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Feds: Purported NJ Gang Members Indicted On Murder, Attempted Murder Charges Feds: Purported NJ Gang Members Indicted On Murder, Attempted Murder Charges
Feds: Purported NJ Gang Members Indicted On Murder, Attempted Murder Charges Three purported members of the Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips gang were indicted on charges of murder and attempted murder Wednesday, federal officials said. Elijah Williams, aka “Lil Smith,” 21; Jason Franklin, aka “Freak,” aka “OG Freak,” 37; and Tre Byrd, aka “Bands,” aka “G Bandz,” 20 -- all of Newark -- were charged by indictment with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Williams is accused of shooting four individuals and hitting two in Newark on Sept. 25, 2018, authorities said. Both victims survived the at…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
$10K Reward Offered In Murder Case Of Newark Grandmother $10K Reward Offered In Murder Case Of Newark Grandmother
$10K Reward Offered In Murder Case Of Newark Grandmother The Essex County Sheriff's Office is offering a $10,000 reward for  information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for killing a Newark grandmother on her front porch. Debra Derrick, 63, was shot on the front porch of a home on the 200 block of Lehigh Avenue, while celebrating her late twin sister around 8 p.m. on March 11, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office previously said. Authorities would like to speak to the two young men in the photographs above in connection with Debra Derrick's shooting death.Essex County Prosecutor's Office Essex County S…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Newark Barbershop Robber Shot In Face By Off-Duty Officer Headed To Fed Pen Newark Barbershop Robber Shot In Face By Off-Duty Officer Headed To Fed Pen
Newark Barbershop Robber Shot In Face By Off-Duty Officer Headed To Fed Pen Philip Hedgespeth picked the wrong barbershop to rob when the man in the chair turned out to be an off-duty Newark police officer who shot him in the face. Now the ex-con is headed back behind bars -- only this time it's for a federal stretch of more than nine years. Hedgespeth, 45, must serve out the entire plea-bargained sentence: Unlike in the state prison system, federal convicts don’t get parole. Hedgespeth was wearing a hoodie when he walked into the Cache Barbershop on Orange Street, pointed a handgun and demanded cash from an employee and off-duty city officer getting a haircut on…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: Ex-Con Shot Two Victims Five Days Apart In Newark Feds: Ex-Con Shot Two Victims Five Days Apart In Newark
Feds: Ex-Con Shot Two Victims Five Days Apart In Newark Surveillance video shows one of two shootings that federal authorities say were committed by a Newark ex-con who was caught with a loaded gun and 626 heroin folds. The victims were shot five days apart last August by Antoine Hawkins, a 31-year-old repeat offender with an extensive criminal record, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Police nabbed Hawkins a month later and found him carrying a 9mm Springfield Armory XDM pistol loaded with 19 rounds, the U.S. attorney said. A warranted search of his home turned up the heroin, as well as three 9mm magazines, she said. Hawkins, who ha…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Man Gets 25 Years For Sexually Assaulting 8-Year-Old Girl & Filming It NJ Man Gets 25 Years For Sexually Assaulting 8-Year-Old Girl & Filming It
NJ Man Gets 25 Years For Sexually Assaulting 8-Year-Old Girl & Filming It A 35-year-old New Jersey man was sentenced to 25 years without parole in state prison for sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl and recording it. Diego Ayala, of Newark, admitted to the acts when pleading guilty, and will be required to serve the his sentence pursuant to the Jessica Lunsford Act, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, said. Ayala, who was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Christopher S. Romanyshyn, will be required to register under Megan's Law. Arrested in 2018, Ayala pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Longtime Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose To Retire Longtime Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose To Retire
Longtime Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose To Retire Longtime Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose will retire in March after 34 years on the force. Ambrose's final day in the division will be on March 31, Mayor Ras J. Baraka said. “When I appointed Director Ambrose as Public Safety Director, I knew that his leadership, work ethic, integrity and love for our city is what we needed to fulfill my vision of combining police, fire, and emergency management into one department,” Baraka said. “His service to the City of Newark has been paramount. I appreciate all that he has given, and I hope for nothing but the best in his retirement…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Released Video Shows Fatal Newark Police Shooting Released Video Shows Fatal Newark Police Shooting
Released Video Shows Fatal Newark Police Shooting Home surveillance video shows a South Orange man being shot and killed by a Newark police detective after rushing the officer. Captured from across the street, the video released this week by state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal shows Carl Dorsey III, 39, running at Detective Rod Simpkins as the plainclothes investigator got out of the passenger side of an unmarked police vehicle just after midnight on New Year’s Day. The pair collide and spin around, as Simpkins shoots Dorsey with his service weapon as he falls backwards. SEE: Dorsey Shooting The video is the only footage of the fatal…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Outgoing U.S. Attorney For NJ Praises Work Of Newark Public Safety Director Outgoing U.S. Attorney For NJ Praises Work Of Newark Public Safety Director
Outgoing U.S. Attorney For NJ Praises Work Of Newark Public Safety Director On his final day as the top federal law enforcer in New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito took time to praise Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose, calling him a "national treasure." Carpenito cited Ambrose's "exceptional contributions to cooperative law enforcement" in New Jersey. “Through his leadership, we have benefited from an unprecedented level of cooperation and proactive participation in our efforts to suppress crime in the great city of Newark," the U.S. attorney said from his office in Newark. Over the past five years, he said, Ambrose has "transformed the Newark…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Judge Orders Newark Ex-Con Caught With Loaded Gun, 626 Heroin Folds Held Feds: Judge Orders Newark Ex-Con Caught With Loaded Gun, 626 Heroin Folds Held
Feds: Judge Orders Newark Ex-Con Caught With Loaded Gun, 626 Heroin Folds Held A judge ordered that a Newark ex-con remain in federal custody after Essex County prosecutor’s detectives said they found a loaded gun in his pocket and 626 heroin folds in his apartment. Antoine Hawkins, a 31-year-old repeat offender with an extensive criminal record, also had three illegal ammunition magazines in his apartment, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Prosecutor’s detectives approached Hawkins earlier this week while investigating a shooting from last month, Carpenito said. As they spoke with him, they noticed “what appeared to be the imprint of a firearm on Hawkins’s jacket,…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: DEA Captures Newark Fugitive In North Carolina Carrying Sawed-Off Shotgun Feds: DEA Captures Newark Fugitive In North Carolina Carrying Sawed-Off Shotgun
Feds: DEA Captures Newark Fugitive In North Carolina Carrying Sawed-Off Shotgun A Newark fugitive was carrying a shotgun when DEA agents captured him in North Carolina, authorities said. Lester “Mayhem” Hicks, 29, was released on a summons after Essex County sheriff’s officers said they caught him with 78 heroin folds and an outstanding warrant during a traffic stop near the corner of Clinton and Avon avenues in March. That same day, he was involved in a shooting near Martin Luther King Boulevard that was captured on video, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Hicks agreed to surrender but, instead, headed south, Carpenito said. DEA agents captured him in North Caroli…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fed Pen Awaits Newark Ex-Con With Weapons History Who Had Different Guns In Separate Incidents Fed Pen Awaits Newark Ex-Con With Weapons History Who Had Different Guns In Separate Incidents
Fed Pen Awaits Newark Ex-Con With Weapons History Who Had Different Guns In Separate Incidents An ex-con from Newark who was carrying three different guns on three separate days – one of which he was seen firing at another man -- is headed to federal prison for an extended stretch. Samaad “Spud” Kelly, 33, already was a convicted felon when Essex County sheriff’s officers stopped his 2002 BMW wagon for having tinted windows on April 24, 2019 and found a Taurus semi-automatic 9 millimeter handgun in the glove box, authorities said. Kelly remained jailed all of eight days before a judge ordered him released on May 2 under New Jersey’s 2017 bail reform law, records show. Three days lat…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Newark Ex-Con Drug Dealer Found With Loaded Gun, Heroin, Crack Feds: Newark Ex-Con Drug Dealer Found With Loaded Gun, Heroin, Crack
Feds: Newark Ex-Con Drug Dealer Found With Loaded Gun, Heroin, Crack A federal judge ordered a Newark ex-con accused of running a neighborhood drug ring held pending trial after authorities said they caught him 194 crack vials, 64 heroin folds and a loaded handgun. Investigators seized Ibraaheem “Ish” Islam, 32, following warranted searches of his home and two vehicles, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Federal agents said they watched as Islam sold drugs “on a regular basis” on Chadwick Avenue before moving in on him on Saturday. Seized with the drugs was a FN Herstal model “FN Five-SeveN” pistol loaded with 17 rounds, a complaint on file in U.S. Distric…

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by Jerry DeMarco