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Man Went To Meet Teen Girl For Sex, Got Detective Instead: Monmouth County Prosecutor
A 50-year-old Morris County man was arrested and charged after he tried to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex, only to find out he was talking to an undercover detective instead, authorities announced Friday, Oct. 16.
Jeffrey Lanci, a Washington Township man, contacted the "girl" on social media and sent sexually charged texts, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said.
Lanci arranged to meet the girl in Freehold, but when he realized he was busted, he fled the scene, driving over grass and onto a local highway, nearly causing several crashes, Santiago said.
He was taken into cus…
3 Philadelphia Schools Locked Down, Evacuated After Threats From Same Caller: Police
Three Philadelphia schools were placed on lockdown or evacuated after threats believed to have come from the same caller on Friday morning, Oct. 16, police said.
The threats targeted Masterman School, the School of the Future, and Benjamin Franklin High School, prompting precautionary security measures and police responses at all three locations, according to Philadelphia Police Officer Tanya Little.
At Masterman School, located at 1699 Spring Garden Street, a lockdown began around 8:30 a.m. The school was cleared by police at 9:31 a.m.
Benjamin Franklin High School, at 550 North Broad Str…
Ex-NJ Lt. Caught In Sexual Encounter By Husband Guilty Of Illegally Accessing Files: Prosecutor
A 46-year-old former Mantua police officer was convicted of official misconduct Friday, Oct. 16.
In 2021, Butler, a lieutenant in the Internal Affairs department in Mantua, was involved in an off-duty sexual encounter when the woman's husband found the pair in their home, leading to a fight, Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew Johns said.
Rather than calling 911, Butler used the Mantua dispatch number, failing to identify himself as an officer, Johns said. He also refused to respond to questions from subordinate responding officers when asked about the events leading to the altercation, Joh…
NJ Middle School Teacher Held Man Down, Robbed Him In Hotel Room: Police
A man was robbed by two women he brought back to his hotel room in Atlantic City, authorities announced Friday, Oct. 16.
At 1:31 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 9, officers responded to Harrah's Atlantic City after a man said he met two women, Veda Engel and Amanda Crafts, Atlantic City police said. He went to their hotel room where they held him down and took his cell phone, Atlantic City police said.
They used the facial recognition feature to unlock his phone and transferred $1,250 from the victim’s Apple Pay account to Engel’s, police said. The man stated that the transactions were made without hi…
Philadelphia Stabbing Victim, Accused Killer ID'd After SWAT Barricade Standoff (Update)
The victim and accused killer in a fatal West Philadelphia stabbing that sparked a SWAT barricade standoff have been identified, police announced Friday, Oct. 16.
Mark Burton, 53, was stabbed multiple times in the unit block of North Edgewood Street on Thursday morning, Oct. 15, according to Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson Officer Tanya Little.
Marvis Davis, 52, who lives on the same block, has been charged with murder and related offenses in Burton's killing, Little said.
Officers from the 19th District responded to a report of a person with a weapon around 9:03 a.m. and found…
Family Of Slain NJ Girl, 9, Reported Abuse Weeks Before Her Death, Great-Grandma Says
For most of her young life, 9-year-old Maya Thomas knew a home filled with swimming, hiking, love, and two great-grandmothers who adored her. Now, those same women say they tried to save her after learning she was apparently being abused by her mother and stepfather just weeks before her death.
Maya was found severely injured outside her Paulsboro home early Tuesday, Oct. 13, after her mother, India Miller, and stepfather, Sean Scott, called 911 claiming she'd been struck by a car while walking her dog, Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew Johns said.
But doctors found bruises covering …
Netflix Replaces Top Show Boss Behind Your Favorites After Nearly A Decade
The woman who oversaw some of Netflix's biggest hits, including "Stranger Things," "Wednesday," and "Squid Game," is leaving the streaming giant after nearly a decade.
Bela Bajaria, Netflix's chief content officer, is departing the company, Netflix announced Thursday, Oct. 15. Peter Rice, a former Disney and Fox executive, will replace her beginning Monday, Oct. 26.
The shakeup comes one day after Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters told employees on Wednesday, Oct. 14, that the company was cutting about 1,000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, in its largest round of layoffs yet d…
NJ Boy, 10, Thought News Report Of Aide's Sex Assault Was About Him: Lawsuit
A 10-year-old New Jersey boy read a news article in December 2023 about an after-school aide accused of sexually assaulting another child. Believing the story was about him, the boy revealed months of alleged abuse to his parents, according to a new lawsuit (attached at the bottom of this news article).
The lawsuit, filed Monday, Oct. 12, in Bergen County Superior Court, accuses the City of Englewood, its school district and Board of Education of failing to protect the boy from Johnathan Jones, a former aide at Dr. Leroy McCloud Elementary School.
Jones, then 21, was arrested in December 20…
NJ Girl Beaten To Death By Mom, Stepdad After Hit-Run Story Unravels: Prosecutor
A New Jersey mother and stepfather have been charged with murder following the death of a 9-year-old girl, authorities announced Thursday, Oct. 15.
At 1:10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, India Miller, 27, and Sean Scott, 45, both Paulsboro residents, called 911 after Miller said she heard a loud sound, similar to tires screeching, before Scott went outside and found the girl by their shed, at 1:10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew Johns said. Miller said the girl was hit by a car while walking her dog, Johns said.
The girl was transported to a local hos…
'Forever Chemicals' Found In NJ Waterways: See Full List By County
So-called "forever chemicals" have been detected in rivers, lakes and streams across all 21 New Jersey counties, including the Hackensack, Passaic, Raritan and Delaware rivers, according to federal water testing records.
The findings come as a new report released Tuesday, Oct. 13, by Environment America Research & Policy Center found PFAS chemicals at 83% of 1,602 locations tested nationwide between 2022 and 2024.
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man-made chemicals that break down slowly and can build up in the environment and human body over time. Long-term…
Mom Drained 401(k) Before Great Wolf Lodge Double Homicide, Family Says: Reports
A Pennsylvania mother charged with killing her husband and 3-year-old son at Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos had tapped retirement savings to fund the family's three-week vacation and home renovations before the killings, according to her stepmother, who now believes the deaths were planned.
Metallica Rose Harrison, 27, of Towanda, appeared happy during a video call with relatives shortly before her husband, Charles "Chaz" Harrison, 36, and their son, Tristan, were found stabbed to death inside the resort on Monday, Oct. 12, her stepmother, April Thetga, told the New York Post in an intervie…
Serial NJ Bank Fraudster’s $1.8M Scheme Leads To Long Prison Term: Feds
A notorious bank fraudster from New Jersey is headed to federal prison after ripping off customers, businesses, and banks across the tristate area, federal investigators said.
Laquan Williams, 42, of Florham Park, was sentenced Tuesday, Oct. 13 to 16 years and eight months in prison, the Justice Department said.
Williams stole at least $1.8 million from various financial institutions through three overlapping schemes that ran from October 2021 to May 2024, the feds said.
The most lucrative operation involved stolen U.S. Treasury checks, in which Williams and co-conspirators impersonated le…
