Find Your Daily Voice
Newark
Your Local News for Newark, New Jersey
Tuesday, mar 11
62°
Follow
News
Schools
Business
Obituaries
Police & Fire
Weather
Lifestyle
Politics
Sports
Events
Traffic
Real Estate
Tags
Jobs
Shop
Support Us
Newark
Follow
Find Your Daily Voice
News
Schools
Business
Obituaries
Police & Fire
Weather
Lifestyle
Politics
Sports
Events
Traffic
Real Estate
Tags
Jobs
Shop
Support Us
Home
About us
All sites
Advertise with us
Contact us
Terms of use
Privacy policy
Code of ethics
Site Map
© 2025 Cantata Media
62°
Tuesday, mar 11
Tag:
Alcohol
Obituaries
Cause of Death Revealed For 3 American Tourists Found Dead In Belize Resort: Report
Authorities in Belize have determined the cause of death for three Massachusetts women who were found dead inside a luxury hotel earlier this month. An autopsy revealed blood in the women's lungs, CBS Boston reported. Police are still investigating what led up to their deaths. The next step is a toxicology report and testing of tissue samples, which could take up to a month for results. Wafae El Arar, Imane Mallah, and Kaoutar Naqqad — all from Revere and in their mid-20s — had flown to what was supposed to be a vacation paradise to celebrate Wafae’s 26th birthday but were found dead on Sat…
Obituaries
Community Rallies For 3 Young Mass Women Found Dead In Belize; Families Question Official Story
Hundreds of people turned out for a memorial service for three Massachusetts women who were found dead in a beachfront resort over the weekend in the Central American nation of Belize. The women — Wafae El Arar, Imane Mallah, and Kaoutar Naqqad — are all from Revere, in their mid-20s, and of Moroccan descent. They had flown to what was supposed to be a vacation paradise to celebrate Wafae’s 26th birthday but were found dead on Saturday, Feb. 22, according to Boston 25. As news spread of their deaths, Revere, the Moroccan community, and strangers from around the globe offered words of sympat…
News
3 American Women Found Dead At Well-Known Vacation Resort
Three women from the United States have been found dead at a popular vacation destination. Their bodies were discovered in their room at a luxurious resort in Belize, on the north-eastern coast of Central America, by hotel staff who used a master key to get inside after the trio had not responded to housekeeping over the weekend, according to authorities. Update: Families Of Women Found Dead In Hotel Question Narrative Of Their Deaths The women, all in their mid-20s, identified as Wafae El Arar, Imane Mallah and Kaoutar Naqqad, are from just outside of Boston, in Revere, Massachuset…
Schools
Parents Fight Back After NJ DUI Super 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 …
Police & Fire
NJ Driver With Glass Of Wine In Brand-New Volvo Was More 2X Legal Limit, Police Say (
Video
)
Bodycam footage shows the arrest of a 41-year-old Old Bridge woman who police say was more than twice the legal limit when they stopped her last month in Red Bank. The footage showing the Dec. 20, 2024 arrest of Dana Colonna in Red Bank has been published by Transparency Bodycam on YouTube. The video shows Red Bank Officer Christopher Fuentes initiating the stop near Volcafe on Bridge Ave., in which Colonna tells him that she was driving a brand-new Volvo and was fighting with her boyfriend. Colonna admitted to drinking alcohol earlier in the evening after visiting Gabriella’s Italian …
Police & Fire
Morris County Corrections Officer Drove Drunk In Two-Car Crash: Authorities
A Morris County corrections officer found himself on the other side of the law. Justin Jasiecki, 24, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence following a two-car crash in Denville on Friday, Jan. 17, Denville police said. At 11:23 p.m., officers responded to the crash on Route 53 and an investigation determined Jasiecki was under the influence of alcohol, police said. After failing field sobriety tests, Jasiecki was placed under arrest for the suspicion of driving while intoxicated, police said. The other driver was transported to Morristown Medical Center due to inj…
News
Video: DUI Driver Twice Legal Limit Says Car Hit Black Ice Before Slamming NJ Office Building
New bodycam footage shows the arrest of a 31-year-old Rockaway woman who was more than twice the legal limit when her vehicle slammed into a Denville office building last month, police paperwork shows. Police were called to 95 E Main Street near Indian Road on reports of a "loud bang" around 10 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2024, Denville police said. There they found Kristen Cobb, whose vehicle had veered off the road and struck the exterior of the building with airbag deployment. Officers detected a strong odor of alcohol from Cobb's breath. She claimed she “slipped on black ice” while driving ho…
News
Exclusive
: Mom Found Dead In Fridge, Timeline Not Adding Up For Distraught Family
Laura Hughes moved to New Jersey from Virginia in 2023 with the hope of being closer to her two teen daughters. "We thought it was a new beginning," said Cornel Alston, the father of her girls. Instead, the family is left mourning Hughes' loss days after the discovery of her remains, found stuffed in a refrigerator in a wooded area of the Belleplain State Forest on Sunday, Dec. 22. The timeline around 50-year-old Hughes' death isn't adding up for Alston, who says authorities have given him little information, compounding the pain of the loss. The NJ Courts website shows that Christop…
Police & Fire
Newark Man Arrested For Liquor Store Break-In: Franklin Borough Police
A 36-year-old Newark man was recently arrested for breaking into a Sussex County liquor store and taking alcohol, police said. Angel Soler used a tool to break the glass sliding door of Right Bottle at Sterling Plaza, Franklin Borough police said. Soler gained entry to the cash register, removed bottles of alcohol and a tablet belong to the store, police said. Soler was charged burglary, theft of movable property, and criminal mischief, police said. He was also arrested by the Passaic County Sheriff's Office on unrelated charges, police said.
Business
Shoplifting Costs Retailers Billions: These Are Most Frequently Stolen Items
Shoplifting in the US is a costly epidemic, with retailers losing over $120 billion last year. The trend focuses on easily concealed, high-demand products at major retailers like Walmart and Target, posing a nationwide challenge for store owners and law enforcement. Electronics, health and beauty products, and food items are among the most commonly stolen goods, Capital One Shopping reports. Small gadgets such as headphones and phone chargers, alongside over-the-counter medications and cosmetics, are frequent targets. Alcohol, baby formula, and packaged meats are also popular …
Police & Fire
Union County Man Arrested For DUI After Striking Curb: Police
A 43-year-old Union County man was arrested and charged with drunk driving after he struck a curb in Denville on Monday, Oct. 21, authorities said. Officers responded to 3056 Route 10 West after a black Honda struck a curb, Denville police said. The driver, Brian Sharkey, a Mountainside resident, was found to be under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, police said. Sharkey was arrested and transported to police headquarters for processing, police said. Sharkey refused to submit to a chemical test and was charged with driving under the influence and reckless driving, among other off…
Police & Fire
Bodycam Footage Shows Influencer Therapist's 2023 DUI Arrest At NJ Town's Sobriety Checkpoint
Newly released bodycam footage shows the New Jersey DUI arrest of a social media influencer and author known for her work on narcissistic abuse. Vanessa Reiser is seen on bodycam footage shared by Transparency Bodycam being questioned at a DWI checkpoint in Monmouth County around 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, 2023. Reiser has 13K followers on Instagram, where her bio says she is a licensed clinical social worker, author, and expert in narcissistic/cult abuse. Reiser's ex-fiance is Luis Ruelas, who is now married to "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice. In police papers …
Police & Fire
Off-Duty Paterson Cop Held Stolen Gun As Pal Knocked Victim's Teeth Out At Lounge: Prosecutor
A 33-year-old Paterson police officer is facing charges for his role in an assault that happened at a local lounge, and a subsequent motor vehicle stop in which he was DUI, officials said. Valentin Torres was off duty when he was handed a gun by Jonathan Cristobal at Mancora Lounge around 2 a.m. on Aug. 23, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. Cristobal punched the victim in the face, knocking out several teeth, Valdes said. As he did so, Torres had the gun in the front of his waistband, and at one point took out the handgun and held it in his right hand, the prosecut…
Police & Fire
Mugshot Released: Accused DUI Driver Was Going 103 MPH In Route 80 Crash That Killed Passenger
A 40-year-old driver was going more than 100 miles per hour, was more than twice the legal limit, and had amphetamine and THC in his system at the time of the February 2024 crash that killed his 38-year-old passenger, authorities said. A criminal complaint obtained by Daily Voice charges Julio C. Guerrero Brito with vehicular homicide and manslaughter in the Route 80 crash that left Richard Bahamonte of Hillside dead at the scene in Teaneck on Feb. 24 around 3 a.m., as previously reported by Daily Voice. The complaint says Guerrero Brito was going 103 mph in a 55 mph zone, and that further …
Police & Fire
Newly-Released Video Shows Arrest Of DUI Driver Who Crashed With Teen In Car In NJ
Newly-released bodycam footage shows the arrest of a 30-year-old woman who police say was under the influence when she crashed her car, which had been carrying a 16-year-old child in New Jersey. The footage shared by Transparency Bodycam shows the police response to Parkview Road and Conger Terrace on Sept. 11, 2023, where Ammara Awan was found entrapped in the 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE that she had crashed. Awan's 16-year-old passenger had exited the vehicle by the time police arrived, and had suffered a broken finger, cuts, and bruises, police paperwork says. "The car is obliterated," …
Police & Fire
DUI Bergen County Driver Kills Motorcyclist In Passaic, Prosecutor Says
A 32-year-old Bergen County man has been charged in a deadly crash that happened Friday, Sept. 20 in Passaic County, authorities said. Johnny Aguilar, of Carlstadt, was operating a Ford Excursion when he struck a 59-year-old motorcyclist at the intersection of Paulison Avenue and Pennington Avenue, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Passaic Chief of Police Luis Guzman said. Arriving officers found the victim, Carlos Ocasio-Rodriguez, in the middle of the intersection, Valdes and Guzman said. Ocasio-Rodriguez was pronounced dead at Saint Mary’s Hospital. …
News
Sean Higgins Worked At Substance Abuse Center, Was Member Of NJ National Guard: Reports
More information about Sean Higgins, the suspected DUI driver who killed Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau last week, is coming to light. The 43-year-old Woodstown resident who police say struck 31-year-old Johnny and 29-year-old Matthew in Oldmans Township last week, was a New Jersey National Guardsman who worked at a substance abuse treatment center. Photos on the Department of Defense website show Higgins receiving a COVID-19 vaccination in January 2021, and embracing a child in Kosovo in 2019. A state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs spokesperson confirmed Higgins is a f…
Obituaries
Driver Going 90 MPH Charged In Crash That Killed Pre-Med Student In NJ: Officials
Charges have been filed against a 41-year-old man who police say was going 90 mph before a crash that killed an 18-year-old pre-med student in Morris County, officials announced. Gerald Veneziano, of Bellville, had numerous open alcohol containers in the vicinity of his Chevrolet Silverado following the accident that killed 18-year-old Jacob Davis in Flanders Friday, May 31, Morris County Acting Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood said. Davis was pronounced dead at the scene, while Veneziano was extricated and hospitalized with internal injuries, Calderwood said. Veneziano was charged with r…
News
Video Shows Mom 4X Legal Limit Picking Up Child From Bergen County School
Newly-released bodycam footage shows the arrest of a Bergen County mother who showed up more than four times the legal limit to pick up her son from school. The video shared by DriveThruTours shows the DUI investigation and subsequent arrest of Mayowa Kubikisha, 28, outside of Memorial Elementary School on Thursday, May 9, as first reported by Daily Voice. Montvale PD bodycam footage via DriveThruTours Officers conducted a series of field sobriety tests and found 40 airplane bottles of vodka, a bottle of EJ rum, a tall white can of beer, and a green bottle of beer — all open containe…
Police & Fire
Pedestrian Airlifted, Driver Charged In Park Ridge DWI Crash
A pedestrian was airlifted to the hospital and the driver who hit her outside a Park Ridge hotel arrested on DWI assault-by-auto charges, responders at the scene said. The 30-year-old New York woman was taken to the trauma unit at Hackensack University Medical Center after she was struck by a 2021 Ram pickup truck headed west on Brae Boulevard outside the Marriott Park Ridge shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday, June 8, they said. Responders established the landing zone for the Tri-Boro Volunteer Ambulance Corps at nearby West Ridge Elementary School. The victim remained in serious condition at…
Business
New Jersey Cocktail Bar Named Among Best In America
A Monmouth County cocktail bar picked up another national recognition after just one year of serving specialty drinks. Esquire named La Otra in Aberdeen Township on its list of 42 Best Bars in America for 2024. The bar is next to its sister restaurant Lita on Route 34, and both businesses are run by chef David Viana and his girlfriend Neilly Robinson. Bar manager Ricardo Rodriguez has a more "free-wheeling" approach to mixology at La Otra, compared to the Iberian classics at Lita. "Like the best bars attached to restaurants, the drinks are on the culinary side, such as the Tzatziki, which …
Police & Fire
Wine Bottles Hurled At Linden Liquor Store Employees In Man's $3,000 Tantrum (
Video
)
A man who threw bottles of red wine at liquor store employees causing $3,000 in damage is being sought by police in Linden. The man apparently didn't have enough money to pay for his alcohol at Beno's Liquor on North Wood Avenue on Nov. 30, and became upset when the store employee refused to give him a discount, Linden police said. The irate customer threatened to kill the employees and threw several large bottles of wine at the them before grabbing a clear plastic container of small liquor bottles and fleeing, police said. Footage of the incident was released by Linden police. Anyon…
Schools
'Something Just Happened' Was Cheerleader's Final Text Before Accidental Death: Report
"Something just happened."That was the text that New Jersey's Justine Gross sent to her roommate at Penn State, moments before she fell 11 stories down a trash chute and died, NJ Advance Media reports. At a Pennsylvania State Police teleconference this week, the 19-year-old Summit, NJ native's death was ruled accidental, the outlet said. The conference was held to review the results of the autopsy, which showed marijuana and alcohol in Gross’ liver tissue at the time of her death, NJ.com says citing police. Gross' parents were told they would have to pay $700 for a copy of the full rep…
Police & Fire
Man Found With 2 Guns In Hunterdon County Parking Lot, Police Say
A Poughkeepsie man was charged after police allegedly found him with two guns and open alcohol containers in the parking lot of a Hunterdon County business early Sunday. Herman Callands, 59, had parked his vehicle and was seen walking around the lot of a closed business off of Route 22 in Readington Township just after 12:10 a.m., local police said. During questioning, officers saw a gun in the front passenger door pocket of Callands’ vehicle, authorities said. A follow-up investigation and search turned up another gun, a prohibited weapon, and two open containers of an alcoholic beverage,…
News
Armed Wayne Man Who Terrorized Couple At Delaware Water Gap Headed To Federal Prison
UPDATE: A Wayne man must spend more than a year and a half in federal prison for an assault and fierce struggle that occurred after he pulled a pellet gun on a couple who'd been swimming at the Delaware Water Gap. Jeffrey A. Mulcahy, 59, must serve just about all of the 21-month sentence he received Tuesday because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Mulcahy took a deal from the government rather than face trial, admitting last fall that he assaulted the couple in the Kittatinny Point area on the New Jersey side of the river in September 2019. Mulcahy initially walked off after…
Police & Fire
Men Who Brought Ohio Teen Girls To NJ Motels Charged With Sex Assault, Prosecutor Says
A pair of men were arrest on accusations they brought two teen girls from Ohio to New Jersey, then lodged them in motels, had sex with one of them and and gave both girls drugs and alcohol, authorities said Tuesday. The girls, ages 14 and 15, met 32-year-old Norman Berry, of the Bronx, in Ohio, and then traveled together to New Jersey on Feb. 24, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. The teens were staying in two, North Bergen motels, where the 15-year-old victim was sexually assaulted by Berry and Tyrell Piazza, 31, of Jersey City, Suarez said. Berry and Piazza gave both girls alco…
News
Comedian John Mulaney Checks Into Pennsylvania Rehab Center
Comic John Mulaney checked into a Pennsylvania rehab center over the weekend, Page Six reports. Mulaney, 38, will spend 60 days at the unnamed center for alcohol and cocaine addiction, the report says. A source told the outlet that the "Saturday Night Live" alum's family and friends are happy with him getting help and focusing on his health. “His fans know he’s struggled in the past with sobriety, he has talked about it openly," the source said. Unfortunately he has struggled again during the pandemic. “He’s on board with his recovery, he’s not fighting against rehab.” The Emmy Award-win…
News
Clifton Man Dead In ATV Crash
A 40-year-old Clifton man died after a Pennsylvania ATV crash, authorities said. Jason Borys was driving the ATV when it veered off the road in Penn Forest Township and crashed just before 8 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. He was pronounced dead a short time after. "Adverse" weather conditions and alcohol may have been factors in the crash, authorities said, although the cause remains under investigation. Born in Englewood, Borys was a Warehouse Specialist for Grimco in Carlstadt for several years, and lived most of his life in Clifton, his obituary says. Visiting is scheduled for Frida…
62°
