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Police & Fire
Essex County Lieutenant Charged With Assault: Prosecutor Essex County Lieutenant Charged With Assault: Prosecutor
Essex County Lieutenant Charged With Assault: Prosecutor David Fontoura, a lieutenant in the Essex Coutny Prosecutor's Office was charged with multiple accounts of assault related to domestic violence incidents, authorities said. Fontoura was charged with aggravated assault, weapons offenses, criminal restraint and making terroristic threats, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said, for incidents that occurred in Nutley between September 2019 and March 2020. The incidents were reported to the Nutley Police Department on Tuesday, Aug. 27, and transferred to Mercer County to prevent any conflict of interest, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office …

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Man Broke Into Newark Jewelry Store With Hammer: Police Man Broke Into Newark Jewelry Store With Hammer: Police
Man Broke Into Newark Jewelry Store With Hammer: Police A man is at large after he broke into a Newark jewelry store using a hammer on Friday, Sept, 6, authorities said. At noon,  the suspect walked up to Vinhas Jewelry at 87 Ferry St. and broke the store’s front window with a small black hammer, Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé said. The suspect, a Black male in his late 30s, reached through the small hole he created and grabbed several pieces of jewelry before fleeing, Fragé said. The suspect is described as 6" tall with a medium build and a receding hairline, was captured on surveillance video wearing a gray hoode…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Jersey City Jeweler Defrauded Customs Of $13.5 Million In Jewelry Imports: Feds Jersey City Jeweler Defrauded Customs Of $13.5 Million In Jewelry Imports: Feds
Jersey City Jeweler Defrauded Customs Of $13.5 Million In Jewelry Imports: Feds A 39-year-old Jersey City jeweler who operated in the Diamond District pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Sept. 10  to spearheading a scheme to illegally evade customs duties for more than $13.5 million of jewelry imports into the country and with illegally processing more than $10.3 million through an unlicensed money transmitting business, authorities said. Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah, a.k.a. Monish Doshi Shah, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and operating and aiding and abetting the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business, US Att…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Jersey City Army Recruiter Defrauded Credit Union: Feds Jersey City Army Recruiter Defrauded Credit Union: Feds
Jersey City Army Recruiter Defrauded Credit Union: Feds A 33-year-old Jersey City army recruiter was charged in federal court in Newark on Wednesday, Sept. 11, with using her position to defraud a credit union by submitting fraudulent bank account applications on recruits' behalf, authorities said. From September 2023 to December 2023, Jane Crosby submitted “Pre-Active Duty Membership” bank account applications to a credit union on behalf of seven U.S. Army recruits or purported recruits, without their knowledge or consent., US Attorney Phillip Sellinger said. Such accounts are intended to facilitate the direct deposit of soon-to-be service…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
BF Bails On Getaway Driver GF Helping Him Steal ATV In Bergen County: Police BF Bails On Getaway Driver GF Helping Him Steal ATV In Bergen County: Police
BF Bails On Getaway Driver GF Helping Him Steal ATV In Bergen County: Police A Paterson man remains at large after he ran from police confronting him and his girlfriend, spoiling their plan to steal an ATV in Lyndhurst, police said. Lyndhurst Police Sgt. William Kapp was on patrol on Disposal Road, which rests adjacent to the DeKorte Park complex, when he came across an older model Ford pickup truck on Sunday, Sept. 8, Detective Lt. Vincent Auteri said. The truck was parked near a secured property containing landscaping equipment.  Disposal Road is a limited access road that is closed to the public at dusk when the park closes. As Kapp approached, he confronte…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Fugitive Sought In Jersey City Mom's Murder Arrested In Colombia: Prosecutor Fugitive Sought In Jersey City Mom's Murder Arrested In Colombia: Prosecutor
Fugitive Sought In Jersey City Mom's Murder Arrested In Colombia: Prosecutor A 28-year-old Jersey City man was extradited from Colombia to the United States on Wednesday, Sept. 11, and charged with murdering a woman in Kearny in 2023, authorities said. Leiner Miranda Lopez had previously been charged with killing Luz Hernandez, a 33-year-old Jersey City mom in February 2023, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Hernandez's body was discovered in a shallow grave in the area of Central Avenue and Third Street in Kearny, Suarez said. The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined her death was caused by blunt force trauma to the head and compressions to the …

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Atlantic City HS Principal Indicted In Mayor, Superintendent Child Abuse Cover-Up: Prosecutors Atlantic City HS Principal Indicted In Mayor, Superintendent Child Abuse Cover-Up: Prosecutors
Atlantic City HS Principal Indicted In Mayor, Superintendent Child Abuse Cover-Up: Prosecutors Atlantic City High School's principal was indicted after she was accused of covering up parental abuse claims by the daughter of the mayor and school superintendent, authorities said. A grand jury indicted 39-year-old Constance Days-Chapman of Atlantic City on Wednesday, Sept. 11, the Atlantic City Prosecutor's Office said in a news release. She was previously charged on Thursday, Mar. 28. Investigators said a then-15-year-old told Days-Chapman in December 2023 that she suffered from "continuous headaches" because she was hit by her parents at home. According to prosecutors, Days-Chapman d…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Juveniles Arrested After Causing Bloomfield High School Lockdown: Police Juveniles Arrested After Causing Bloomfield High School Lockdown: Police
Juveniles Arrested After Causing Bloomfield High School Lockdown: Police Two juveniles were arrested and charged after trespassing at Bloomfield High School on Wednesday, Sept. 11, causing a lockdown. Bloomfield High School was placed on lockdown after law enforcement was notified of two juveniles within the vicinity of the high school, Bloomfield police said in a release. The lockdown was lifted after officers cleared the building, police said. Detectives were able to positively identify the two juveniles who were not students or Bloomfield residents, police said.  The two juveniles were taken into custody and were charged with acts of juvenile delin…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Trespasser Electrocuted On Train Tracks In Newark: NJ Transit Trespasser Electrocuted On Train Tracks In Newark: NJ Transit
Trespasser Electrocuted On Train Tracks In Newark: NJ Transit A person trespassing on the train tracks in Newark was electrocuted on the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 12, authorities said. At 3:27 p.m., police responded to the tracks on the Morris and Essex Line near Roseville Avenue and 7th Avenue in Newark on a report of two people trespassing on the tracks, NJ Transit aid. The two were trespassing on an overhead signal structure when one was injured by electricity and fell to the tracks, NJ Transit said. Both were hospitalized and the extent of their injuries is unknown, NJ Transit said. Train traffic was held until the trespassers were removed, N…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Cops ID Motorcyclist, 37, Killed In Route 17 Crash Cops ID Motorcyclist, 37, Killed In Route 17 Crash
Cops ID Motorcyclist, 37, Killed In Route 17 Crash Police have identified the motorcyclist killed in a crash on Route 17 in Bergen County this week. Daniel Wenzel, 37, of Milford, PA collided with another vehicle on the southbound side of the highway near the Essex Street ramp in Maywood around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10, Maywood Police Detective Sgt. William Phayre said.  Wenzel's Facebook profile shows he has ties to North Bergen and was a marine diesel mechanic at the NY Waterway. An investigation found Wenzel had collided with another vehicle, causing it to veer off the roadway into a grass median. The driver of the…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Man Riding Scooter Broke Into Newark Dunkin': Police Man Riding Scooter Broke Into Newark Dunkin': Police
Man Riding Scooter Broke Into Newark Dunkin': Police A man riding a scooter is at large after he broke into a Dunkin in Newark on Saturday, Sept. 7, authorities said. At 3:23 a.m., the man arrived at Dunkin at 794 Franklin Ave. on a scooter, and then used an object to break in, Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé said.  Once inside, the suspect also used an object to break into an office where he stole approximately $3,500.00 in cash before fleeing on the scooter heading northbound on North 6th Street, Fragé said. The suspect later entered Stephen Crane Village, where he entered a white Kia, Fragé  said. The suspect…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
US Marshals Capture Armed Man Who Sexually Assaulted, Robbed Women At NJ Hotels: Cops US Marshals Capture Armed Man Who Sexually Assaulted, Robbed Women At NJ Hotels: Cops
US Marshals Capture Armed Man Who Sexually Assaulted, Robbed Women At NJ Hotels: Cops A 27-year-old East Orange man is accused of sexually assaulting and robbing two women in Elizabeth, police said. Jameel Alston carried out the first incident at Motel 6 on Aug. 28, when the victim reported being sexually assaulted and robbed by an armed intruder, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel said. A second incident, an armed robbery of another woman, happened shortly after at the Ritz Motel.  During both incidents, Alston was driving a white 2021 Hyundai Kona, Daniel said alongside Elizabeth Police Chief Giacomo Sacca and Elizabeth Police Director …

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by Cecilia Levine