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Beachwood, NJ

Police & Fire
Ghost Guns, Meth, Firearm Seized From Pair In Ocean County Raid: AG Ghost Guns, Meth, Firearm Seized From Pair In Ocean County Raid: AG
Ghost Guns, Meth, Firearm Seized From Pair In Ocean County Raid: AG Two Ocean County residents are facing charges following a raid on Wednesday, Feb. 19 that turned up numerous ghost guns and methamphetamine, authorities said. Law enforcement conducted search warrants at multiple locations and recovered and seized, guns, including guns with no serial number- "ghost guns," extended magazines, and a quantity of methamphetamine, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. The defendants, George Garulle, 56, of Beachwood, and Dana Restaino, 39, of Whiting, conspired to sell a defaced firearm with no serial number, Platkin said. They were charge…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Code Enforcement Officer Admits To Using Job For Own Benefit, Prosecutors Say Jersey Shore Code Enforcement Officer Admits To Using Job For Own Benefit, Prosecutors Say
Jersey Shore Code Enforcement Officer Admits To Using Job For Own Benefit, Prosecutors Say A 58-year-old former code enforcement officer for the Borough of Beachwood admitted on Tuesday, Feb. 18 to using his job to line his own pockets, authorities said. Michael Ruvo, a Toms River resident, pleaded guilty to theft by deception and tampering with public records and is expected to be sentenced to 364 days in jail, Prosecutor Bradley Billhmer said. In June 2022, Ruvo, while working for Beachwood, issued a code enforcement violation to a property owner on Tiller Avenue, Billhimer said. The property owner contacted Ruvo advising she had received an estimate to bring the property up to…

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by Sam Barron
Schools
Parents Fight Back After DUI Ocean County Superintendent Returns To Work Parents Fight Back After DUI Ocean County Superintendent Returns To Work
Parents Fight Back After DUI Ocean County Superintendent Returns To Work A New Jersey superintendent who was arrested for drunk driving last fall has returned to work and some parents are none too happy about it. George Chidiac, the superintendent for the Stafford Township School District, was placed on leave last year after he was arrested for driving under intoxication last October, after crashing into a utility pole in Berkeley Township, causing a power outage, Berkeley Township police said.  Police said Chidiac, 52, was walking away from his gray Kia Forte when officers arrived. He told the officers he was "going home to get help." When questioned …

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
MDMA, Cocaine, Guns, Ammo, Shrooms, Weed: Ocean County Drug Dealers Busted, Prosecutors Say MDMA, Cocaine, Guns, Ammo, Shrooms, Weed: Ocean County Drug Dealers Busted, Prosecutors Say
MDMA, Cocaine, Guns, Ammo, Shrooms, Weed: Ocean County Drug Dealers Busted, Prosecutors Say Three Ocean County men were arrested and charge this week following a three-month investigation into the distribution of illegal narcotics in Ocean County, authorities said. Investigators began surveilling the home of Elijah Metellus, a 20-year-old Beachwood resident, because it was being used to store and distribute cocaine, ecstasy/MDMA, psilocybin, and marijuana, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. On Tuesday, Feb. 4, detectives observed Dominic McGriff, a 43-year-old Beachwood resident, enter the residence, Billhimer said. McGriff then went to an apartment complex in To…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Weapon-Dealing Duo Found With Illegal Guns At Toms River Motel, Police Say Weapon-Dealing Duo Found With Illegal Guns At Toms River Motel, Police Say
Weapon-Dealing Duo Found With Illegal Guns At Toms River Motel, Police Say A man and woman from Ocean County were accused of illegally selling guns, authorities said. George Garulle of Beachwood and Dana Restiano of Whiting were arrested on Monday, Nov. 4, the Stafford Township Police Department said in a news release. Investigators executed two search warrants at the Howard Johnson motel in Toms River and a home on Neptune Avenue in Beachwood. Garulle and Restaino were found with several illegal guns, including defaced guns, ghost guns, rifles, and shotguns. Police also discovered the two had high-capacity magazines, an undisclosed amount of …

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Six NJ Corrections Officers Indicted For Covering Up Pepper Spray Attack On Inmate, AG Says Six NJ Corrections Officers Indicted For Covering Up Pepper Spray Attack On Inmate, AG Says
Six NJ Corrections Officers Indicted For Covering Up Pepper Spray Attack On Inmate, AG Says Six corrections officers were indicted after an inmate was pepper-sprayed and forcefully removed from his cell at a Burlington County detention center, authorities said. A grand jury indicted a sergeant and five senior corrections officers for the attack and subsequent coverup, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a news release on Wednesday, Oct. 30. The incident happened at Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, a center for adults 18-30 years old in Chesterfield Township. These were the officers charged in the case: Sgt. Michael Emmert, 40, Toms River Ch…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
CNAs Attack Patient At Jersey Shore Rehab Center: Prosecutor CNAs Attack Patient At Jersey Shore Rehab Center: Prosecutor
CNAs Attack Patient At Jersey Shore Rehab Center: Prosecutor A pair of certified nursing assistants are accused of beating a patient now listed in critical condition at the rehabilitation center they worked at, authorities in Ocean County said. Dhenmark Francisco, 28, of Toms River, and Jovi Esperanza, 31, of Beachwood, were each charged with aggravated assault in connection with the Sunday, Oct. 14 attack at Crystal Lake Rehabilitation Facility in Berkeley Township, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. The Berkeley PD was contacted by officials at the Crystal Lake Rehabilitation Facility regarding a patient that had been assa…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Smoke Diminishes As Crews Begin Containing Fishers Pit Wildfire In Bayville (UPDATE) Smoke Diminishes As Crews Begin Containing Fishers Pit Wildfire In Bayville (UPDATE)
Smoke Diminishes As Crews Begin Containing Fishers Pit Wildfire In Bayville (Update) Smoke has diminished as a massive wildfire burned for a second day in Ocean County, officials said. The fire was first spotted at the Cedar Bridge fire tower at 4:44 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 9, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said in an update. The roughly 189-acre wildfire was burning near Fishers Pit, a sand and gravel pit in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township. Conditions have improved after "erratic fire behavior" caused problems for the first firefighters at the scene. "Fire crews continue to secure and reinforce containment lines by mopping up hot …

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Late-Night Wildfire Breaks Out At Fishers Pit In Bayville, Firefighters Say (DEVELOPING) Late-Night Wildfire Breaks Out At Fishers Pit In Bayville, Firefighters Say (DEVELOPING)
Late-Night Wildfire Breaks Out At Fishers Pit In Bayville, Firefighters Say (Developing) Firefighters were battling a massive wildfire in Ocean County that broke out late Monday, Sept. 9, officials said. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service said the fire was burning near Fishers Pit, a sand and gravel pit in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township. The NJFFS first posted on Twitter about the wildfire at 7:30 p.m. Monday. As of Tuesday morning, the fire had been 20 percent contained to 150 acres, after spreading near Northern Boulevard in the Barnegat Pines neighborhood of Berkeley. "When firefighters arrived on scene initial attack efforts were unsuccessful due to erratic…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
South Jersey Teacher Who Molested Student, Had Victim's Nude Pics Indicted: Prosecutors South Jersey Teacher Who Molested Student, Had Victim's Nude Pics Indicted: Prosecutors
South Jersey Teacher Who Molested Student, Had Victim's Nude Pics Indicted: Prosecutors A Jackson Township teacher was indicted after being accused of molesting a student and having nude pictures of the victim, authorities said. A grand jury indicted 27-year-old Andrew Fantasia of Beachwood on Thursday, June 20, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. He was charged with possession of child pornography, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of criminal sexual contact, and official misconduct. Investigators said Fantasia had "inappropriate sexual contact" with a student while on Jackson Memorial High School property bet…

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by Chris Spiker