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‘War Ready’: Armed NJ Heroin Dealer Sentenced To 19 Years Without Parole ‘War Ready’: Armed NJ Heroin Dealer Sentenced To 19 Years Without Parole
‘War Ready’: Armed NJ Heroin Dealer Sentenced To 19 Years Without Parole UPDATE: A New Jersey drug dealer who once served state prison time is headed to a federal penitentiary for a plea-bargained 19 years without parole. Jakir “Jak” Taylor, 32, was a key figure in an alliance of two violent rival gangs who once dominated the heroin trade on Trenton’s north and west side neighborhoods, authorities said. He's also the last of 26 defendants swept up in a joint law enforcement operation that smashed that operation. Taylor and conspirator Jerome Roberts collected heroin bricks by the hundreds from David “Papi” Antonio that were sold in individual bags, authorities …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Convicted Killer, Fellow Ex-Con Charged With Gunning Down Paterson Man, Wounding Companion Convicted Killer, Fellow Ex-Con Charged With Gunning Down Paterson Man, Wounding Companion
Convicted Killer, Fellow Ex-Con Charged With Gunning Down Paterson Man, Wounding Companion A man who was killed and a woman who was with him were shot by two Paterson ex-cons, one of whom recently served nearly a decade for slaying an aspiring rapper and the other who was tracked down in Virginia, authorities announced. Shaquan Winstead, 28, and David “Scrappy” Armfield, 31, are both charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 1 shooting death of Briheem Nero, 42, of Paterson at what may well be the city’s deadliest street corner. An unidentified 49-year-old woman who was with Nero was shot in the arm, for which Winstead and Armfield are charged with attempted murder. They’re a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Final Defendant In Trenton Police Car Firebombing Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen Final Defendant In Trenton Police Car Firebombing Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen
Final Defendant In Trenton Police Car Firebombing Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen UPDATE: A Trenton man who threw a makeshift Molotov cocktail into a city police vehicle following a protest was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. Kadeem A. Dockery, 31, is the last of four defendants sentenced in U.S. District Court in connection with the May 31, 2020 protest in Trenton. Video captured by surveillance cameras and personal cellphones helped authorities identify Dockery, who was arrested a little over two months later, and Killian F Melecio, 22, of Columbus, NJ. Rather than face trial, Dockery took a deal from the government, pleading guilty in May 2021 to attemptin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Financial Services Pro From NYC Who Sought Sex With NJ Teen Gets 7 Years In Fed Pen Financial Services Pro From NYC Who Sought Sex With NJ Teen Gets 7 Years In Fed Pen
Financial Services Pro From NYC Who Sought Sex With NJ Teen Gets 7 Years In Fed Pen A financial services worker from the South Bronx who traveled to New Jersey to have sex with a 13-year-old is headed to federal prison for seven years, authorities announced. Jesus Modesto-Sanchez, 31, was caught dead to rights when he walked into what turned out to be a pedophile trap set by undercover investigators in Somerset County. Rather than face the consequences of a conviction for more serious charges, Modesto-Sanchez took a deal from the government, pleading guilty to transporting child pornography during a video conference with a federal judge in Trenton last May. He'll have to …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
TAPPIN' IT: Manager Admits Embezzling $4.5M From NJ Brain Injury Fund For Sex With Gal Pals TAPPIN' IT: Manager Admits Embezzling $4.5M From NJ Brain Injury Fund For Sex With Gal Pals
Tappin' IT: Manager Admits Embezzling $4.5M From NJ Brain Injury Fund For Sex With Gal Pals The now-former manager of a fund for traumatic brain injury patients in New Jersey admitted diverting more than $4.5 million in public money to women he was having sex with, authorities said. Harry Pizutelli, 64, of Edison, pleaded guilty by videoconference to conspiring to commit health care fraud before a federal judge in Trenton, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on Wednesday, Jan. 4. One of the women who benefitted from the scheme, Maritza Flores, 45, of Toms River, pleaded guilty to the same charge, as well as to tax evasion, Sellinger said. In exchange, Pizutelli had amorou…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ID Sought For Person Of Interest After Trenton Woman's Body Found Along NJ Highway On Christmas ID Sought For Person Of Interest After Trenton Woman's Body Found Along NJ Highway On Christmas
ID Sought For Person Of Interest After Trenton Woman's Body Found Along NJ Highway On Christmas Authorities have released a photo of a person of interest in the tragic case involving Stephanie Carmody, the 31-year-old Trenton woman who was found dead along a New Jersey highway on Christmas night. Carmody's body was found in the northbound shoulder of 3466 Route 1 — a former car dealership — around 5:25 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 25, after multiple 911 calls were placed, DailyVoice previously reported. Her Facebook page said she had been working as a freelance model. West Windsor Police released a photo of a person of interest in a Thursday afternoon update to the case: Posted by West Win…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Woman Found Dead Along NJ Highway On Christmas ID'd By Police Woman Found Dead Along NJ Highway On Christmas ID'd By Police
Woman Found Dead Along NJ Highway On Christmas ID'd By Police Police have identified the person who was found dead near a Route 1 car dealership on Christmas as a 31-year-old Trenton woman. Stephanie Carmody's body was found in the northbound shoulder of 3466 Route 1 — a former car dealership — around 5:25 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 25, after multiple 911 calls were placed, West Windsor police said. The WWPD Detective Bureau took over the investigation in conjunction with members of the Mercer County Prosecutor's Homicide Task Force (HTF). The Middlesex Regional Medical Examiner's Office removed her body. Carmody's Facebook page said she had been working as …

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by Valerie Musson & Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Human Remains Found In Garbage Bag At Trenton Home Human Remains Found In Garbage Bag At Trenton Home
Human Remains Found In Garbage Bag At Trenton Home A landlord found a decomposed body inside a garbage bag at a Trenton home during the afternoon on Friday, Dec. 23, authorities said. The remains were discovered in a property on the 600 block of Beatty Street, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Public Information Officer Casey DeBlasio told Daily Voice. An autopsy will be performed by the Middlesex Regional Medical Examiner's Office. The investigation is being led by the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the Trenton Police Department. No further details were released.

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Philly Killer Slays Victim At Ex-GF's Trenton Apartment On Christmas Eve: Prosecutor Philly Killer Slays Victim At Ex-GF's Trenton Apartment On Christmas Eve: Prosecutor
Philly Killer Slays Victim At Ex-GF's Trenton Apartment On Christmas Eve: Prosecutor A Philadelphia man was in custody after authorities say he showed up to his ex-girlfriend's Trenton apartment on Christmas Eve and killed a man inside. Fausto Adalberto-Rodriguez, 45, shot Junior Rodriguez, 40, on the second floor of the Walnut Avenue apartment during an argument around 7:20 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 24, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri reported. He also hit his ex-girlfriend in the head with a handgun, authorities said. The victim was pronounced dead at the hospital. Adalberto-Rodriguez fled the scene in his car but was ultimately captured in Trenton short…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
NJ Agent Posing As Hitman Halts PA Woman From Killing Ex-Husband's Wife, Daughter: Authorities NJ Agent Posing As Hitman Halts PA Woman From Killing Ex-Husband's Wife, Daughter: Authorities
NJ Agent Posing As Hitman Halts PA Woman From Killing Ex-Husband's Wife, Daughter: Authorities A Pennsylvania woman is accused of hiring a hitman to try to kill her husband's ex-wife and the wife's 13-year-old daughter, authorities in New Jersey said. A tip came in earlier this month that Marilyn Zhou, 56, of Chadds Ford, was trying to meet with a murder-for-hire earlier this month, Mercer County Prosecutor AngeloJ. Onofri said. Zhou met with an undercover officer posing as a hitman on Sunday, Dec. 18 in Trenton, where she said she wanted them to kill her ex-husband's new wife, then handed him two pictures of the victim, $21,000 in cash, rubber gloves and a towel for the slaying…

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by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
‘Beautiful Spirit:’ Dedicated Trenton Mom Of 2 LaDashia Lewis Dies, 29 ‘Beautiful Spirit:’ Dedicated Trenton Mom Of 2 LaDashia Lewis Dies, 29
‘Beautiful Spirit:’ Dedicated Trenton Mom Of 2 LaDashia Lewis Dies, 29 Devoted Trenton mom of two LaDashia Lewis died at the Merwick Rehabilitation Center in Plainsboro on Saturday, Dec. 10. She was 29. Born in Trenton, LaDashia majored in Hotel Restaurant and Tourism at Trenton Central High School Main Campus, where she graduated in 2011, her obituary says. LaDashia most recently worked at ETS as a customer service representative. She was described as an “avid foodie” who loved both cooking and eating. Above all, LaDashia was a dedicated mother who loved spending time with her children, Dae’Vion Lewis-Bell and Ja’Khi Lewis. In addition to her children, LaDa…

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by Valerie Musson
Obituaries
‘Irreparable Loss:’ Beloved South Jersey Landscaper Dies Unexpectedly, 33 ‘Irreparable Loss:’ Beloved South Jersey Landscaper Dies Unexpectedly, 33
‘Irreparable Loss:’ Beloved South Jersey Landscaper Dies Unexpectedly, 33 Support is on the rise for the family left heartbroken after the unexpected death of a beloved South Jersey landscaper at the age of 33. Erick Romualdo Mucia Xiquin died on Sunday, Nov. 13, his obituary says. A native of Guatemala, Erick left his home country to “seek a better future and a better life for his parents and siblings,” according to a GoFundMe launched to help repatriate his body to Patzún, Chimaltenango. “Depression is a real monster that today has taken a loved one from us,” reads the campaign, which had raised nearly $500 as of Thursday, Dec. 1. Erick had worked in the land…

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by Valerie Musson