GOTCHA! Fugitive Cocaine Dealer Captured In DR, Returned To NJ After 15 Years On Run GOTCHA! Fugitive Cocaine Dealer Captured In DR, Returned To NJ After 15 Years On Run
Gotcha! Fugitive Cocaine Dealer Captured In DR, Returned To NJ After 15 Years On Run A cocaine dealer who fled the country after being sentenced to federal prison time 15 years ago has been returned to New Jersey following her capture in the Dominican Republic, authorities said. Ramona Cruz will have to serve out the entire 3½-year sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Cruz and her brother, Ramon DeJesus, were busted in 2005 with more than 6½ pounds of cocaine that had been flown in through Newark Airport by an unidentified associate from the DR, authorities said. DeJesus took a deal from the government rather than face trial, pleading guilty to…
Ex-Con Fugitive From NJ Caught With Guns, Drugs, Ammo Faces Lengthy Federal Prison Stretch Ex-Con Fugitive From NJ Caught With Guns, Drugs, Ammo Faces Lengthy Federal Prison Stretch
Ex-Con Fugitive From NJ Caught With Guns, Drugs, Ammo Faces Lengthy Federal Prison Stretch Cedric Lewis had been out of state prison all of two months when detectives from the Essex County Sheriff's Office learned that he'd armed himself with a rifle, two pistols and a pair of extended magazines while selling heroin and cocaine. With the heat on, the Bloomfield ex-con headed south. Three months later, deputy U.S. marshals in Atlanta had him in custody. Lewis, 29, will be headed to federal prison for a much longer stretch than before after taking a deal from the government. Lewis pleaded guilty via videoconference with a federal judge in Newark on Thursday, July 28,  to two …
Fugitive Killed Himself When US Marshals Showed Up At His House, Officials Say Fugitive Killed Himself When US Marshals Showed Up At His House, Officials Say
Fugitive Killed Himself When US Marshals Showed Up At His House, Officials Say A Pennsylvania man wanted by police on aggravated assault charges killed himself when the US Marshals Service showed up at his door, authorities said. The body of 27-year-old Del Harvey was found inside a home on East High Street in Pottstown around 3:30 p.m. Monday, July 11, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Robert Clark told Daily Voice. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, which authorities said they heard while trying to serve a search warrant on the home. Harvey had been wanted in connection with an aggravated assault in Phoenixville on June 19, Clark said. Officers trie…
GOTCHA! Fugitive Accused Of Love Triangle Murder Fled To Costa Rica From Newark: Feds GOTCHA! Fugitive Accused Of Love Triangle Murder Fled To Costa Rica From Newark: Feds
Gotcha! Fugitive Accused Of Love Triangle Murder Fled To Costa Rica From Newark: Feds A fugitive accused of killing a world-class cyclist used someone else’s passport to flee to Costa Rica from Newark Airport, then changed her appearance in a failed attempt to elude capture, federal authorities said. Kaitlin Armstrong, a 34-year-old yoga teacher, was wanted on murder charges following the May 11 shooting death of Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson in Austin Texas. Wilson had briefly dated Armstrong’s boyfriend, who was also a pro cyclist, authorities said. Federal agents tracked Armstrong to the Santa Teresa Beach hotel in Costa Rica’s Provincia de Puntarenas, where she was taken into…
South Jersey To NY Journey Ends With 250 Pounds Of Coke Seized, Pair In Federal Custody South Jersey To NY Journey Ends With 250 Pounds Of Coke Seized, Pair In Federal Custody
South Jersey To NY Journey Ends With 250 Pounds Of Coke Seized, Pair In Federal Custody Federal agents followed a tractor-trailer loaded with nearly 250 pounds of cocaine for more than 75 miles from South Jersey to New York before busting the driver and a co-conspirator in Yonkers, authorities said. They were right behind when Eddie Velez-Pena, 33, of Yonkers, stopped the tractor-trailer in the Hunterdon County town of Hampton, NJ, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. They then followed him and the rig north to the border of Yonkers and the Bronx, the U.S. attorney said. There Velez-Pena transferred multiple duffle bags to Robin Medina-Fabian, 38, of the Bro…
Jersey Shore Man Found With Rifle, Silencer, Bogus Federal Agent Badges Takes Plea Jersey Shore Man Found With Rifle, Silencer, Bogus Federal Agent Badges Takes Plea
Jersey Shore Man Found With Rifle, Silencer, Bogus Federal Agent Badges Takes Plea A Jersey Shore man who was caught with a handful of phony federal agent IDs in his own name admitted also having a homemade rifle and a silencer. Jeffrey Backlund, 57, of Waretown, took a deal from the government rather than face trial, pleading guilty on Wednesday, April 27, to illegally possessing all of them, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Backlund was arrested after a warranted search prompted by a domestic disturbance in September 2020 turned up “a number of firearms and imitation federal identification badges,” Sellinger said. “They found one short-barreled, AR-style, .223 …
Pre-Dawn Prowlers From NYC Caught At Route 4 Car Dealership With Guns, Drugs: Paramus PD Pre-Dawn Prowlers From NYC Caught At Route 4 Car Dealership With Guns, Drugs: Paramus PD
Pre-Dawn Prowlers From NYC Caught At Route 4 Car Dealership With Guns, Drugs: Paramus PD The getaway driver for a pair of car thieves caught prowling a Route 4 car dealership in Paramus before dawn was carrying two guns and several heroin folds, authorities said. Officer Matthew Orefice chased down one of them while responding to a call of men with flashlights peering into vehicle on the DCH Paramus Honda lot shortly after 3 a.m. Thursday, March 24, Deputy Police Chief Robert M. Guidetti said. He was identified as Mitchell A. Pringle, 34, of Brooklyn. Officer Ryan Hayo nabbed Pringle's partner, Dramane Guitti, 25, of New York City, Ehrenberg said. He was wearing a black h…
US Marshals Nab Baltimore Gunman In New Jersey: Police US Marshals Nab Baltimore Gunman In New Jersey: Police
US Marshals Nab Baltimore Gunman In New Jersey: Police Members of the US Marshals Service arrested a Maryland man wanted in a Baltimore shooting in New Jersey, authorities said. Luel F. Mekonnen, 22, of Silver Spring, was located on Friday, March 18 at the Red Roof Inn in Westampton, NJ, a spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said. Officers responded to a local hospital for reports that someone was brought there after being shot in the 1300 block of Colbury Road around 5 a.m. on Thursday, March 17, police said. Police were able to identify Mekonnen as a suspect and arrested him on Monday. Mekonnen has been charged as a fugit…
Feds: Smuggler Who Imported Ton Of Cocaine Into US Gets 15 Years Without Parole Feds: Smuggler Who Imported Ton Of Cocaine Into US Gets 15 Years Without Parole
Feds: Smuggler Who Imported Ton Of Cocaine Into US Gets 15 Years Without Parole A man who authorities said imported almost a ton of cocaine into the United States from Venezuela, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic was sentenced in federal court in Newark to a plea-bargained federal prison term of nearly 15 years, authorities said. Edwin “Tortuga” Nieves-Rosado, a 56-year-old U.S. citizen who was living in the Dominican Republic, must serve just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Nieves-Rosado "played a managerial role" in conspiring to smuggle the cocaine from with at least five other people from 2016 through January, 20…
NYC Murder Suspect Captured In NJ; Guns, Ammo, $3K Seized: Prosecutor NYC Murder Suspect Captured In NJ; Guns, Ammo, $3K Seized: Prosecutor
NYC Murder Suspect Captured In NJ; Guns, Ammo, $3K Seized: Prosecutor A 26-year-old New Jersey man wanted out of New York City on a murder charge was captured by members of the US Marshals Service and the Hudson County Regional SWAT Team over the weekend, authorities said. A search warrant was issued early Saturday, Feb. 5 at 957 Broadway in Bayonne — where Kegwin Clarke was found, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. There, authorities recovered two handguns including one stolen out of North Carolina, magazines, hollow-point ammunition, a large quantity of marijuana, and more than $3,000 in cash,  Clarke was arrested without incident by th…
FEDS: NJ Men Busted Following Three Fentanyl-Laced NYC Drug-Delivery Deaths FEDS: NJ Men Busted Following Three Fentanyl-Laced NYC Drug-Delivery Deaths
Feds: NJ Men Busted Following Three Fentanyl-Laced NYC Drug-Delivery Deaths Two North Jersey men worked for a drug-courier service that peddled fentanyl-laced cocaine responsible for killing three customers in a single day, federal authorities in Manhattan charged. Billy "Jason" Ortega, 35, of West Milford was the dispatcher who sent Kaylen Rainey, 30, of Manhattan to three different city addresses on March 17, 2021 after promoting "new batches" of drugs, an FBI complaint on file in the Southern District Court of Manhattan alleges. Three customers -- Amanda Scher, Julia Ghahramani and Ross Mtangi -- all died after ingesting the coke, authorities said. Scher texted…
US Marshals Nab Newark Man For 2021 Elizabeth Murder: Prosecutor US Marshals Nab Newark Man For 2021 Elizabeth Murder: Prosecutor
US Marshals Nab Newark Man For 2021 Elizabeth Murder: Prosecutor Members of the US Marshals Service arrested a 25-year-old Newark man early Tuesday, Feb. 1, wanted in an August 2021 shooting death of an Elizabeth man over the summer, authorities announced. Jefferson Louis, 25, has been accused of gunning down Archeley Brizard, 26, in a vehicle near Jefferson Park on Aug. 4 around 12:30 p.m., Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel said. Brizard was found by police having suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Julie Peterman, who is prosecuting the case. Louis was identified as the …