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Police & Fire
Chiropractor Captured By Bergen Prosecutor's Detectives Charged In Three-County Robbery Spree Chiropractor Captured By Bergen Prosecutor's Detectives Charged In Three-County Robbery Spree
Chiropractor Captured By Bergen Prosecutor's Detectives Charged In Three-County Robbery Spree A chiropractor from Morris County went on a strong-arm robbery spree through Garfield, Lyndhurst, Wood-Ridge, Paterson, Parsippany and Wharton, said authorities who identified and captured him. Erick Macias, 35, remained held Thursday in the Bergen County Jail pending a detention hearing this coming Monday in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack. Detectives took Macias into custody at his East Dewey Avenue apartment in Wharton on Tuesday, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. They charged him with six counts of robbery, along with various counts of aggravated assault, simp…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fire Blows Through Roof Of Moonachie Home Fire Blows Through Roof Of Moonachie Home
Fire Blows Through Roof Of Moonachie Home Flames blew through the roof of a Moonachie home early Monday evening. The call for what began as a two-alarm blaze on Joseph Street was called in at 4:50 p.m. No injuries were immediately reported. Assisting their Moonachie colleagues at the scene or in coverage were firefighters from Carlstadt, Hasbrouck Heights, Little Ferry, South Hackensack and Wood-Ridge.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Target Shelf Stocker Charged With Raping Wood-Ridge Pre-Teen Target Shelf Stocker Charged With Raping Wood-Ridge Pre-Teen
Target Shelf Stocker Charged With Raping Wood-Ridge Pre-Teen A 20-year-old Target shelf stocker from Wood-Ridge raped a pre-teen, authorities charged. Steven Cabrera remained held Wednesday in the Bergen County Jail pending a May 18 first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack following his arrest the day before. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Wood-Ridge police contacted members of his Special Victims Unit after receiving a report that Cabrera had sexually assaulted a child under 13 on Monday. Cabrera is charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault of a victim under 13, sexual assault and child endangerment …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
'Bittersweet': NJ Toddler, Grandmother Bond Through Glass Door While Social Distancing 'Bittersweet': NJ Toddler, Grandmother Bond Through Glass Door While Social Distancing
'Bittersweet': NJ Toddler, Grandmother Bond Through Glass Door While Social Distancing A Bergen County toddler got a bittersweet visit from her grandmother whom she hadn't seen in three weeks -- and it didn't even matter that a glass door was in the way. Christina Penaloza of Wood-Ridge shared footage of her 14-month-old daughter Gabriela Gia, pressing her face against the front door when Penaloza's mom Daria Baricevic showed up for a visit. Baricevic helps Penaloza raise Gabriela, but of social-distancing guidelines, Baricevic hasn't been able to come by the house. That's been hard on Gabriela, who shares a special bond with her grandmother -- who she calls Baba. "Gabriel…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
ROUTE 17 JAMMED: Three Hospitalized In Rush-Hour Van Crash In Hasbrouck Heights ROUTE 17 JAMMED: Three Hospitalized In Rush-Hour Van Crash In Hasbrouck Heights
Route 17 Jammed: Three Hospitalized In Rush-Hour Van Crash In Hasbrouck Heights A driver and two passengers were injured when a van overturned in a Tuesday afternoon rush-hour crash that closed northbound Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights, authorities said. The driver apparently was trying to pull into a BP gas station on the northbound highway just north of Franklin Avenue when the Honda Odyssey struck a vehicle in the right lane, spun and slammed into a tractor-trailer parked at the station, Detective Lt. Michael Colaneri said. Hasbrouck Heights firefighters extricated the driver, assisted by their colleagues from Wood-Ridge, Colaneri said. All three victims were taken…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Store Owner Charged With Endangerment For Selling Homemade Sanitizer That Burned Bergen Boys Store Owner Charged With Endangerment For Selling Homemade Sanitizer That Burned Bergen Boys
Store Owner Charged With Endangerment For Selling Homemade Sanitizer That Burned Bergen Boys Authorities on Tuesday charged the owner of a Bergen County 7-Eleven with child endangerment for selling a sanitizer she mixed herself using a commercial cleanser that ended up burning four local boys. Manisha Bharade, 47, Wood-Ridge also was charged with deceptive business practices before being released on a summons pending court action. Bharade mixed "commercially available foaming sanitizer, which was not meant for resale," with water in pump bottles -- unwittingly causing a harmful chemical reaction -- then sold them for $2.50 each at her store in River Vale, authorities said. “She w…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Career Car Burglar Caught Again, Charged In Maywood Spree Career Car Burglar Caught Again, Charged In Maywood Spree
Career Car Burglar Caught Again, Charged In Maywood Spree A habitual car burglar who Maywood police said hit three vehicles the same night was captured early Tuesday. Hhome surveillance showed Rashawn G. Vaughan, 23, of Newark, walking up driveways and pulling on vehicle door handles overnight on Jan. 12, Detective Capt. Terence Kenny said. Vaughan has been arrested by Rochelle Park police last November following an eight-vehicle burglary spree, noted Kenny, the officer in charge of the department. SEE: Car Burglar Sought In 15 Rochelle Park Vehicle Break-Ins, Attempts Captured In Passaic Vaughan has been known to police, having been charged wit…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Website Names Wing Spots In Warren, Bergen Counties Among Best In NJ Website Names Wing Spots In Warren, Bergen Counties Among Best In NJ
Website Names Wing Spots In Warren, Bergen Counties Among Best In NJ North Jerseyans don't have to go far for some good chicken wings. Website Big 7 Travel named four spots -- three in Bergen County, one in Warren County -- among the seven best wing spots in New Jersey. "New Jersey chicken wings are among the best in the country," the site said, "so we set out to find where to find the best portions in the state." Bergen County's spots on the list are MaMa Chicken in Palisades Park, New York Wing Factory in Fort Lee and Buffalo's in Wood-Ridge. Buck Hill Brewery and Restaurant in Blairstown also made the list. Click here for the full article from Big …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Fast-Moving Blaze Destroys Lodi Commercial Building UPDATE: Fast-Moving Blaze Destroys Lodi Commercial Building
Update: Fast-Moving Blaze Destroys Lodi Commercial Building Fire destroyed a Lodi commercial building Thursday night. The general-alarm blaze broke out shortly before 9 p.m. in the kitchen of a small building next to the one that housed the JDM School Uniform company and CCS Car Care Specialties on Main Street, Fire Chief Steven Cassiello said. Flames quickly spread and soon blew through the roof of the uniform store. A dog who apparently belonged to the woman who owned the defunct business next door reportedly died in the fire. A neighbor said the store had closed about two weeks ago and the owner may have been living there. At the Lodi fire …

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by Jerry DeMarco