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Police & Fire
WILD RIDE: Driver Drags Police Officer, Strikes Pedestrian At Wawa In South Jersey WILD RIDE: Driver Drags Police Officer, Strikes Pedestrian At Wawa In South Jersey
Wild Ride: Driver Drags Police Officer, Strikes Pedestrian At Wawa In South Jersey A 40-year-old Cumberland County took police on a wild pursuit that included dragging a police officer with his car and striking a pedestrian at a Wawa, authorities said. The driver, Jacob D. Griffiths, 40, of Bridgeton, ultimately was charged with multiple counts of eluding, aggravated assault, obstruction and hindering apprehension, according to the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office. The pursuit started on Bluebird Lane in Millville at about 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 when an officer was investigating a report of a robbery in Vineland. Griffiths sped off with a woman in the car, the prā€¦

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Cumberland County Man Killed In Route 77 Salem County Crash Cumberland County Man Killed In Route 77 Salem County Crash
Cumberland County Man Killed In Route 77 Salem County Crash A 29-year-old driver from Millville was killed and his passenger from Bridgeton was seriously hurt in a crash in Salem County, authorities said. Troopers responded to the single-car crash at about 2 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 on Route 77 in Upper Pittsgrove Township, according to New Jersey State Police spokesman Troy McNair. Based on a preliminary investigation, a Chevy passenger vehicle was traveling southbound In the area of milepost 10.1, Trooper McNair said. The driver lost directional control, ran off the roadway to the right and subsequently struck a utility pole, McNair said. As a reā€¦

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Innocent! NJ Daycare Worker Accused Of Abusing 4-Year-Old At Nap Time Found Not Guilty Innocent! NJ Daycare Worker Accused Of Abusing 4-Year-Old At Nap Time Found Not Guilty
Innocent! NJ Daycare Worker Accused Of Abusing 4-Year-Old At Nap Time Found Not Guilty A Cumberland County jury has found a daycare worker not guilty in an abuse and neglect case, authorities said. Claudia J. Smith-Heard, 51, of Millville, was accused of aggressive behavior to get a 4-year-old boy to take a nap on his first day of child care at Golden Gate center on Nov. 1, 2021, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Vineland police. A jury found Smith-Heard not guilty on all counts on Wednesday, Feb. 21 after a trial, according to Crystal Harris, criminal division manager. Smith-Heard had been charged on a summons with simple assault and child endangerment, aā€¦

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
NJ Prison Officer Admits Looking Other Way While Inmates Were Beaten, Brutalized NJ Prison Officer Admits Looking Other Way While Inmates Were Beaten, Brutalized
NJ Prison Officer Admits Looking Other Way While Inmates Were Beaten, Brutalized š—Øš—£š——š—”š—§š—˜: Nine months after a former corrections officer at a New Jersey prison was sentenced to 2Ā½ years behind bars for admitting that he brutalized inmates in what one victim called a ā€œfight club," a second officer cut his own deal with federal prosecutors. Joshua Hand, 34, of Millville, admitted in federal court in Camden on Monday, Feb. 26, that he stood by while two prisoners were being assaulted by fellow inmates at Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Hand violated both inmates' civil rights by not stopping their assailants or reporting the inā€¦

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Driver Charged In Crash That Killed 2 In South Jersey Driver Charged In Crash That Killed 2 In South Jersey
Driver Charged In Crash That Killed 2 In South Jersey A 27-year-old man from Vineland has been charged in last year's crash that killed two people from Millville, authorities said. Malexus Coleman was charged on Wednesday, Feb. 7 with two counts of death by auto for a collision that "recklessly" caused the deaths of Gary R. Lawson, 76, and his passenger, Diane S. Lindquist, 73, Vineland police said. The crash occurred at about 6:50 a.m. on Feb. 10, 2023, at the intersection of South Delsea Drive and College Drive. Colemanā€™s SUV struck a car driven by Lawson on South Delsea Drive as it was attempting to make a left turn onto College Drive. Lawā€¦

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Heroin Kingpin Who Ran Fatal Drug Ring From Atlantic County Jail Eligible For Parole In 9 Years Heroin Kingpin Who Ran Fatal Drug Ring From Atlantic County Jail Eligible For Parole In 9 Years
Heroin Kingpin Who Ran Fatal Drug Ring From Atlantic County Jail Eligible For Parole In 9 Years A man who ran a heroin-selling network from the Atlantic County Jail was sentenced, authorities said. Emery Chapman, 44, of Pleasantville, was sentenced to 21 years in state prison, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office announced on Friday, Feb. 2. Chapman will be eligible for parole after nine years and once he's released, he'll have five years of "intensive parole supervision" under the No Early Release Act. Prosecutors said Chapman gave heroin to 62-year-old Brian Whitted of Galloway Township in December 2018. Whitted then sold the heroin to 59-year-old Anthony Tamburelli. Tamburā€¦

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Pair Found With Defaced Gun After Galloway Vehicle Break-In: Police Pair Found With Defaced Gun After Galloway Vehicle Break-In: Police
Pair Found With Defaced Gun After Galloway Vehicle Break-In: Police Two men from South Jersey were arrested after they broke into someone's car and had a defaced gun, authorities said. Galloway Township police said they received a call from a potential theft victim at around 2:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 30. The man said he had checked his surveillance footage and saw someone broke into his vehicle at around 1:30 a.m. Officers began checking the area and noticed a Nissan Altima parked on Smithville Boulevard. Two men were inside the car and police found the men had a defaced gun. Police arrested 33-year-old Ahmed Ismail of Moorestown and 19-year-old Toriā€¦

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Unlicensed Driver In South Jersey: Police Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Unlicensed Driver In South Jersey: Police
Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Unlicensed Driver In South Jersey: Police A 26-year-old woman from Millville was struck and killed by an unlicensed driver, authorities said. On Friday, Jan. 26, at 6:49 a.m.. Millville Police and EMS were dispatched to the 1100 block of East Broad Street. Tynicha Blake was walking in the eastbound lane of travel just before being struck by a 2006 Honda Accord, a witness told Millville police. The driver of the Honda, a 26-year-old Millville resident, told police he was "heading to work when Blake suddenly appeared in front of his vehicle and he could not avoid hitting her," police said in a statement. Emergenā€¦

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Cumberland County Man, 64, Found Guilty Of Sexually Assaulting 4-Year-Old Girl: Prosecutor Cumberland County Man, 64, Found Guilty Of Sexually Assaulting 4-Year-Old Girl: Prosecutor
Cumberland County Man, 64, Found Guilty Of Sexually Assaulting 4-Year-Old Girl: Prosecutor A 64-year-old man from Millville has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl, authorities said. Marvin Stidham was convicted by a Cumberland County jury on Thursday, Jan. 25 of second-degree sexual assault and third-degree child endangerment, according to county Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae. Stidham was acquitted on a charge of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, she said. The State presented evidence that Stidham engaged in sexual contact with a four-year-old girl in Commercial Township from June 1, 2021 to Nov. 11, 2021, Webb-McRae said. Tā€¦

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by Jon Craig
Traffic
Cars Flip On Route 55 In Cumberland County (Updated) Cars Flip On Route 55 In Cumberland County (Updated)
Cars Flip On Route 55 In Cumberland County (Updated) There were two crashes in which vehicles overturned on Route 55 in Cumberland County, authorities said. The first crash occurred shortly before noon on Friday Jan. 19 on Route 55 southbound at Exit 21 (Schooner Landing Road) in Maurice River Township, according to the New Jersey Department of Transportation.  The driver sustained minor injuries and was transported to an area hospit, according to New Jersey State Police. The second crash occurred at about 12:30 p.m. Friday on Route 55 northbound north of Exit 24 (Route 49) in Millville, the state DOT said. A left lane and shoulderā€¦

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
NJ Charity Store Needs Donations After 'Devastating' Fire NJ Charity Store Needs Donations After 'Devastating' Fire
NJ Charity Store Needs Donations After 'Devastating' Fire A nonprofit thrift store in Egg Harbor Township is recovering after it lost all of its merchandise in a fire on Monday, Jan. 15. Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia said a suspicious fire broke out in the charity store on Black Horse Pike. No one was injured in the fire. Egg Harbor Township police said the fire started at around 1:30 p.m. and investigators are looking for the cause of it. Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to other stores in the Cardiff Plaza Shopping Center. All items in the store suffered smoke or water damage. ā€œTo lose 100% of our meā€¦

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by Chris Spiker
News
Widespread Power Outages, Downed Lines Affect 20K Customers In South Jersey Widespread Power Outages, Downed Lines Affect 20K Customers In South Jersey
Widespread Power Outages, Downed Lines Affect 20K Customers In South Jersey Utility crews continued to grapple with downed power lines that left nearly 20,000 homes and businesses without power in South Jersey after the storm. Scattered power outages totaling 18,000 customers persisted throughout Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties, according to Atlantic City Electric on Wednesday, Jan. 10. And nearly 1,400 homes and businesses remained without power early Wednesday in Burlington County, according to Jersey Central Power and Light. The other largest area power outages included Camden (950 customers), Bridgeton and surrounding areas (nearly 4,900), Deā€¦

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by Jon Craig