Man Jailed For Assault, Robbery In Millburn Park: Report Man Jailed For Assault, Robbery In Millburn Park: Report
Man Jailed For Assault, Robbery In Millburn Park: Report A Newark man is behind bars after police say he and a teenager mugged a woman in a Millburn park on Wednesday, Dec. 7, according to a report by NJ.com. Investigators said the 46-year-old victim was walking down the sidewalk at Taylor Park just after 7:30 p.m. when Kazir Stokes, 20, and his 17-year-old companion pushed her to the ground, the report says.  They stole her purse and cell phone before fleeing the scene, but were discovered hiding behind a nearby car soon after, NJ.com says. Stokes was booked at Essex County jail, while the teen was charged with juvenile delinquency and take…
Armed Robber Admits Role In Multiple Liquor, Convenience Store Holdups In NJ, NY Armed Robber Admits Role In Multiple Liquor, Convenience Store Holdups In NJ, NY
Armed Robber Admits Role In Multiple Liquor, Convenience Store Holdups In NJ, NY UPDATE: A member of a New Jersey-based armed robbery crew copped to holding up five liquor and convenience stores in two states, federal authorities said. Jaime Fontanez, 45, of Elizabeth and two accomplices went on a six-month armed robbery spree beginning in August 2018, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Federal authorities tied the crew to 13 holdups in all in Essex, Union and Middlesex counties, as well as in the Bronx and upstate New York, the U.S. attorney said. The robbers followed a basic script, with two of them going into the business with their faces covered while a wheelm…
Wayne Police Turn Tables On 'Grandson Needs Bail Money' Scammers Who Victimized Elderly Couple Wayne Police Turn Tables On 'Grandson Needs Bail Money' Scammers Who Victimized Elderly Couple
Wayne Police Turn Tables On 'Grandson Needs Bail Money' Scammers Who Victimized Elderly Couple GOTCHA! An elderly couple had just handed over tens of thousands of dollars to a pair of “grandson-in-trouble” scammers and were about to surrender even more when Wayne police came to their rescue. The couple was already at the bank when their adult daughter reached out to township police –and just in time. Posing as a lawyer, one of the scammers had called and convinced the couple that a grandchild “had been involved in a car accident in New York City where a pregnant woman was involved and lost her baby,” Detective Capt. Dan Daly explained. The worried grandparents had already ponied up…
Organized Crew Nabbed After Snatching $12G Worth Of Winter Clothing From Ski Barn: Paramus PD Organized Crew Nabbed After Snatching $12G Worth Of Winter Clothing From Ski Barn: Paramus PD
Organized Crew Nabbed After Snatching $12G Worth Of Winter Clothing From Ski Barn: Paramus PD A trio of high-end shoplifters who swiped nearly $18,000 worth of jackets and parkas from a Paramus Ski Barn earlier this month were captured after hitting the same store exactly a week later, authorities said. Shoppers and motorists were among those who looked on as the members of the shoplifting crew bolted from the Route 17 store with $12,000 worth of winter clothing around noon on Thanksgiving Eve, Paramus Deputy Police Chief Robert Guidetti said. Fortunately, a Ski Barn employee had recognized the organized "Loyal" crew members from the week before and already called police. Officer J…
Mortgage Fraud: NJ Developer, Attorney Admit Swindling Lenders Out Of $3.5M Mortgage Fraud: NJ Developer, Attorney Admit Swindling Lenders Out Of $3.5M
Mortgage Fraud: NJ Developer, Attorney Admit Swindling Lenders Out Of $3.5M A New Jersey real estate developer and a lawyer admitted running a multi-layered mortgage fraud that cost banks more than $3.5 million in losses, federal authorities said. Developer Victor Santos, 63, of Watchung, paid stand-in "straw" buyers $5,000 each to first purchase a dozen properties in Newark and then secure tenants to lease them, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. A group of conspirators including him and attorney Fausto Simoes, 69, of Millington, covered the costs -- including fees and mortgage payments, the U.S. attorney said. "Santos, Simoes, and others also caused the sub…
IN COLD BLOOD: Killers Stalked Single Dad Gunned Down In Hackensack, Investigators Say IN COLD BLOOD: Killers Stalked Single Dad Gunned Down In Hackensack, Investigators Say
IN Cold Blood: Killers Stalked Single Dad Gunned Down In Hackensack, Investigators Say UPDATE: Two men stalked a dollar store clerk from Maywood before one of them is seen on video shooting the 28-year-old victim dead outside a Hackensack barber shop, authorities charged. Footage retrieved from several area surveillance cameras show Dior Alston and Malik Abel, both 21, following Vidal Nieves down Essex Street around 5 p.m. this past Saturday, Nov. 12, they said. Alston then hops out, chases the single dad down and shoots him outside the Minyety Barbershop near Lehigh Street, investigators allege. Video shows the shooter firing the bullets that killed Vidal Nieves, of Ma…
Paterson Gangsters Acted As Middlemen In Gun Trafficking Ring That Brought Firearms To NJ: AG Paterson Gangsters Acted As Middlemen In Gun Trafficking Ring That Brought Firearms To NJ: AG
Paterson Gangsters Acted As Middlemen In Gun Trafficking Ring That Brought Firearms To NJ: AG Nine members of a Paterson gun trafficking ring were among 15 people indicted on various charges for their roles in bringing more than 120 firearms from South Carolina to New Jersey, state officials announced. The investigation dismantled the criminal enterprise, took 12 guns off the street — including an assault rifle – and led to charges against the alleged leader of the trafficking ring, Travis Thomas, 41, of South Carolina, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Five of his gun suppliers in South Carolina, and nine “middlemen” who allegedly helped broker the sale of guns in…
Essex Corrections Officer Helped Inmate Smuggle Tobacco: Prosecutor Essex Corrections Officer Helped Inmate Smuggle Tobacco: Prosecutor
Essex Corrections Officer Helped Inmate Smuggle Tobacco: Prosecutor A corrections police officer in Essex County helped an inmate smuggle tobacco into prison, authorities said. Christopher Smoaks, a senior correctional police officer at Northern State Prison in Newark, has been arrested and charged with bribery in official matters and conspiracy, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II Smoaks, 31, of Jersey City, allegedly received payment from an inmate’s relative in return for smuggling suspected tobacco to the inmate on Oct. 16, Stephens said.  He was arrested inside the prison the following day after investigators …
13 Chinese Nationals Charged With Multiple Acts Of Espionage By Feds In Washington, NJ, NY 13 Chinese Nationals Charged With Multiple Acts Of Espionage By Feds In Washington, NJ, NY
13 Chinese Nationals Charged With Multiple Acts Of Espionage By Feds In Washington, NJ, NY Thirteen people, including members of China’s security and intelligence services, have been charged with trying to recruit professors and others in the United States to act as agents for their country, federal authorities in New York, New Jersey and Washington, DC announced. Tales of international intrigue include allegations that the defendants plotted to steal documents from a federal prosecutor's office to subvert a criminal investigation into a major Chinese company. Some of them are also charged in a spy-versus-spy encounter involving a $41,000 bribe in Bitcoin paid to an American…
East Orange Pair Charged In Newark Man's Murder: Prosecutor East Orange Pair Charged In Newark Man's Murder: Prosecutor
East Orange Pair Charged In Newark Man's Murder: Prosecutor Two men have been charged with murder and one with various related offenses in last month's shooting death of a 29-year-old Newark man, authorities said. Jamaal Mahorn, 37, and Buddy Randolph, 40, both of East Orange, were arrested in the death of Khalif Ligon, 29, on Sept. 7, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said. Police called to a shooting on the 100 block of Roseville Avenue in Newark around 1:50 a.m. found Ligon suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He was taken to University Hospital and pronounced dead at 2:17 a.m. Both Mahorn and Randolph ar…
DIY DENTISTRY: Truck Driver, Assistant Severely Injure Dental ‘Patient,’ Dumont Police Charge DIY DENTISTRY: Truck Driver, Assistant Severely Injure Dental ‘Patient,’ Dumont Police Charge
DIY Dentistry: Truck Driver, Assistant Severely Injure Dental ‘Patient,’ Dumont Police Charge A dental assistant and an Ecuadorian national who drives a truck for a living were charged with aggravated assault by Dumont police for severely injuring a woman with do-it-yourself at-home dentistry, authorities said. David Pharaoh Crosby Jupiter, the 44-year-old self-employed trucker, was arrested last Friday, Sept. 23, and sent to the Bergen County Jail only to have a judge release him the next day, records show. Dental assistant Diego Rodriguez, 32, had already been arrested two weeks ago before being released from headquarters on a summons, Dumont Police Chief Brian Joyce said Tuesday,…
Man Was Paid To Steal More Than $6K In Wiring From Warren County Home Depot, Prosecutor Says Man Was Paid To Steal More Than $6K In Wiring From Warren County Home Depot, Prosecutor Says
Man Was Paid To Steal More Than $6K In Wiring From Warren County Home Depot, Prosecutor Says An Essex County man admitted to being paid $500 to shoplift more than $6,000 worth of electrical wiring from a Warren County Home Depot store, authorities said. Ronald McKenzie, of Quaback Avenue in Irvington, is accused of shoplifting spools of electrical wiring from Home Depot in Mansfield Township during two incidents in July 2022, Warren County Prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer said in a release with local officials on Tuesday, Sept. 13. The amount shoplifted totals approximately $6,200, Pfeiffer said. After being confronted, McKenzie allegedly admitted to investigators that he had been pai…