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Police & Fire
South Jersey Man Killed Himself, Officer Who Fired Weapon Only Grazed Him, Grand Jury Finds South Jersey Man Killed Himself, Officer Who Fired Weapon Only Grazed Him, Grand Jury Finds
South Jersey Man Killed Himself, Officer Who Fired Weapon Only Grazed Him, Grand Jury Finds UPDATE: A Cherry Hill police officer who fired his service weapon at a man who’d just shot himself in a private home last year did nothing wrong, a state grand jury has found. The single shot fired by Officer Jared Fox only grazed Joseph S. Bestic Jr., 63, on Oct. 11, 2022, according to New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. Officers had been called to conduct a welfare check at the home on Chapel Avenue West, the attorney general said. Bestic allowed them in and soon after grabbed a gun and shot himself, Platkin said. He was later pronounced dead at the scene. Platkin’s Office …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Asbury Park PD Not Responsible For Death Of Attempted Murder Suspect, Teen In Crash: Grand Jury Asbury Park PD Not Responsible For Death Of Attempted Murder Suspect, Teen In Crash: Grand Jury
Asbury Park PD Not Responsible For Death Of Attempted Murder Suspect, Teen In Crash: Grand Jury UPDATE: Asbury Park police bear no responsibility for the deaths of a fleeing suspect and a teenage companion in a crash, a state grand jury found. Dishawn Bellamy, 32, and a 17-year-old boy were in a Ford Explorer that sped past two officers headed toward the sound of gunfire in the area of Atkins Avenue and Boston Way in separate cars shortly before 7:30 p.m. on June 5, 2022. One of the officers recognized Bellamy, who "was known to have an active arrest warrant for a charge of attempted murder," New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Both officers activated the emergency ligh…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ELDER ABUSE: Financial Advisor Swiped $75K, Neglected 90-Year-Old Woman In His Care: NJ AG ELDER ABUSE: Financial Advisor Swiped $75K, Neglected 90-Year-Old Woman In His Care: NJ AG
Elder Abuse: Financial Advisor Swiped $75K, Neglected 90-Year-Old Woman In His Care: NJ AG A financial advisor from Verona abused his authority over a 90-year-old client's finances, stealing $75,000 while neglecting her care and well-being and letting her bills pile up, state authorities charged. John Boston, 47, tried to hide his hiring to manage the woman's affairs and assets, they said. He never told his employer and ignored a federal Financial Industry Regulatory Authority requirement to register the victim as a client, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a joint announcement with Interim Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Al Garcia. After obtaining durable fin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Police Had To Shoot Enraged Edison Man Who Charged At Officer With Ax, Grand Jury Finds Police Had To Shoot Enraged Edison Man Who Charged At Officer With Ax, Grand Jury Finds
Police Had To Shoot Enraged Edison Man Who Charged At Officer With Ax, Grand Jury Finds UPDATE: Police were justified in killing an ax-wielding Edison man who got within a few feet of an officer before he was finally shot, a grand jury has found. They'd dealt with Merrill Rambarose, 49, before. Once he was accused of trying to stab a woman at a 7-Eleven and another time he'd allegedly kept them at bay with a knife at the Margate garden apartment complex where the final confrontation occurred. This time police were called by a woman who said they'd gotten into an argument over her smoking in the apartment and "he grabbed an ax and swung it," according to one of the first offi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Police Fully Justified In Shooting West New York Man Who Fired At Them, Grand Jury Rules Police Fully Justified In Shooting West New York Man Who Fired At Them, Grand Jury Rules
Police Fully Justified In Shooting West New York Man Who Fired At Them, Grand Jury Rules It was as open-and-shut as a police shooting can possibly get. That’s why a state grand jury found that police were more than justified in shooting a West New York gunman who’d just wounded one officer while firing point-blank at them with a gun in each hand. Dramatic police bodycam footage shows Kevin Colindres, 32, opening fire after emerging from his 59th Street home on June 3, 2022. In a clip recorded through the front-door window, Colindres is seen entering the vestibule in a t-shirt and shorts with both hands behind his back as police investigate a domestic violence call. He sudden…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Jersey City Man With Mental Health History Shot By Police UPDATE: Jersey City Man With Mental Health History Shot By Police
Update: Jersey City Man With Mental Health History Shot By Police One of a group of specially-trained Jersey City police officers shot and killed a knife-wielding city man after he charged at them in his apartment, authorities said. An EMS unit was the first to respond to 2:15 p.m. call at the Randolph Avenue residence in the Bergen-Lafayette section of the city on Sunday, Aug. 27, according to a release issued late Monday by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin. "Upon arrival, they requested the assistance of the Jersey City Police Department," the attorney general said. Patrol officers arrived just before 2:30 p.m. and tried to communicate with …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Motorcyclist Fleeing Stop In Secaucus Crashes, Dies Motorcyclist Fleeing Stop In Secaucus Crashes, Dies
Motorcyclist Fleeing Stop In Secaucus Crashes, Dies A motorcyclist who fled a traffic stop in Secaucus died after colliding with another civilian's vehicle, authorities said. The as-yet-unnamed motorcyclist was stopped by a Hudson County sheriff's officer on County Avenue shortly before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. The motorcyclist fled north on County Avenue, then struck an SUV at the Charles Street intersection, ejecting him, Platkin said. He was pronounced dead at Jersey City Medical Center at 1:13 p.m., the attorney said. The SUV's occupants weren't injured, he said. State law and hi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Elizabeth Man In Domestic Dispute Swings Knife Before He's Shot By Officer, Video Shows Elizabeth Man In Domestic Dispute Swings Knife Before He's Shot By Officer, Video Shows
Elizabeth Man In Domestic Dispute Swings Knife Before He's Shot By Officer, Video Shows UPDATE: It was over in seconds. An Elizabeth police officer fired a single shot to neutralize a man who swung a long-bladed knife at him inside a multi-family home, video of what became a fatal encounter shows. Officer Steven Lazo and his partner were responding to a 911 call of an unwanted person involved in a dispute on Amity Street shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday, July 29, when the incident occurred. After entering through a front door, they moved through the house toward the sounds of a woman screaming in a rear room, where two men were trying to restrain Estiben Alegria-Hurtado, a 42-ye…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Revokes License Of Doctor After Child He Had With Cognitively Impaired Patient Comes Forward NJ Revokes License Of Doctor After Child He Had With Cognitively Impaired Patient Comes Forward
NJ Revokes License Of Doctor After Child He Had With Cognitively Impaired Patient Comes Forward An Essex County physician had sex with a cognitively impaired patient who bore his child in 1986, state authorities said Wednesday in announcing that his license had been revoked. Jashvant Amin became the subject of an investigation after the now-adult son he had with the woman filed a complaint, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said on Aug. 9. The investigation found “uncontroverted evidence” that Amin -- an internist and hematologist with an office in Orange -- had a sexual relationship with the complainant's mother, who was "cognitively impaired by …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Legal
Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Reindicted For Scamming Health Benefits Program Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Reindicted For Scamming Health Benefits Program
Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Reindicted For Scamming Health Benefits Program State authorities rebounded from a dismissed case with a new indictment against Wildwood’s mayor, a former mayor, and a city commissioner on health fraud charges. Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury, Jr. cited a technicality in deep-sixing the state’s initial case against Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron, former Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr. and current City Commissioner Steve Mikulski nearly six weeks ago. The judge left the door open for state prosecutors to take another crack at it. A grand jury, in turn, returned a new indictment that New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said “demonstrates …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Elizabeth Man, 42, Armed With Knife In Domestic Dispute Shot, Killed By Police Elizabeth Man, 42, Armed With Knife In Domestic Dispute Shot, Killed By Police
Elizabeth Man, 42, Armed With Knife In Domestic Dispute Shot, Killed By Police A civilian shot and killed by an Elizabeth police officer responding to a domestic dispute this past weekend had a knife, authorities said. Estiben Alegria-Hurtado, 42, of Elizabeth, was shot within a minute of the arrival of city police responding to a call of an "unwanted individual" on Amity Street shortly before 8 a.m. Saturday, July 29, a release from the office of New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin on Wednesday says. Officers rendered aid to Hurtado, who was taken by an EMS unit to University Hospital in Newark, the release says.He was pronounced dead at 11:36 p.m. Sunda…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Officer Not At Fault In Death Of Pedestrian Hit By Police Car On Route 18, NJ Grand Jury Finds Officer Not At Fault In Death Of Pedestrian Hit By Police Car On Route 18, NJ Grand Jury Finds
Officer Not At Fault In Death Of Pedestrian Hit By Police Car On Route 18, NJ Grand Jury Finds UPDATE: A state grand jury has cleared an East Brunswick police officer who was responding to a crash when he struck and killed a 55-year-old Edison man as he stood on darkened Route 18 in the middle of the night. Julius Filep had gotten out of his disabled car after it struck debris scattered across the highway when a sleeping driver slammed into a utility pole on the northbound side shortly after 3:30 a.m. Aug. 1, 2021, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. A third vehicle, as well as an 18-wheel truck, drove over the debris, igniting fiery, arching electrical wires, the attor…

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by Jerry DeMarco