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Police & Fire
Driver, 31, Arrested At Airport After Fleeing To Turkey In Deadly Route 46 Crash: Prosecutor Driver, 31, Arrested At Airport After Fleeing To Turkey In Deadly Route 46 Crash: Prosecutor
Driver, 31, Arrested At Airport After Fleeing To Turkey In Deadly Route 46 Crash: Prosecutor A 31-year-old Wayne man was identified as the driver who struck and killed a pedestrian in Parsippany before fleeing the scene and then trying to flee the country last month, authorities said. Davut Batca was behind the wheel of a Toyota RAV4 when he struck Jelson Cabrera, 35, of Trenton, on Route 46 West near Sandra Drive just before 10 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19, Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll said. Cabrera was taken to Morristown Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. Meanwhile, Batca fled the scene and then left the United States for Turkey, the pros…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Hackettstown Man Lied About Assault: Denville PD Hackettstown Man Lied About Assault: Denville PD
Hackettstown Man Lied About Assault: Denville PD A Hackettstown man was arrested on Friday, Sept. 6 and charged with filing a false police report over an assault in Denville, authorities said. On Saturday, Aug. 31, officers began investigating a report that Edward Wess was assaulted by a group of people on Luger Road and his vehicle was damaged by a blunt object, Denville police said. During the investigation, it was determined that the incident did not occur as reported, police said Wess turned himself into Denville police and was charged with false reports to law enforcement authorities, officers said. He was released pending a future …

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Loaded Gun, High-Capacity Magazine Found On Unlicensed Route 17 Driver, Police Say Loaded Gun, High-Capacity Magazine Found On Unlicensed Route 17 Driver, Police Say
Loaded Gun, High-Capacity Magazine Found On Unlicensed Route 17 Driver, Police Say A motorist from North Carolina was found with a loaded firearm and a high-capacity magazine during a routine motor vehicle stop on Route 17 in Paramus this week, police said. Officer Cesar Hurtado stopped a gray 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe heading north near the Garden State Parkway for a traffic violation around 2:20 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, Paramus Police Chief Robert Guidetti said. A registration check revealed that the registered owner had a revoked driving privilege, Guidetti said. Hurtado identified the driver as Shenita J. King, 38, of Rocky Mount, NC, who said the vehicle was not hers…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Campfire Accidentally Sparked Huge Wildfire Near Jersey Shore Neighborhood: Investigators Campfire Accidentally Sparked Huge Wildfire Near Jersey Shore Neighborhood: Investigators
Campfire Accidentally Sparked Huge Wildfire Near Jersey Shore Neighborhood: Investigators 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
Horses Extricated From Trailer In NJ Turnpike Crash, Firefighters Say Horses Extricated From Trailer In NJ Turnpike Crash, Firefighters Say
Horses Extricated From Trailer In NJ Turnpike Crash, Firefighters Say Several horses were medically treated after the trailers they were being towed in were struck on the New Jersey Turnpike Tuesday, Sept. 10, firefighters said. The Cherry Hill Fire Department said the crash happened in the southbound lanes near milepost 26, and involved a utility van and a truck towing the trailer. "There were no injuries to humans, however the horse trailer had significant damage to the rear door and ramp trapping the horses inside," the fire department said. "To complicate things further, the trailer was disabled and could not be moved off of the highway and one of the hor…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
LA Fitness Stabbing: Boxcutter-Wielding Suspect From Union County In Custody, Cops Say LA Fitness Stabbing: Boxcutter-Wielding Suspect From Union County In Custody, Cops Say
LA Fitness Stabbing: Boxcutter-Wielding Suspect From Union County In Custody, Cops Say A 22-year-old Scotch Plains resident was arrested and charged on Monday, Sept. 9, with attempted murder after he stabbed another man with a boxcutter at an LA Fitness in Clark on Sunday, authorities said. Officers responded to the LA Fitness at 1255 Raritan Rd. and located the victim, while the perpetrator, Antonio Lampon, fled from the scene before law enforcement arrived, Clark police said in a release. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital where he was treated and released, police said. Lampon was charged with attempted murder, multiple counts of aggravated assault and multiple…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Smoke Diminshes As Crews Begin Containing Wildfire Near Jersey Shore Neighborhood (UPDATE) Smoke Diminshes As Crews Begin Containing Wildfire Near Jersey Shore Neighborhood (UPDATE)
Smoke Diminshes As Crews Begin Containing Wildfire Near Jersey Shore Neighborhood (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
Crews Battle 150-Acre Wildfire Across Ocean County (DEVELOPING) Crews Battle 150-Acre Wildfire Across Ocean County (DEVELOPING)
Crews Battle 150-Acre Wildfire Across Ocean County (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
Arrangements Set, Obituary Posted For Fairfield Officer James 'Jimmy' Ciampi Arrangements Set, Obituary Posted For Fairfield Officer James 'Jimmy' Ciampi
Arrangements Set, Obituary Posted For Fairfield Officer James 'Jimmy' Ciampi Arrangements have been finalized for Fairfield Police Officer James "Jimmy" Ciampi, who died Monday, Sept. 9, following a battle with cancer. He would have turned 32 in October. According to his obituary on the Ippolito-Stellato Funeral Home website, visitation will be held Thursday, Sept. 12 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the funeral home in Fairfield. The funeral will be at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 13 at the funeral home, with a Funeral Mass set for 10 a.m., at the St. Thomas More R.C. Church. Ciampi graduated from West Essex High School before earning his bachelor's from Rutgers University…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Denville Man With Bloody Hands Spat On Police Officer: Authorities Denville Man With Bloody Hands Spat On Police Officer: Authorities
Denville Man With Bloody Hands Spat On Police Officer: Authorities A 27-year-old Denville man was arrested and charged after he spat on a police officer on Thursday, Sept. 5, authorities said. Officers responded to a welfare check and observed Carlos Vergne stumbling down the road from the residence with no shoes on, Denville police said. Police observed Vergne's hands were covered in blood, officers said. Vergne was placed on detainment under the suspicion of being involved in a domestic violence incident, police said. When officers requested identification, Vergne attempted to flee the scene, police said.  Officers prevented Vergne from leaving and…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Pedestrian, 65, Struck By SUV, Killed At Central Jersey Intersection: Police Pedestrian, 65, Struck By SUV, Killed At Central Jersey Intersection: Police
Pedestrian, 65, Struck By SUV, Killed At Central Jersey Intersection: Police A Hamilton Township pedestrian was killed while crossing a busy intersection, authorities said. The 65-year-old man died at the intersection of Nottingham Way and Klockner Road on Friday, Sept. 6, the Hamilton Police Division said in a news release. The crash happened at around 9:19 p.m. Investigators said a 56-year-old Hamilton woman was driving a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe eastbound on Nottingham Way. She drove through the intersection with Klockner Road and struck the man who was walking southbound across Nottingham. The man was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical C…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Parsippany Motorcyclist Killed In Sussex County Crash: NJSP Parsippany Motorcyclist Killed In Sussex County Crash: NJSP
Parsippany Motorcyclist Killed In Sussex County Crash: Njsp A 56-year-old Parsippany man was killed after his motorcycle collided with a Mercedes Benz on County Route 650 in Sussex County on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 8, authorities said. At 10:20 a.m., Sung Yi was driving a Kawasaki motorcycle eastbound when it crashed into a Mercedes Benz at the intersection of County Route 650 and County Route 675 in Montague Township, Jeffrey Lebron, a spokesman for the New Jersey State Police said. Yi sustained fatal injuries while the driver and passenger of the Mercedes Benz sustained minor injuries, Lebron said. The crash remains under investigation, Lebro…

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by Sam Barron