vehicle had been stolen. Investigators said Accoo borrowed the vehicle from the owner but instead of returning it, he sold it to someone in Georgia. Accoo was charged on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2023, a warrant was issued for his arrest, and his na…

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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
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
News
Divers Pull Drowning Swimmer From Privately-Owned NJ Lake Divers Pull Drowning Swimmer From Privately-Owned NJ Lake
Divers Pull Drowning Swimmer From Privately-Owned NJ Lake Dive teams pulled a drowning swimmer from a privately-owned New Jersey lake Monday evening, July 29. According to Whiting Fire Company Station 33, multiple rescue agencies were called to Heritage Mineral's Crystal Lake in Manchester around 6:55 p.m. for a submerged individual. UPDATE: Police ID Crystal Lake Drowning Victim As 18-Year-Old Trespasser Whiting Fire divers and surface swimmers went into the water and, after a brief search, found the swimmer. The swimmer was turned over to EMS and the Ocean County Sheriff's Office took control of the scene. The victim's condition…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Tattooed Gunman Charged With Shooting NJ Victim In Face In Tag-Team Assault: Prosecutor Tattooed Gunman Charged With Shooting NJ Victim In Face In Tag-Team Assault: Prosecutor
Tattooed Gunman Charged With Shooting NJ Victim In Face In Tag-Team Assault: Prosecutor A 26-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after shooting another man in his face last month, authorities in Ocean County said. Michael Vulpis, 26, was arrested at his home in Freehold on Wednesday, July 3, in connection with the June 27 incident in Jackson Township, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. The 27-year-old victim and a female were sitting in a parked car outside of a home on Larsen Road when a blue sedan then parked in front of the vehicle, blocking it in, Billhimer said.  Vulpis and another man got out of the blue sedan, approached the ve…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Teen On Ventilator, Families Rebuilding After Massive Townhome Fire In Toms River: Fundraisers Teen On Ventilator, Families Rebuilding After Massive Townhome Fire In Toms River: Fundraisers
Teen On Ventilator, Families Rebuilding After Massive Townhome Fire In Toms River: Fundraisers A teen was put on a ventilator after a fire ripped through a Toms River townhome complex, according to a fundraising campaign. A GoFundMe page said the 17-year-old boy named Matthew was in the intensive care unit at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick after inhaling "a significant amount of soot and smoke." Two of his family members and three firefighters were also injured in the massive fire at Mariners Cove on Monday, July 1. Matthew's GoFundMe page had raised more than $2,200 from at least 39 donations as of Tuesday, July 2. "Our family is absolutely crushed over th…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Six Firefighters, Residents Injured In Massive Toms River Townhouse Complex Fire Six Firefighters, Residents Injured In Massive Toms River Townhouse Complex Fire
Six Firefighters, Residents Injured In Massive Toms River Townhouse Complex Fire Six people were injured, including three firefighters, when townhomes caught fire near the Toms River waterfront, officials said. Silverton firefighters responded to the fire on Kettle Creek Road at around 3:20 a.m. on Monday, July 1, the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention said in a news release. Two townhome units were fully on fire and flames were spreading to neighboring units in the Mariners Cove townhome complex. First reports said a man was possibly trapped inside the building and fire crews began searching for him. They had to retreat because of how severe the fire was bu…

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by Chris Spiker
News
Manchester Shooting Victim, 25, Dies After Being Airlifted To Hospital, Cops Say Manchester Shooting Victim, 25, Dies After Being Airlifted To Hospital, Cops Say
Manchester Shooting Victim, 25, Dies After Being Airlifted To Hospital, Cops Say Police in one Ocean County town are investigating the shooting death of a 25-year-old woman on Thursday, June 27, authorities said. Officers responding to a 9-1-1 call found the woman on Ridgeway Road and Hope Chapel Road with a gunshot wound to her stomach just before 5 p.m., Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. ALSO SEE: Victim Of Ocean County Shooting, 25, Was 'Vibrant' Mom Survived By Young Son, Obituary Says The victim was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where she died of her injuries, the prosecutor said alongside Manc…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
South Jersey Woman Used Child To Sell Psychedelic Mushrooms, Prosecutors Say South Jersey Woman Used Child To Sell Psychedelic Mushrooms, Prosecutors Say
South Jersey Woman Used Child To Sell Psychedelic Mushrooms, Prosecutors Say An Ocean County woman was accused of using a child living in her home to sell psychedelic mushrooms, authorities said. Margaret Whalen, 60, of Lacey Township, was arrested on Wednesday, June 5. Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced her charges in a news release. Lacey police were told by the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency in March that Whalen was using her Elwood Street home to make and sell psilocybin mushrooms. Officers executed a search warrant on the home on Wednesday, Mar. 13. Detectives seized several jars with suspected psychedelic mushrooms and…

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by Chris Spiker