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BOOM: Manhole Explosions Rock Asbury Park, Irvington BOOM: Manhole Explosions Rock Asbury Park, Irvington
Boom: Manhole Explosions Rock Asbury Park, Irvington Business owners and downtown residents of Asbury Park were shaken up by a pair of manhole explosions Thursday morning. No one was injured but at least 400 customers lost electricity after two manholes exploded about 9 a.m., authorities said. Jersey Central Power & Light crews were investigating a cable vault that may have been the source of the problem.  Multiple witnesses said that they heard long bangs and felt homes and buildings shake. Asbury Park police and firefighters immediately evacuated the neigh DJ Presto, co-owner of DJ’s Deli on Mattison Avenue, said he was in his ki…

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by Jon Craig & Cecilia Levine
News
Rockin' The 60s: Veteran Culprits Nabbed In NJ-Wide Thefts Of Work Vans, Trucks, State Says Rockin' The 60s: Veteran Culprits Nabbed In NJ-Wide Thefts Of Work Vans, Trucks, State Says
Rockin' The 60s: Veteran Culprits Nabbed In Nj-wide Thefts Of Work Vans, Trucks, State Says Two ex-cons in their 60s were part of a ring that stole more than 30 work vehicles from victims in seven North Jersey counties, authorities said. Their end came in a quick succession of arrests that followed an operation led by New Jersey State Police -- and involving dozens of local police departments -- that was dubbed “Operation Cat Burglar.” Crew members in January began snatching work vans and trucks from owners in Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Union, Hudson, Morris, and Middlesex counties, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. They stored the stolen vehicles in a lot in North Berg…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
Irvington Fire Recruit Victor Melillo, 21, Dies Days After Collapsing During Academy Training Irvington Fire Recruit Victor Melillo, 21, Dies Days After Collapsing During Academy Training
Irvington Fire Recruit Victor Melillo, 21, Dies Days After Collapsing During Academy Training A 21-year-old fire recruit from Irvington died at Morristown Medical Center days after collapsing during academy training, officials announced Tuesday. Victor Melillo, a new recruit with the Irvington Fire Department, collapsed around 9:30 a.m. on March 4 during a training exercise in the  parking lot of the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy off Hanover Avenue in Parsippany Township, Morris County officials said. First responders and EMTs performed life-saving efforts before the Morris County OEM's EMTs and paramedics from Atlantic Ambulance rushed Melillo to Morri…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Essex County Fire Recruit Hospitalized After Collapsing During Academy Training Essex County Fire Recruit Hospitalized After Collapsing During Academy Training
Essex County Fire Recruit Hospitalized After Collapsing During Academy Training A fire recruit from Irvington was hospitalized after he collapsed during academy training Thursday, FMBA officials said. The unnamed Irvington FMBA Local 14 recruit was training at the Morris County Fire Academy when he collapsed, requiring CPR and other lifesaving efforts, the NJ State FMBA said. The recruit was then transported to Morristown Medical Center, where he remains in the CCU, officials said. “We are asking all members to keep our brothers and sisters of Irvington FMBA Local 14 in your thoughts and prayers,” the state FMBA said. “We will send out any updates as soon as they are…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
NJSP: Hyundai Driver, 30, Leads High-Speed Police Pursuit On Route 78, Crashes In Morris County NJSP: Hyundai Driver, 30, Leads High-Speed Police Pursuit On Route 78, Crashes In Morris County
Njsp: Hyundai Driver, 30, Leads High-Speed Police Pursuit On Route 78, Crashes In Morris County A 30-year-old Hyundai Elantra driver lead police on a high-speed pursuit that ended with a crash in Morris County over the weekend, authorities said. Jesse Roberson of Irvington failed to stop for police who tried to pull him over for speeding on Rt. 78 eastbound in Union Township just before 7:30 a.m. Saturday, NJSP Sgt. Lawrence Peele told Daily Voice. Roberson exited to State Highway 24 westbound and continued until he crashed the vehicle into the center median near milepost 5 in Florham Park, Peele said. Roberson was arrested and charged with eluding and other vehicle summonses. The i…

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by Valerie Musson
News
WINNERS: NJ Lottery Tickets Totaling $100K Sold In North Jersey WINNERS: NJ Lottery Tickets Totaling $100K Sold In North Jersey
Winners: NJ Lottery Tickets Totaling $100K Sold In North Jersey Four lucky New Jersey lottery players won third-tier prizes worth $10,000 to $40,000 on Friday, state officials said. The winning numbers for the Feb. 5 drawing were: 14, 17, 28, 29, and 44. The Gold Mega Ball was 02, and the Megaplier Multiplier was 04. All four winning tickets, sold in Essex, Union and Somerset counties, matched four of the five white balls and the Gold Mega Ball drawn winning the $10,000 prize.  Even luckier, two of those tickets were purchased with the Megaplier option, multiplying their prizes to $40,000.  The winning tickets were purchased at the following…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
KNOW ANYTHING? Woman Assaulted, Abandoned On Roadside By NJ Men Giving Her Lift Home From Bar KNOW ANYTHING? Woman Assaulted, Abandoned On Roadside By NJ Men Giving Her Lift Home From Bar
Know Anything? Woman Assaulted, Abandoned On Roadside By NJ Men Giving Her Lift Home From Bar Authorities in Somerset County are searching for clues after a woman was assaulted by two men she paid to give her a ride. The woman was at a Plainfield bar when she met two men, who agreed to drive her to Irvington around 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 26, North Plainfield Police Lt. Edward Sinker said. During the trip, the men physically assaulted the woman, forcing her out of the vehicle on the highway and fled the scene with her cell phone, police said. Watchung police later found the woman walking on Route 22 east, they said. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Nor…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Feds Nab Accused Member Of Ring That Stole $1.5M Worth Of Luxury Cars In NJ, Rockland, LI, CT Feds Nab Accused Member Of Ring That Stole $1.5M Worth Of Luxury Cars In NJ, Rockland, LI, CT
Feds Nab Accused Member Of Ring That Stole $1.5M Worth Of Luxury Cars In NJ, Rockland, LI, CT Federal agents captured an ex-con who they said participated in a ring that stole BMWs, Mercedes and other luxury cars from towns in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Bilal Cureton, 30, of Newark and his cronies often used stolen vehicles to steal more cars, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. In one instance, she said, the Essex County crew members stole a Maserati GranTurisimo in the Jersey Shore town of Manalapan and drove it nearly 85 miles to New City in Rockland, where they took a Range Rover and a Porsche. A predawn police pursuit followed before the Maserati driver hit…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Women Attending Party At Morris County Hotel Charged With Aggravated Assault On Law Enforcement Women Attending Party At Morris County Hotel Charged With Aggravated Assault On Law Enforcement
Women Attending Party At Morris County Hotel Charged With Aggravated Assault On Law Enforcement Two women attending a party at a Morris County hotel room were charged with aggravated assault on law enforcement after becoming "belligerent" when police tried to break it up, authorities said. Officers were attempting to break up a loud party at a room at the Hyatt House on Ridgedale Ave. N. In Whippany when Shakeerah Gibson, 26, of Irvington, Dominique Walker, 26, and Kiara Coleman, 21 — both of Newark — “became belligerent and began causing a scene” on Jan. 3, Hanover Police Chief Mark D. Roddy said. Coleman and Gibson were taken into custody and charged with aggravated assault on law e…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Authorities: Driver In Self-Serve Beef Ignites Elmwood Park Gas Station Fire Authorities: Driver In Self-Serve Beef Ignites Elmwood Park Gas Station Fire
Authorities: Driver In Self-Serve Beef Ignites Elmwood Park Gas Station Fire An angry driver nearly killed an Elmwood Park service station attendant when he deliberately pumped a gallon of gas on the ground and set it on fire, authorities charged. It wasn't difficult for detectives to identify Glenn Blue Wilson, 36, of Irvington. Just before setting the fire, they said, he bought two cigars and withdrew $40 from the ATM machine in the convenience store section of the Market Street Fuel 4 station. Both he and his car also were caught on surveillance video. Wilson got into an argument with both the cashier and the station attendant before removing the gas pump nozzl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Badge Number Of Slain Paterson Police Officer Reassigned To Rookie -- His Sister Badge Number Of Slain Paterson Police Officer Reassigned To Rookie -- His Sister
Badge Number Of Slain Paterson Police Officer Reassigned To Rookie -- His Sister Local law enforcement history will be made Friday when Paterson Police Officer Bavennia Franklin Marks is assigned the badge number of her late brother, who was killed in the line of duty 13 years ago. Among many friends, family members and colleagues expected at the City Hall ceremony is her father, Larry Franklin, who made history himself when he became the Paterson Fire Department’s first black captain in 1995.  Also there will be Franklin's husband, Englewood native Daniel Marks, who’s a youth minister at Canaan Baptist Church in the city’s notorious 4th Ward. City Public Saf…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Brothers Indicted In Slaying Of Newark Woman, 30 Prosecutor: Brothers Indicted In Slaying Of Newark Woman, 30
Prosecutor: Brothers Indicted In Slaying Of Newark Woman, 30 Two brothers have been indicted in connection with the murder of a 30-year-old woman from Newark, authorities said. Gualberto Lebron, 35, was charged on Thursday with murdering Julia Vega, an ex-girlfriend and the mother of his children, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose. The grand jury also indicted his older brother, Gilberto Lebron, Jr., 36, for helping cover up Vega's murder, Stephens and Ambrose said. On May 5, 2018, Gualberto Lebron assaulted the mother of his young children at her home in …

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by Jon Craig