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Camelia Valdes

Police & Fire
JAW-DROPPER: Accused Killer Of Paterson Woman Found Bludgeoned, Shot Could Be Freed In 3 Years JAW-DROPPER: Accused Killer Of Paterson Woman Found Bludgeoned, Shot Could Be Freed In 3 Years
Jaw-dropper: Accused Killer Of Paterson Woman Found Bludgeoned, Shot Could Be Freed In 3 Years The accused killer of a woman whose body was found battered, bloodied and stuffed into a car parked on a Paterson street cut a plea deal that staggered the victim's loved ones. Now they want the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office investigated. Someone "should shed light on the lack of accountability the prosecutor's office takes for letting killers walk free in our community," said Sandra Williams. Williams was the one who'd called police and later found the body of her friend, 38-year-old single mom Stephanie DeJesus of Paterson, in the victims's Lincoln MKZ at the intersection of James S…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Lyft Driver Gets 7 Years For Fondling Pre-Teen Prospect Park Passenger Separate Times UPDATE: Lyft Driver Gets 7 Years For Fondling Pre-Teen Prospect Park Passenger Separate Times
Update: Lyft Driver Gets 7 Years For Fondling Pre-Teen Prospect Park Passenger Separate Times A former U.S. military member from Morris County who was convicted of sexually assaulting a Passaic County pre-teen while working as a Lyft driver was sentenced to seven years in state prison. Julio Mejia, 43, of Wharton also must register as a sex offender and remain under lifetime parole supervision, under the sentence handed down by Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Portelli in Paterson. Mejia rejected a plea deal after investigators said the underage Prospect Park girl told them he had sex with her after she took a Lyft ride in August 2019 and then again after several weeks of texting. He…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Details Emerge Around Widow Of NJ ‘Animal Whisperer’ Who Continued Vet Practice Without License Details Emerge Around Widow Of NJ ‘Animal Whisperer’ Who Continued Vet Practice Without License
Details Emerge Around Widow Of NJ ‘Animal Whisperer’ Who Continued Vet Practice Without License The widow of a revered North Jersey veterinarian known as the “animal whisperer” had help from two alleged co-conspirators from New York in continuing to operate her husband’s clinic without a license, it was recently revealed. Alia Muslih, 41, of Montclair originally was accused of posing as a veterinarian following her husband’s death in order to keep the Totowa Animal Hospital open. A massive 77-count grand jury indictment returned earlier this month in Paterson lays out additional details. Included are allegations that Muslih had help from Marco A. Gamarra, 64, of the Bronx and Yaser I…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
RELEASED: NJ Rapper, Associate Plead Guilty In Passaic Shooting, Freed Pending Sentencings RELEASED: NJ Rapper, Associate Plead Guilty In Passaic Shooting, Freed Pending Sentencings
Released: NJ Rapper, Associate Plead Guilty In Passaic Shooting, Freed Pending Sentencings A former Jersey City rapper who beat a murder rap in 2014 walked out of jail after cutting a deal with prosecutors for his role in a shooting in Passaic two years ago. He could be headed back to the joint for another 18 months, however. Video captured a celebratory welcoming committee greeting Albert Robinson outside the Passaic County Jail in Paterson after he and co-defendant Darnell Reeves were released. Robinson  – known as “Albee Al The Gladiator” – and Reeves had been held since September 2019 following their arrests on attempted murder charges, among other offenses, in a non-fatal …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Body Of Man Chased By Police Pulled From Passaic River Two Days Later Body Of Man Chased By Police Pulled From Passaic River Two Days Later
Body Of Man Chased By Police Pulled From Passaic River Two Days Later The death of a man whose body was recovered from the Passaic River following a police chase was being investigated by county and state authorities, a family member said she was told. Meanwhile, she and other loved ones wait in anguish for answers. Everyone agrees that the body retrieved from the river below Route 21 Monday evening was that of Thadius Wilder, a 35-year-old father of five from Passaic. Wilder, who had a history of drug arrests, was last seen running from police on that very same highway on Saturday, said his sister, Amber Wilder-Hunter. Wilder-Hunter filed a missing person…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Drop The Gun!' Video Shows Paterson Police Officer Shooting Fleeing Suspect In Foot Chase 'Drop The Gun!' Video Shows Paterson Police Officer Shooting Fleeing Suspect In Foot Chase
'Drop The Gun!' Video Shows Paterson Police Officer Shooting Fleeing Suspect In Foot Chase Footage from the body camera of a Paterson police officer who shot a fleeing suspect during a foot chase was released by Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes on Friday. "Drop the gun!" Officer Jerry Moravek shouts several times as he chases Khalif Cooper, 28, down John Street around 3:30 a.m. June 11. Suddenly, two shots ring out and Cooper falls face down in the street. Moravek handcuffs Cooper, who repeatedly says, "I don't got no gun." "Shots fired," the officer says into his radio. "Send ALS [Advanced Life Support] and supervisors. Send ALS." Moravek repeatedly asks for an ambul…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
GUILTY: Pair Convicted Of Murder In Passaic Drive-By Shooting After COVID-Delayed Case Resumes GUILTY: Pair Convicted Of Murder In Passaic Drive-By Shooting After COVID-Delayed Case Resumes
Guilty: Pair Convicted Of Murder In Passaic Drive-By Shooting After Covid-delayed Case Resumes Two Passaic men were convicted of murder, among other charges, for the drive-by shooting death of a 23-year-old city resident after a previous attempt at prosecuting them was derailed by COVID. Jurors in Paterson found Nelson Vargas, 29, and Christopher Reynoso, 22, guilty of attempted murder, as well, for the wounding of another man in the shooting. Both Vargas and Reynoso were also convicted of conspiracy and weapons offenses. Hansel Castillo was gunned down outside a home on Federal Street on May 15, 2017. Both he and Bryan Cabrera, 20, of Woodland Park, who was wounded in the shooting…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
North Jersey Strip Club Owner Charged With Sexually Assaulting Dancer North Jersey Strip Club Owner Charged With Sexually Assaulting Dancer
North Jersey Strip Club Owner Charged With Sexually Assaulting Dancer The Bergen County owner of a Paterson strip club sexually assaulted one of his dancers, authorities charged. John Acunto, 62, of Ho-Ho-Kus was arrested in connection with a series of incidents in a "VIP room" at Johnny A’s Hitching Post on Barclay Avenue just off Valley Road and Route 19, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said. Paterson police initially had responded to a report of a sexual assault at the club last Sept. 28, Valdes said. Members of her Sexual Investigations Unit then "collected evidence and interviewed the victim and witnesses" before charging Acunto with two counts…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Passaic Prosecutor Asked Employee To Process Risqué Photos Of Her And Husband, Lawsuit Claims Passaic Prosecutor Asked Employee To Process Risqué Photos Of Her And Husband, Lawsuit Claims
Passaic Prosecutor Asked Employee To Process Risqué Photos Of Her And Husband, Lawsuit Claims An employee claims Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes asked him to process inappropriate photos of her and her husband and then was retaliated against after he refused. Media specialist Henry Hernandez of Clifton contends his pay was docked, medical issues that put him at risk during COVID were ignored and he was isolated "both socially and professionally" following two refusals. Hernandez claims in a lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Paterson that he'd been considered an "exemplary employee" until Valdes asked him to process a disc of photos that contained images of the prosecuto…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Paterson Man Who Won New Trial For Child Sex Assaults Pleads Guilty For Much Less Prison Time Paterson Man Who Won New Trial For Child Sex Assaults Pleads Guilty For Much Less Prison Time
Paterson Man Who Won New Trial For Child Sex Assaults Pleads Guilty For Much Less Prison Time A Paterson man who saw his conviction for sexually assaulting three children overturned after he was sentenced to 45 years in prison took a guilty plea rather than face trial again. Now he’s looking at the possibility of freedom after only a third of that time. On the flip side, it spares the victims the trauma of having to testify. Jurors in Superior Court in Paterson originally convicted Victor Enamorado of three counts of sexual assault in 2015. That conviction was among dozens that were subsequently nullified after the state Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that a particular legal the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
POLICE SHOOTOUT: Judge Orders Accused Paterson Gunman Held After Wild Pursuit POLICE SHOOTOUT: Judge Orders Accused Paterson Gunman Held After Wild Pursuit
Police Shootout: Judge Orders Accused Paterson Gunman Held After Wild Pursuit UPDATE: A judge has ordered that a Paterson ex-con accused of exchanging gunfire with police while fleeing a shooting remain held pending trial. Jabor Taylor, 39, was arrested after detectives found his smashed-up Buick with a bullet hole in the rear windshield in East Orange following the Labor Day weekend incident, authorities said. It began when a 22-year-old city man was shot several times near the corner of East 22nd Street and 12th Avenue around 1 a.m. Sept. 4. The victim was being taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center when an officer tried to stop a vehicle of interest drive…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Passaic Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Child, 8 Passaic Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Child, 8
Passaic Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Child, 8 A 23-year-old Passaic man was accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old child. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said detectives from her Special Victims Unit began investigating after the victim’s mother contacted her office directly. They arrested Manuel Figueroa and charged him with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and child endangerment for an incident that the child said occurred at a home in Passaic between and March of this year, she said. Figueroa remained held in the Passaic County Jail pending court action, the prosecutor said.

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Clifton Police Officer Indicted On Child Sex Assault Charges Clifton Police Officer Indicted On Child Sex Assault Charges
Clifton Police Officer Indicted On Child Sex Assault Charges Grand jurors in Paterson returned an indictment charging a Clifton police officer with several child sex abuse counts, authorities said Friday. Frank Castro-Ramirez, 40, has remained held in the Passaic County Jail ever since his June 3 arrest, records show. Special Victims Unit Assistant Passaic County Prosecutor Alyssa DiSturco secured the indictment charging him with two counts each of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated sexual contact and child endangerment Clifton police notified unit detectives of the allegations in late May, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'No Questions Asked': NJ Buys Back Nearly 1,000 Guns 'No Questions Asked': NJ Buys Back Nearly 1,000 Guns
'No Questions Asked': NJ Buys Back Nearly 1,000 Guns Authorities collected nearly 1,000 guns during no-questions-asked gun buybacks in Passaic, Essex and Atlantic counties, New Jersey’s top law enforcer said Thursday. They could soon be coming to a location near you. The firearms came in all sizes, calibers, makes, models and ages, from a pearl-handled derringer to a reported 27 assault weapons. The total also includes 487 handguns, 281 rifles and shotguns and 146 inoperable weapons and BB/pellet guns, New Jersey Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Bruck didn’t say how many of the 941 weapons surrendered during “Guns for Cash” eve…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Woman Who Drowned Weeks-Old Puppy Gets 180 Days In Jail, Probation, Community Service NJ Woman Who Drowned Weeks-Old Puppy Gets 180 Days In Jail, Probation, Community Service
NJ Woman Who Drowned Weeks-Old Puppy Gets 180 Days In Jail, Probation, Community Service A Morris County woman will spend a little under six months in jail followed by five years probation after admitting Thursday that she drowned a 10-week-old puppy in a lake. Under her plea deal with the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, Tonya Fea, 50, also can no longer own a dog and must continue counseling while completing 100 days of community service. Fea took the deal, pleading guilty to third-degree animal cruelty in Superior Court in Paterson on Thursday, rather than face trial. Fea “admitted under oath that on April 30, 2019, she submerged her golden retriever puppy in a pond loca…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Judge Orders Clifton Officer Accused Of Child Sex Assault Held Pending Trial Judge Orders Clifton Officer Accused Of Child Sex Assault Held Pending Trial
Judge Orders Clifton Officer Accused Of Child Sex Assault Held Pending Trial UPDATE: A judge on Tuesday ordered that a Clifton police officer accused of sexually abusing a child remain jailed pending trial. Superior Court Judge Marybel Ramirez, sitting in Paterson, rejected defense attorney Joseph Afflitto Jr.'s bid to free Frank Castro-Ramirez, 39, from the Bergen County Jail. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said Clifton police notified her office’s Special Victims Unit of the allegations nearly three weeks ago. Prosecutor’s detectives then interviewed several witnesses and the victim, who “reported being sexually abused by Mr. Castro-Ramirez on numerous …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Authorities: Perv Pic Taker In Route 3 Bookstore Bathroom Did Same To Girls At Paterson Home Authorities: Perv Pic Taker In Route 3 Bookstore Bathroom Did Same To Girls At Paterson Home
Authorities: Perv Pic Taker In Route 3 Bookstore Bathroom Did Same To Girls At Paterson Home A man caught secretly recording women in bathroom stalls at a Barnes & Noble on Route 3 in Clifton did the same with two children at a Paterson home, authorities said. Juan Mejia, 46, of Paterson was arrested in February 2020 after a woman alerted security officers at Clifton Commons who found him in the bathroom. An investigation by Clifton police and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Sexual Investigations Unit found that Mejia “secretly recorded two women at separate times who were utilizing adjoining bathroom stalls,” an indictment returned by a grand jury in Paterson says. They also …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
West Milford Man, Underage NY Boy Exchanged Sexual Videos, Photos, Indictment Charges West Milford Man, Underage NY Boy Exchanged Sexual Videos, Photos, Indictment Charges
West Milford Man, Underage NY Boy Exchanged Sexual Videos, Photos, Indictment Charges A Passaic County man who’s been jailed since last summer was indicted by a grand jury that said he exchanged sexually explicit videos and photos with a boy as he pursued an in-person meeting, authorities announced Thursday. New York State Police alerted detectives from Passaic County Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to Tekanand V. Singh, 29, of West Milford after they said they learned that he’d been communicating with the boy online. “During the course of their exchange, [Singh] directed the victim to send him sexually explicit images and videos,” Pa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Clifton Man Admits Threatening Paterson Police Chief Over Race, Religion Clifton Man Admits Threatening Paterson Police Chief Over Race, Religion
Clifton Man Admits Threatening Paterson Police Chief Over Race, Religion UPDATE: A Clifton man admitted that he sent Paterson’s first Muslim police chief threatening texts because of his race, religion and nationality, authorities said. Stefan Keco, 29, told a Superior Court judge in Paterson on Monday that he sent the texts to Chief Ibrahim Baycora on Feb. 26 “with the purpose to terrorize him and in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said. Baycora had been sworn to the position only a few weeks before receiving the threats. The threats “caused a disruption to the day-to-day operations of the poli…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Deaf Man Shot Dead On Paterson Street Was Subject Of Viral Video Arrest UPDATE: Deaf Man Shot Dead On Paterson Street Was Subject Of Viral Video Arrest
Update: Deaf Man Shot Dead On Paterson Street Was Subject Of Viral Video Arrest A shooting victim killed Sunday night in a notorious drug-ridden Paterson neighborhood was identified as a deaf city man whose arrest three years ago sparked local outrage. Raaseon Adams, 45, was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center at 7:10 p.m. less than a half hour after he was shot on Summer Street near Hamilton Avenue, authorities said. They didn't say whether the shooter had been arrested or identified. A video of city police using force to arrest Adams in September 2018 produced a viral video and an investigation by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office – in conju…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Paterson Man, 68, Who Sexually Assaulted Three Kids Could Be Out In Less Than 7 Years Paterson Man, 68, Who Sexually Assaulted Three Kids Could Be Out In Less Than 7 Years
Paterson Man, 68, Who Sexually Assaulted Three Kids Could Be Out In Less Than 7 Years A Paterson man will be 75 before he'll be eligible for parole under a plea-bargained sentence handed down this week for sexually assaulting three children over the course of several years. Ramon Torres, 68, was arrested in November 2019 by detectives from the Passaic County Special Victims Unit. An investigation found that Ramon had “committed acts of sexual contact upon three children under the age of thirteen with whom he was acquainted…between the years of 1985 and 2019 in the City of Paterson,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said. Rather than go to trial, Torres pleaded guil…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Recorded Gang Rape Of Stripper Gets Passaic Gentleman's Club Manager 25½ Years Without Parole Recorded Gang Rape Of Stripper Gets Passaic Gentleman's Club Manager 25½ Years Without Parole
Recorded Gang Rape Of Stripper Gets Passaic Gentleman's Club Manager 25½ Years Without Parole A Passaic nightclub employee must spend at least 25½ years in state prison before he’ll be eligible for parole for his part in the video-recorded gang rape of a dancer during an after-hours party following his sentencing Tuesday. In addition to the prison term, Superior Judge Marybel Mercado-Ramirez ordered Michael Ramirez, 39, to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and remain under parole supervision for life. Jurors in Paterson convicted Ramirez and dancer Trystal Lozada in December 2019 of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and criminal sexual contract following an eight-…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Passaic Man Charged With Murdering Dad, 82 Passaic Man Charged With Murdering Dad, 82
Passaic Man Charged With Murdering Dad, 82 A Passaic man was charged with killing his 82-year-old father during a struggle in their home. Police and fireman went to the Terhune Avenue home on a welfare check shortly before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday after a “concerned party” had been unable to contact Vincent Sullivan or his father, Gerard, for several days. They initially received no response at the home, then eventually contacted the younger Sullivan, 49, who “allowed first responders to enter the home,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes and Passaic Police Chief Luis A. Guzman said. They discovered a lifeless Gerard Sullivan on…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Off-Duty Officer Shoots At Armed Robbers In Paterson, Responders Say UPDATE: Off-Duty Officer Shoots At Armed Robbers In Paterson, Responders Say
Update: Off-Duty Officer Shoots At Armed Robbers In Paterson, Responders Say An off-duty police officer shot at four armed men who tried to rob him on a dark Paterson street, authorities confirmed Monday. The officer, dressed in plain clothes, apparently was getting out of his car when he was accosted on Pearl Street near the corner the corner of East 18th Street shortly before 10 p.m., they said. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes confirmed the shooting but declined to elaborate in any way. Responders said one of the robbers was struck and all four fled, although that couldn’t be confirmed. Neither the officer nor a companion was injured, they said. Shooti…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Virtual Promotions: 24 Passaic Police Officers, Firefighters Sworn To New Posts Via Zoom Virtual Promotions: 24 Passaic Police Officers, Firefighters Sworn To New Posts Via Zoom
Virtual Promotions: 24 Passaic Police Officers, Firefighters Sworn To New Posts Via Zoom It wasn't the NFL draft, although it looked somewhat like it when two dozen promoted Passaic police officers and firefighters were sworn in to their new positions Monday via Zoom. Mayor Hector Carlos Lora presided over the unprecedented virtual ceremony, during which 19 police officers and five firefighters were officially promoted amid the coronavirus pandemic. The firefighters were delayed but made it to the show after responding to a four-alarm fire on Dayton Avenue during which they and their Clifton colleagues rescued a 4-year-old girl and her mother, Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost. S…

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by Jerry DeMarco