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Getaway Driver In 7-County North Jersey Holdup Spree Heads To Federal Prison Getaway Driver In 7-County North Jersey Holdup Spree Heads To Federal Prison
Getaway Driver In 7-County North Jersey Holdup Spree Heads To Federal Prison The wheelman in nearly two dozen gas station and convenience store armed robberies in North Jersey was sent to federal prison for at least nine years. Meshach Whagar, 31, of Newark must serve just about all of the 110-month sentence handed down in U.S. District Court in Newark on Wednesday because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Whager admitted late last year that he drove the getaway car during the 20 predawn holdups in seven counties -- Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, Middlesex, Morris and Union -- in November and December of 2017 (see list of locations below). The gunman…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Army Vet Struck Dead By Lighting While Playing Golf In Pennsylvania Army Vet Struck Dead By Lighting While Playing Golf In Pennsylvania
Army Vet Struck Dead By Lighting While Playing Golf In Pennsylvania Severe weather has claimed the life of a Pennsylvania man, who was struck by lightning during a round of golf. Joseph Slivinski, 71, of Lackawanna County, was struck by lightning while playing golf on Friday at Pine Hills Golf Course, according to the county coroner. Slivinski was attempting to find shelter when he was fatally injured, he died at the golf course around 1:30 p.m. A South Jersey golfer was struck and killed by lightning last month. Born in Scranton, Slivinski spent 33 years his life in Peckville with his of 44 years the late Christine M. Klonoski, according to the Times-Tri…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Girl Struck, Killed By NJ Transit Train Girl Struck, Killed By NJ Transit Train
Girl Struck, Killed By NJ Transit Train A girl was struck and killed by an NJ Transit train Tuesday in North Jersey. The Morris & Essex line train was heading to Dover in Morris County from New York Penn Station when it struck the girl at 12:15 p.m. in Maplewood, NJ Transit officials said. The incident occurred just west of the station.  Morris and Essex Line rail service was temporarily suspended due to this incident. New Jersey Transit Police are on scene leading the investigation. Sources with direct knowledge of the incident told Daily Voice the girl was 14 years old.

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by Cecilia Levine
News
14 Arrested In ICE Protest At Bergen County Jail 14 Arrested In ICE Protest At Bergen County Jail
14 Arrested In ICE Protest At Bergen County Jail Fourteen protestors were arrested – one of whom was charged with assaulting an officer – during another anti-ICE demonstration at the Bergen County Jail. Those arrested were part of a group that held an overnight vigil across from the jail aimed at stopping the deportation of Marvin Jerezano Peña. Peña has been arrested by police in Red Bank and had a federal deportation hearing scheduled Tuesday in Newark, they said. Trespassing protestors prevented vehicles from entering and leaving the sally port used to shuttle inmates and detainees in and out of the lockup in Hackensack, Bergen Count…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Columbia High School Student Dead, Another Injured In Sports Field Shooting Columbia High School Student Dead, Another Injured In Sports Field Shooting
Columbia High School Student Dead, Another Injured In Sports Field Shooting An 18-year-old high school student died and another was injured in a shooting at a sports field Sunday night, authorities said. Columbia High School junior Moussa Fofana, of Maplewood, was shot at Underhill Sports Complex around 9:30 p.m., according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said.  He was pronounced dead at the scene approximately one hour later. An unidentified 17-year-old victim was hospitalized for treatment of a non life-threatening gunshot wound, authorities said. Authorities remained at the scene -- approximately six blocks from Columbia High School …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Feds: Armed Fugitive In 7-Hour Hudson Hotel Standoff Was ‘Prepared For War,’ ‘Ready To Die’ Feds: Armed Fugitive In 7-Hour Hudson Hotel Standoff Was ‘Prepared For War,’ ‘Ready To Die’
Feds: Armed Fugitive In 7-Hour Hudson Hotel Standoff Was ‘Prepared For War,’ ‘Ready To Die’ UPDATE: A heavily-armed fugitive who held tactical officers at bay for nearly seven hours at a Secaucus hotel told police that he was “prepared for war” and “ready to die,” the U.S. attorney for New Jersey said Monday. ATF agents charged Rahim Harris, 42, of Maplewood, with being a convicted felon in possession of weapons and ammo, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced. His wife, Haneefha White, 39, of Pottsville, PA, who was with him, is charged with aiding and abetting the possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon. Authorities said they found eight loaded wea…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Man Charged In Mom's Murder NJ Man Charged In Mom's Murder
NJ Man Charged In Mom's Murder A 35-year-old man was charged with the murder of his 70-year-old mother in Essex County Monday, authorities said. Gwen Avrut was found unresponsive with serious injures in her South Orange Avenue apartment in Maplewood around 1 p.m. Monday, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, and Maplewood Police Chief Jimmy DeVaul said. She was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 1:40 p.m., they said.  Her son, Benjamin Avrut, also of Maplewood, has been arrested and charged with murder, authorities said. Google Maps shows the incident occurred at "The Top Condomi…

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
Kings Food Market May Close Several New Jersey Stores Kings Food Market May Close Several New Jersey Stores
Kings Food Market May Close Several New Jersey Stores Several New Jersey Kings Food Market stores could be closing in January 2021. WARN notices were issued to 439 employees at seven locations, according to the state's Department of Labor and Workforce website. The following stores appear to be closing come Jan. 12, 2021: Bernardsville Gillette Hoboken's River Street store Maplewood Parsippany (Corporate Headquarters) Ridgewood Warren A Kings spokesperson told TapInto that Acme was in the process of purchasing 19 locations, while the grocer had plans to sell other locations to different entities. "They could close," she said, "but everybody…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Feds Arrest NJ Post Office Custodian In $15,000 Theft Of Checks, Cash Feds Arrest NJ Post Office Custodian In $15,000 Theft Of Checks, Cash
Feds Arrest NJ Post Office Custodian In $15,000 Theft Of Checks, Cash Federal agents on Thursday arrested a custodian who they said stole $15,000 in checks and cash while working at an Essex County post office. Mark Gregory Jr., 27, of East Orange, swiped checks from the mail stream and cash paid by customers at a Maplewood post office, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Gregory deposited those checks into his own bank accounts in New Jersey and elsewhere, Carpenito said. Gregory was scheduled for a video-conferenced initial federal court appearance Thursday afternoon in Newark on theft and bank fraud charges. Carpenito credited special agents with the U.S…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Two Critically Burned Victims Rescued After Porch Candle Ignites Maplewood House Blaze Two Critically Burned Victims Rescued After Porch Candle Ignites Maplewood House Blaze
Two Critically Burned Victims Rescued After Porch Candle Ignites Maplewood House Blaze UPDATE: Two men were clinging to life with critical burns after firefighters rescued them from an overnight blaze that engulfed a Maplewood home. The two-alarm fire broke out on a porch of the 2½-story wood-frame house on Essex Avenue, trapping three residents inside, around 3:20 a.m., responders said. A candle left burning on the front porch apparently was to blame, fire officials said. Police were first on the scene and got an elderly woman out, they said. Firefighters located one of the men on the first floor and rescued the other from the second floor with a ground ladder. Both were…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Morning Blaze Guts Orange Multi-Family Home Morning Blaze Guts Orange Multi-Family Home
Morning Blaze Guts Orange Multi-Family Home A morning fire ravaged an Orange multi-family home Tuesday. Firefighters found heavy flames on all floors of the three-story Park Street home shortly after 6:30 a.m. The blaze went to three alarms less than an hour later and was knocked down about a half-hour after that. No serious injuries were immediately reported. ALL PHOTOS: Rob Munson The Park Street blaze in Orange went to three alarms less than an hour after it broke out.ALL PHOTOS: Rob Munson Among those assisting their Orange colleagues at the scene or in coverage were firefighters from Newark, Bloomfield, Montclair, West Or…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
COVID-19: North Jersey Municipalities Report First Cases, Others Brace For Shutdowns COVID-19: North Jersey Municipalities Report First Cases, Others Brace For Shutdowns
Covid-19: North Jersey Municipalities Report First Cases, Others Brace For Shutdowns While some North Jersey municipalities and counties are bracing for a shutdown, others are reporting their very first coronavirus cases. BERGEN Teaneck was the first in the state to urge residents to self-quarantine Saturday night, after learning that cases more than doubled overnight from 8 to 18.  As of Sunday, Bergen County had 29 positive test results of the 98 in the entire state -- including two fatalities. All Bergen County schools were closed indefinitely, and county officials warned residents they might be self-quarantined the way Teaneck was. A 54-year-old woman was th…

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by Cecilia Levine