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ICE Detains Day Laborer Charged In Repeated Sex Assaults On North Arlington Pre-Teen ICE Detains Day Laborer Charged In Repeated Sex Assaults On North Arlington Pre-Teen
ICE Detains Day Laborer Charged In Repeated Sex Assaults On North Arlington Pre-Teen ICE has placed a detainer on a Guatemalan national living in North Arlington who was jailed on charges of sexually assaulting a pre-teen several times over a period of six months. Jose Estrada-Coj, a 47-year-old day laborer, was arrested by borough police on Sunday after they received information about the alleged assaults, all of which took place in North Arlington, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Tuesday. An investigation by detectives from Musella’s Special Victims Unit and their borough colleagues led to charges of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, as well as sexual ass…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: Multi-County Burglary Crew Broke Into 40 North Jersey Pharmacies Seeking Codeine Feds: Multi-County Burglary Crew Broke Into 40 North Jersey Pharmacies Seeking Codeine
Feds: Multi-County Burglary Crew Broke Into 40 North Jersey Pharmacies Seeking Codeine A gang of burglars used bricks and rocks to break into at least 40 pharmacies in Hudson, Bergen and several other counties, targeting specific prescription drugs that they could sell, federal authorities said. Ten men, all from Jersey City, were charged in the three-month spree following an investigation led by Secaucus police, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Tuesday. Surveillance video captured images of the burglars breaking into some of the victimized pharmacies in North Bergen, Jersey City, Guttenberg, West New York, Secaucus, Lyndhurst, North Arlington, Linden, Iselin, Madis…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Backhoe Falls On Utility Worker In North Arlington Backhoe Falls On Utility Worker In North Arlington
Backhoe Falls On Utility Worker In North Arlington A PSE&G worker was hospitalized after a compact backhoe fell on him Wednesday at a North Arlington job site, authorities said. The driver tried to leap away when the machine apparently became unbalanced and began to tip over, Police Chief Scott M. Hedenberg said. But it knocked him down and a portion landed on the lower half of his body, the chief said. Fellow workers and a police officer who was at the scene lifted the machine together, freeing the victim, Hedenberg said. The North Arlington Volunteer Emergency Squad arrived quickly and the patient was taken, alert and conscious, to …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Elizabeth Man Who Seriously Injured Girl In Stolen Vehicle Crash Nabbed In Fair Lawn Carjacking Elizabeth Man Who Seriously Injured Girl In Stolen Vehicle Crash Nabbed In Fair Lawn Carjacking
Elizabeth Man Who Seriously Injured Girl In Stolen Vehicle Crash Nabbed In Fair Lawn Carjacking An Elizabeth man who was released by a judge after a young girl was seriously injured when he crashed a stolen car was busted for a carjacking in Fair Lawn, authorities said. Byron L. Hernandez, 18, and Nicholas Greco, 19, of North Bergen, thought they’d hatched a fool-proof scheme to steal the vehicle from an unsuspecting victim, authorities said Tuesday. It didn’t work. Responding to report of a carjacking, Fair Lawn police found the 21-year-old owner and his passenger, Greco, at Memorial Park shortly before 1:30 a.m. last Friday, Sgt. Brian Metzler said. Both the victim and Greco told …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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North Arlington Meth Dealer Caught Selling 8 Balls Gets Nine Years In Fed Pen North Arlington Meth Dealer Caught Selling 8 Balls Gets Nine Years In Fed Pen
North Arlington Meth Dealer Caught Selling 8 Balls Gets Nine Years In Fed Pen A convicted North Arlington meth dealer who was caught selling “8 balls” must spend the next nine years in federal prison. A federal judge in Newark sentenced Jeff DelaCruz, 38, to the plea-bargained term on Tuesday for having nearly two ounces of meth for sale. DelaCruz must serve just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. DEA agents watched in May 2019 as DelaCruz sold two “8-balls” of methamphetamine for $350 in cash, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. He then agreed to sell three ounces of meth to a buyer for about $3,000, Carpenito added…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Two Hospitalized In Route 17 Pileup Two Hospitalized In Route 17 Pileup
Two Hospitalized In Route 17 Pileup UPDATE: A chain-reaction crash on Route 17 Friday afternoon sent two people to the hospital. Taken to Hackensack University Medical Center were two drivers -- one 32 out of Clifton, the other 57 out of North Arlington -- following the crash on the northbound highway in Hasbrouck Heights shortly after noon. Borough firefighters extricated one of them (see photos). The first vehicle, driven by a 62-year-old Rutherford resident, hit another, sending it into two more vehicles and a tractor-trailer just north of Franklin Avenue, authorities said. A Jeep was among the badly damaged vehicle…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
North Arlington PD: Bicyclist, 13, Struck, Kearny Colleagues Help ID Fleeing SUV Driver North Arlington PD: Bicyclist, 13, Struck, Kearny Colleagues Help ID Fleeing SUV Driver
North Arlington PD: Bicyclist, 13, Struck, Kearny Colleagues Help ID Fleeing SUV Driver Kearny police helped their North Arlington colleagues identify a fleeing driver moments after an SUV struck a 13-year-old bicyclist Thursday afternoon, authorities said. The girl wasn’t seriously injured after being struck at the corner of Exton and Schuyler avenues around 1 p.m., Police Chief Scott Hedenberg said. “Great job by our officers and Kearny police working together,” he said. CHECK BACK FOR MORE DETAILS ****** UPDATE: A pharmacist from North Bergen was charged with assault by auto for a horrific crash last month on Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights that left a teenage victim still…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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HERO: Lyndhurst Police Officer Rescues Dog, Woman, 75, From Pit Bull Attack HERO: Lyndhurst Police Officer Rescues Dog, Woman, 75, From Pit Bull Attack
Hero: Lyndhurst Police Officer Rescues Dog, Woman, 75, From Pit Bull Attack A Lyndhurst police officer rescued a 75-year-old North Arlington resident and her dog from an attacking pit bull. Phyllis Goodman told police she was walking her mixed breed rescue on the North Arlington side of 3rd Street and Union Avenue around 8 a.m. Thursday when the pit bull attacked. The pit apparently had gotten out through an open gate before locking its jaw on the back of her dog’s neck, Detective Lt. Vincent Auteri said. Responding to a call of a stray dog, Officer Anthony Giaquinto found Goodman on her back frantically trying to fight off the attack while shouting for help, Aute…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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BUSTED! Feds Charge NJ Postal Carrier With Dumping Election Ballots BUSTED! Feds Charge NJ Postal Carrier With Dumping Election Ballots
Busted! Feds Charge NJ Postal Carrier With Dumping Election Ballots Federal authorities on Wednesday arrested a postal carrier from Kearny who they said dumped 1,875 pieces of mail -- including general election ballots and campaign flyers – instead of delivering them. Nicholas Beauchene, 26, was nabbed by special agents of the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General after a Saddle Brook man reported finding dumped bundles of mail in a dumpster behind a North Arlington bank. Beauchene tossed 1,875 pieces of mail – including 99 general election ballots destined for residents in West Orange and 276 campaign flyers from local candidates for West Orang…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Go Jump In A Lake': Authorities Verify Bergen Man's Report Of Dumped Mail-In Ballots 'Go Jump In A Lake': Authorities Verify Bergen Man's Report Of Dumped Mail-In Ballots
'Go Jump In A Lake': Authorities Verify Bergen Man's Report Of Dumped Mail-In Ballots A man who reported finding election ballots among mail dumped behind a Bergen County bank told skeptics, critics and other doubters to "go jump in a lake" after the U.S. Postal Service said it has since delivered the bundles and is investigating. “Just found two to 300 lb of mail dumped in a dumpster behind one of the banks I service. Including at least 200 ballots,” Howard Dinger of Saddle Brook wrote in a Facebook post. “This is the kind of stuff you just can’t make up. And yes it was reported to the local police and the postal police.” ****** UPDATE: Federal authorities on Wednesday arr…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
MANHUNT: Police Flush Out Fleeing Ex-Con Stuck In Swamps Of Lyndhurst MANHUNT: Police Flush Out Fleeing Ex-Con Stuck In Swamps Of Lyndhurst
Manhunt: Police Flush Out Fleeing Ex-Con Stuck In Swamps Of Lyndhurst A Newark ex-con driving a stolen car tried to elude Lyndhurst police by dashing into the Meadowlands marshes during an overnight pursuit, but their colleagues from other towns helped capture him, authorities said. Elliot Taylor, 26, floored it after Lyndhurst Police Officer Brian Kapp pulled up behind the already-speeding 2005 Hyundai Elantra on Ridge Road around 3 a.m. Sunday, Detective Lt. Vincent Auteri said. Taylor made a quick right onto Valley Brook Avenue and raced down Disposal Road toward DeKorte Park, but the Hyundai bottomed out and began smoking, Auteri said. Taylor quickly pul…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Girl, 16, Seriously Injured, Elizabeth Man Charged In Stolen Car Crash At Passaic River Bridge Girl, 16, Seriously Injured, Elizabeth Man Charged In Stolen Car Crash At Passaic River Bridge
Girl, 16, Seriously Injured, Elizabeth Man Charged In Stolen Car Crash At Passaic River Bridge UPDATE: An Elizabeth man was charged with assault by auto and child endangerment after he crashed a stolen car into a Lyndhurst gas station canopy, seriously injuring his 16-year-old female passenger, following a police chase, authorities said. Byron L. Hernandez, an 18-year-old laborer, crashed the 2019 Honda Civic stolen shortly after 8:30 a.m. Sunday. North Arlington police began chasing the vehicle, which had been reported stolen out of Elizabeth, on River Road but terminated the pursuit after speeds reached 100 miles an hour, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Hernandez conti…

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by Jerry DeMarco