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Essex County Superior Court

Police & Fire
Former Newark Officer Sentenced To State Prison In Shooting Death During Pursuit Former Newark Officer Sentenced To State Prison In Shooting Death During Pursuit
Former Newark Officer Sentenced To State Prison In Shooting Death During Pursuit A former Newark police officer who shot and killed a driver during a pursuit and critically injured his passenger was sentenced to 27 years in New Jersey State Prison. Jovanny Crespo, 30, must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he's eligible for parole. Essex County Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin Jr. imposed the sentence under the No Early Release Act. Crespo was convicted in July 2023 on six counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the death of 46-year-old Gregory Griffin, and second-degree aggravated assault for critically wounding Griffin's passenger, Andrew Dixon, 3…

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
NJ Popeyes Discriminated Against Black Employee: Lawsuit NJ Popeyes Discriminated Against Black Employee: Lawsuit
NJ Popeyes Discriminated Against Black Employee: Lawsuit A former Popeyes employee has filed a lawsuit against the Essex County restaurant, claiming the restaurant frequently discriminated against him because he as Black. Wesley Hammonds, a Jersey City resident, filed the lawsuit last month in Essex County Superior Court against Belleville Chicken, LLC, which operations the location in Belleville and the store's general manager. Hammonds had worked at Popeyes from June 2020 until May 2022, when he was terminated. Hammonds, who was the only Black employee, said he was hired to be a manager, but the restaurant did not want a Black manager visible i…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Angry Ex-Con Kicked Out Of NJ Party Killed Innocent Victim Inside — Now He Learns His Fate Angry Ex-Con Kicked Out Of NJ Party Killed Innocent Victim Inside — Now He Learns His Fate
Angry Ex-Con Kicked Out Of NJ Party Killed Innocent Victim Inside — Now He Learns His Fate An East Orange ex-convict who fired a gun inside a party he'd been kicked out of killing an innocent victim has been sentenced to time in prison. Jashon Allen, 34, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter for killing Daimeir Nelson at the Lincoln Street bash on Oct. 27, 2020, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said. Allen had gotten the boot from the bash when he fired a gun in the doorway of the home, striking Nelson in the chest after the door had been reopened, according to Assistant Prosecutor Austin Edwards, who handled the case. Allen was sent…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Classroom Crying Spells, Discrimination Law Violations Named In NJ Kindergarten Teacher's Suit Classroom Crying Spells, Discrimination Law Violations Named In NJ Kindergarten Teacher's Suit
Classroom Crying Spells, Discrimination Law Violations Named In NJ Kindergarten Teacher's Suit The South Orange-Maplewood School District is facing a lawsuit from a former 34-year-old Kindergarten teacher alleging officials failed to accommodate her disability amid "crying spells" in the classroom, forcing her to resign. Sarah Barlow says the trouble began during the 2019-2020 year when she got into disagreements with South Mountain Elementary School principal, who later believed she had filed a report saying he was having a sexual relationship with a first-grade teacher, according to a lawsuit filed in Essex County Superior Court. Barlow was transferred out of South Mounta…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
'Don't Call Police,' Says Cell Phone Thief With Heroin Who Spit In Officer's Face: Hoboken PD 'Don't Call Police,' Says Cell Phone Thief With Heroin Who Spit In Officer's Face: Hoboken PD
'Don't Call Police,' Says Cell Phone Thief With Heroin Who Spit In Officer's Face: Hoboken PD A 28-year-old cell phone thief was busted with heroin spit in an officer's face after warning his victim not to call police, authorities in Hoboken said. A man later identified as Matthew Soler of Bloomfield had stolen a victim's phone while he was eating lunch at McDonald's around 1:10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, Hoboken Police Det. Jonathan Mecka said. The victim called his own phone and was able to speak to Soler, who told him to meet him in the terminal so he could return the phone, and then told him not to call police, Mecka said. The victim had already called police and the officers accom…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Authorities Detail Mom's Alleged Abuse In Jashyah Moore Case Authorities Detail Mom's Alleged Abuse In Jashyah Moore Case
Authorities Detail Mom's Alleged Abuse In Jashyah Moore Case Authorities have detailed some of the abuse that 14-year-old Jashyah Moore suffered at the hands of her mother, Jamie Moore, before she went missing. The teen disappeared Oct. 14 after she was last seen at an East Orange deli, and was found safe at a New York City shelter last Thursday. The following day, her mother was arrested on charges of abuse and neglect.  Moore has been charged with two counts of second degree endangering the welfare of a child, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, and East Orange Police Chief Phyllis Bindi said. The endangering charges i…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
NJ Dating App Serial Killer Gets 160 Years In State Prison NJ Dating App Serial Killer Gets 160 Years In State Prison
NJ Dating App Serial Killer Gets 160 Years In State Prison A New Jersey man who used dating apps to lure and kill three women -- and tried to kill a fourth -- was sentenced to 160 years behind bars. Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, now 25, of Orange, was sentenced for three murders, an attempted murder and other counts of aggravated arson, desecration of human remain and kidnapping. Weaver was convicted in 2019 in on three counts of murder in connection with the deaths of Sarah Butler, 20, Robin West, 19, and Joanne Brown, 33.  He was also found guilty of the kidnapping, sexual assault, and attempted murder of a fourth woman, Tiffany Taylor, who surviv…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Family Of Essex County Mom Paralyzed By Falling Pole Gets $125M Verizon Payout Family Of Essex County Mom Paralyzed By Falling Pole Gets $125M Verizon Payout
Family Of Essex County Mom Paralyzed By Falling Pole Gets $125M Verizon Payout In what is reportedly the largest settlement in New Jersey history, the family of an Essex County mom who was paralyzed by a falling utility pole will get $125 million from Verizon, reports say. West Orange mom Maria Moser Meister, 50, was waiting for a bus on her way to work when a the pole fell in Union City on Jan. 23, 2017, NJ.com reports. The pole, which was co-owned by Verizon through an agreement with PSE&G, was rotted at the base and snapped after 43 years, causing lifelong injuries to Meister’s body and head. As a result of the incident, Meister suffered from multiple spinal a…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Newark Ex-Con Gets 31 Years For Gunpoint Robbery, Attempt To Escape Police Custody Prosecutor: Newark Ex-Con Gets 31 Years For Gunpoint Robbery, Attempt To Escape Police Custody
Prosecutor: Newark Ex-Con Gets 31 Years For Gunpoint Robbery, Attempt To Escape Police Custody A seven-time Newark ex-con who attempted to free himself from police custody after robbing a Verizon store at gunpoint was sentenced to 31 years in prison, authorities said. Wahiddudin Kimbrough, 34, was sentenced by Essex County Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin after being convicted of robbery, conspiracy and attempted escape, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II said. Kimbrough and an unidentified individual went to the Verizon store on the 700 block of Broad Street and robbed an employee at gunpoint of $1,018, a display phone, an iPad and several Sim cards on…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Newark Gangster Known As 'Homicide' Sentenced To Life In Bystander Killing Newark Gangster Known As 'Homicide' Sentenced To Life In Bystander Killing
Newark Gangster Known As 'Homicide' Sentenced To Life In Bystander Killing A Newark man who belonged to a violent street gang was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for crimes including the murder of a woman caught in the crossfire of a shootout that erupted over a drug debt nearly a decade ago, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Thursday.  Khalil Stafford, 35, a member of the Grape Street Crips who also went by the street names "Stod" and  "Homicide," had previously been found guilty of murder and drug-related racketeering charges.  He was among 66 gang members arrested in a May 2015 sweep and charged with a variety of drug-related offenses, includi…

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Belleville Man Found Guilty Of Sexually Assaulting 9-Year-Old Belleville Man Found Guilty Of Sexually Assaulting 9-Year-Old
Belleville Man Found Guilty Of Sexually Assaulting 9-Year-Old A jury in Essex County Superior Court convicted a 59-year-old Belleville man of sexually assaulting a preteen girl while during multiple visits to his home, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said.  Jose Santana assaulting the 9-year-old during multiple visits to Santana and his wife. He also forced her to watch child pornography, a charge corroborated by a search of Santana's home, where investigators found images and video on his computer.   “The victim, a brave little 9-year-old girl, found the courage and the strength to tell her mother, and the jury, how the defendant …

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Broker From Livingston Gets 3 Years For Stealing $270K From Elderly Couple Broker From Livingston Gets 3 Years For Stealing $270K From Elderly Couple
Broker From Livingston Gets 3 Years For Stealing $270K From Elderly Couple An investment broker from Livingston was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for stealing more than $270,000 from an elderly couple he befriended, the state Attorney General's office said.  Michael Alan Siegel, 62, must also pay restitution to the woman. Her husband has since died.  In June, Siegel pleaded guilty to theft by deception in Essex County Superior Court. He was friends with the couple when he suggested they transfer their investment accounts, which totaled more than $2 million, to the brokerage Siegel went to work for in 2013.  When Siegel took a job a…

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by Paul Milo
News
Belleville Man On Heroin Who Killed Pregnant Mom Gets Decade Behind Bars Belleville Man On Heroin Who Killed Pregnant Mom Gets Decade Behind Bars
Belleville Man On Heroin Who Killed Pregnant Mom Gets Decade Behind Bars A Belleville man who was high on heroin when he fatally struck a 34-year-old pregnant Verona mom with his car will be spending 10 years behind bars. Anthony Casale Jr., 27, was sentenced Friday in Essex County Superior Court, NorthJersey.com reports. Casale was behind the wheel of his white Mitsubishi when he struck Megan Longo Villanella -- who was seven months pregnant -- and her brother Derek Longo on a Lakeside Avenue sidewalk in March 2017. Megan and her husband of nine years, Jim Villanella, were two months away from welcoming their second daughter into the world. The couple moved t…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Newark Gang Member Known As 'Homicide' Found Guilty Of Killing Bystander Newark Gang Member Known As 'Homicide' Found Guilty Of Killing Bystander
Newark Gang Member Known As 'Homicide' Found Guilty Of Killing Bystander A 34-year-old Newark man who was caught up in a massive sweep of one of the city's most violent street gangs was found guilty Thursday of murder and drug-related racketeering charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.  Khalil Stafford, also known as "Stod" and "Homicide," belonged to the Grape Street Crips gang when he and 13 others were charged with murder in aid of racketeering and drug offenses, including possession of more than a kilo of heroin with intent to distribute.  A total of 66 gang members were charged in May 2015 for a wide range of offenses, including witness intimid…

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by Paul Milo