A Few Clouds 63°
Police & Fire
HEARTLESS: 19 Catalytic Converters Swiped From Vehicles Serving Bergen Seniors, Disabled, More HEARTLESS: 19 Catalytic Converters Swiped From Vehicles Serving Bergen Seniors, Disabled, More
Heartless: 19 Catalytic Converters Swiped From Vehicles Serving Bergen Seniors, Disabled, More A pair of heartless thieves from Pennsylvania stole 19 catalytic converters from a lot off Route 17 packed with vehicles used to help seniors, the disabled and frail Bergen County residents get around, authorities said. Detectives grabbed one of them – identified as Noe Gabriel Hernandez, 24, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The other, Juan Rosario, 25, was being sought, he said on Tuesday, June 27. The unemployed thieves swiped 17 of the devices from county-owned vehicles parked in the Division of Community Transportation lot on Essex Street in Lodi on March 20, the prosecutor …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Compulsive Child Sex Offender From Bergen Released After Serving Only 19 Months Busted Again Compulsive Child Sex Offender From Bergen Released After Serving Only 19 Months Busted Again
Compulsive Child Sex Offender From Bergen Released After Serving Only 19 Months Busted Again That didn't take long. A convicted sex offender from Bergen County who was released earlier this year after serving less than two years for exchanging nude photos with children moved into a Route 17 motel and was right back at it in no time, authorities said Friday. Frank Cirino, 69, has a history of similar behavior dating back to 2007. In one instance, Bergen County detectives said they caught him posing as a 14-year-old female online to exchange graphic photos with underage girls. Paramus police said he was viewing similar images in his car the following year while parked at the Fashion…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Home Invaders Pose As Amazon Workers, Rob And Pistol-Whip Bergen Homeowner Home Invaders Pose As Amazon Workers, Rob And Pistol-Whip Bergen Homeowner
Home Invaders Pose As Amazon Workers, Rob And Pistol-Whip Bergen Homeowner Three unemployed ex-cons posing as Amazon delivery workers pistol-whipped a Bergen County homeowner before fleeing with cash, sneakers and jewelry, authorities said. Newark native Jazmir Carter, 25, currently of Stroudsburg, PA, and Brick City residents Ameer Holcomb, 42, and Michael Carter, 26, forced their way into the North Arlington home after the victim opened the door around 9:30 a.m. Feb. 21, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. North Arlington police notified his office, the prosecutor said, and a joint investigation led to raids by his detectives and members of the FBI Safe …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bergen Mechanic, 63, Charged With Collecting Child Porn Bergen Mechanic, 63, Charged With Collecting Child Porn
Bergen Mechanic, 63, Charged With Collecting Child Porn A 63-year-old mechanic from River Vale was arrested Thursday on child porn charges, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella confirmed. John DeFilippo was taken into custody by members of the prosecutor’s Cyber Crimes Unit during a June 8 raid at his Westwood Avenue home, Musella said. The investigators had found that DeFilippo “used the Internet to view, download, and possess items depicting nude and/or sexually explicit prepubescent children,” the prosecutor said. DeFilippo was processed on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material and sent to the Bergen County Jail to await a first…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
DONE AND DONE: Hudson Pair Get 30 Years Each In Bergen Robbery Murder DONE AND DONE: Hudson Pair Get 30 Years Each In Bergen Robbery Murder
Done AND Done: Hudson Pair Get 30 Years Each In Bergen Robbery Murder UPDATE: Two Hudson County men who killed a Fairview pot dealer during an armed robbery at his home were sentenced to a plea-bargained 30 years each in state prison. Carlos Burgos of Jersey City and Raul Torres of North Bergen, both 23, must each serve 25½ years behind bars before they'll be eligible for parole under the terms of their respective plea agreements. The plot's mastermind, Lexie Burke, 24, of Jersey City, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter last year in the June 2019 shooting death of David Duque-Soto. He's scheduled for sentencing on June 23, Bergen County Prosecutor Ma…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
INFANT OVERDOSE: Judge Frees Bergen Woman Charged With Endangerment After Baby Ingests Opioid INFANT OVERDOSE: Judge Frees Bergen Woman Charged With Endangerment After Baby Ingests Opioid
Infant Overdose: Judge Frees Bergen Woman Charged With Endangerment After Baby Ingests Opioid A 23-year-old Bergen County woman was arrested after a 6-month-old child ingested and overdosed on an opioid, authorities said. Alia Elsafy of North Arlington was initially jailed, but a Superior Court judge in Hackensack almost immediately ordered her release on Friday, May 26, under New Jersey's bail reform law, records show. She’s charged with one count of child endangerment. The infant survived the May 19 overdose, which Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said was immediately reported to members of his Special Victims Unit by the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency. W…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
WANTED: Shooter Of Bergenfield Woman, 20, Identified, Considered Armed And Dangerous WANTED: Shooter Of Bergenfield Woman, 20, Identified, Considered Armed And Dangerous
Wanted: Shooter Of Bergenfield Woman, 20, Identified, Considered Armed And Dangerous A fugitive whom sources described as an emotionally disturbed boyfriend was being sought by authorities for shooting a 20-year-old Bergenfield woman several times this past weekend. Aaron Sierra, 22, whose last known whereabouts were in upstate New York, “should be considered armed and dangerous,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said in seeking the public’s help finding him Thursday night, May 25. The Bergenfield Volunteer Ambulance Corps rushed the victim to the trauma unit at Hackensack University Medical Center following the incident at 87 North Taylor Street at 6:50 p.m. Sunday, …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Two Wounded When Gunfire Erupts At Small Hackensack Park (UPDATE) Two Wounded When Gunfire Erupts At Small Hackensack Park (UPDATE)
Two Wounded When Gunfire Erupts At Small Hackensack Park (Update) UPDATE: Two people were wounded in a hail of gunfire outside a small Hackensack park early Tuesday evening. Police who responded to Clay and Second streets near Carver Park found a 35-year-old man with a graze wound around 5:30 p.m. May 23, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. A 40-year-old man, meanwhile, arrived at Hackensack University Medical Center in a private vehicle, the prosecutor said. His injuries weren't believed to be life-threatening. Carver ParkPaul D. Nickels for DAILY VOICE A potential suspect wearing a blue hoodie was said to have fled south on 3rd Street in a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Money For Nothing? Bergen Detectives Bust NY State Duo With $155K Secret Stash Money For Nothing? Bergen Detectives Bust NY State Duo With $155K Secret Stash
Money For Nothing? Bergen Detectives Bust NY State Duo With $155K Secret Stash Two New York State men went to great lengths to stash $155,000 in cash that Bergen County prosecutor’s detectives sniffed out and seized, authorities said. Rochester residents Luis J. Hernandez-Perez, 23, and Jose A. Perez-Perez, 20, will have to prove there was nothing skanky about a “sophisticated, electronically operated hidden compartment” that Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said members of his Narcotic Task Force found during a traffic stop on Wednesday, May 17. Otherwise, they’ll not only face fines and criminal records – they’ll also lose the dough. Hernandez-Perez, who was d…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece Investors Of $4.7M Gets 8 Years In State Slammer Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece Investors Of $4.7M Gets 8 Years In State Slammer
Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece Investors Of $4.7M Gets 8 Years In State Slammer UPDATE: A Teaneck con man who was captured after trying to flee the country must spend the next three years in state prison for running a Ponzi scheme with family and friends that fleeced dozens of unwitting investors out of $4.7 million. Chander Singh, 46, reshaped a failed company into an unscrupulous criminal venture by soliciting loans from investors to buy distressed properties, authorities said. Singh promised double-digit returns from what would be renovations of the ratholes, which he found with the help of his parents and brother, all of whom worked as real estate agents, they said…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Handyman Convicted Of Raping Bergen Pre-Teen In Her Family's Home Handyman Convicted Of Raping Bergen Pre-Teen In Her Family's Home
Handyman Convicted Of Raping Bergen Pre-Teen In Her Family's Home A self-employed handyman was convicted Friday of raping a pre-teen while working at a Bergen County home. Alejandro Velasquez-Martinez, a 48-year-old Colombian national living in Morristown, sexually assaulted the girl while doing tile repairs in her family’s home in Demarest the morning of August 19, 2019, jurors in Hackensack found. Velasquez-Martinez was arrested in Demarest and then booked into the Bergen County Jail the next day. Superior Court Judge Nina Remson, who presided over the trial, scheduled sentencing for Aug. 4. Velasquez-Martinez faces a minimum of 25 years in state pris…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Getaway Driver, 21, In Fairview Drug Murder Gets 30 Years Without Parole UPDATE: Getaway Driver, 21, In Fairview Drug Murder Gets 30 Years Without Parole
Update: Getaway Driver, 21, In Fairview Drug Murder Gets 30 Years Without Parole The getaway driver in the cold-blooded killing of a Fairview man during a drug-related apartment robbery was sentenced to 30 years without parole in state prison. David Martinez, 21, of North Bergen watched as three men who were in the apartment when David Duque Soto was shot in June 2019 took guilty pleas rather than risk the consequences of a trial. Martinez let a jury decide his fate and was convicted on March 13 in Hackensack of felony murder, armed robbery, conspiracy and weapons possession. Assistant Bergen County Prosecutors Suzanne Cevasco and Matthew Fitzpatrick presented 16 witn…

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by Jerry DeMarco