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Police & Fire
TENSE STOP: Clifton Police Find Gun, Extended Mag In Passenger's Waistband, 2nd Firearm In Car TENSE STOP: Clifton Police Find Gun, Extended Mag In Passenger's Waistband, 2nd Firearm In Car
Tense Stop: Clifton Police Find Gun, Extended Mag In Passenger's Waistband, 2nd Firearm In Car A passenger who struggled with Clifton police during a tense overnight traffic stop had a semiautomatic handgun with an extended 27-round magazine tucked into his waistband, authorities said. Officers arrested him and two companions while also seizing a second gun with a magazine that held 33 rounds of mixed standard and hollow-point bullets, Clifton Police Lt. Robert Anderson said. Both 9mm Polymer80 handguns had their serial numbers removed, the lieutenant said. Officer Nicholas Garruto stopped the purple 2013 Dodge Charger on Main Avenue just over the city line in Passaic after witnessi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
STASH HOUSE RAID: Raw Coke, 150 Pills, $22,775 Seized, Three Arrested: Passaic County Sheriff STASH HOUSE RAID: Raw Coke, 150 Pills, $22,775 Seized, Three Arrested: Passaic County Sheriff
Stash House Raid: Raw Coke, 150 Pills, $22,775 Seized, Three Arrested: Passaic County Sheriff Officers in tactical gear safely locked an attack dog into a bathroom as Passaic County detectives raided a Paterson stash house during an operation that netted a third of a pound of raw cocaine, more than 150 illegal pills and $22,775 in cash, authorities said. They also took a BMW and a Hyundai for forfeiture while arresting a second-floor tenant, a fellow city resident and a man from Rockland County, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said. Complaints of drug dealing focused the attention of the sheriff’s Bureau of Narcotics detectives on the home at the corner of Knickerbocker and G…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Complaint Alleges How NYPD Captain Kidnapped, Brutally Beat Woman In Paterson Complaint Alleges How NYPD Captain Kidnapped, Brutally Beat Woman In Paterson
Complaint Alleges How Nypd Captain Kidnapped, Brutally Beat Woman In Paterson An off-duty NYPD commander kidnapped and brutally beat a New Jersey woman outside a restaurant in Paterson, authorities charged. Capt. Hariton Marachilian, a 45-year-old Long Island resident, remained held in the Bergen County Jail on Thursday, Dec. 7, following his arrest for the alleged Dec. 10, 2022 incident. In what to some might resemble staged professional wrestling violence, a complaint filed by Paterson police says Marchilian viciously grabbed the victim by the hair and smashed her head into the dashboard of his car. But that was only the beginning, it says. Marchilian then chased…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran UPDATE: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran
Update: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran "Drop the gun!" a Paterson police officer shouts several times as he chases a fleeing man down a city street. Suddenly, two shots ring out and Khalif Cooper falls face down in the street. Officer Jerry Moravek, who fired the shots, handcuffs Cooper, 28, who is heard on a bodycam video telling him, "I don't got no gun." A grand jury agreed. Moravek was indicted in Trenton on criminal charges this week for shooting the unarmed Cooper, who was left paralyzed, in June 2022, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced on Thursday, Dec. 7. “Deadly force against a fleeing suspect must be u…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Politics
George Santos Is Out: Here's How NJ Delegates Voted George Santos Is Out: Here's How NJ Delegates Voted
George Santos Is Out: Here's How NJ Delegates Voted New Jersey's congressional delegation all shared the same sentiment when it comes to Rep. George Santos. They wanted him out, and they got it. The serial fabulist (R-Long Island) was expelled by the US House 311-114, with all 12 New Jersey representatives, including three Republicans, voting in favor of his ouster. The resolution required a two-thirds majority vote in order to pass. Santos was expelled amid mounting accusations of criminality. He is only the sixth member of Congress to be expelled in American history. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City) and Ch…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients
State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients A handyman from Paterson was ordered to immediately stop refusing to serve Jews and take several remedial steps or face serious charges, state authorities in Trenton said on Thursday. Melquisedec Francis must satisfy eight specific demands to keep from being prosecuted, including announcing that he no longer discriminates against Jewish customers, attending training on anti-Semitism and paying a fine, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Nov. 30. In advertisements on TaskRabbit and elsewhere last month, Francis wrote: "I am expressing my solidarity with the Palestinian Peopl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ARMED ROBBERY RAMPAGE: 3rd NJ Man Named In Violent Holdups ARMED ROBBERY RAMPAGE: 3rd NJ Man Named In Violent Holdups
Armed Robbery Rampage: 3rd NJ Man Named In Violent Holdups A third man who authorities said was involved in a terrifying string of armed robberies in Passaic County has been identified. Kareem Powell, 30, of Willingboro, was arrested by federal agents on Tuesday, Nov. 21, in connection with the August 2022 holdups, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on Wednesday. He joins Carlos Diaz and Edward Porter, both 30 of Paterson, who’ve been in federal custody since last December. A new indictment names Powell while boosting the charges against the other two. The masked trio menaced customers with semiautomatic handguns -- ordering them to lie …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson Detective Justified In Shooting Armed Carjacker, Grand Jury Rules Paterson Detective Justified In Shooting Armed Carjacker, Grand Jury Rules
Paterson Detective Justified In Shooting Armed Carjacker, Grand Jury Rules UPDATE: A plainclothes Paterson police detective was justified in shooting a man who’d just crashed his car into two others, then tried to carjack multiple drivers, a state grand jury has found. Hui Zhang, 33, of Pensacola, FL, was seen in area surveillance video crashing his car into two others that were stopped at the corner of Straight and Van Houten streets late on the afternoon of Oct. 10, 2022. Zhang fled the scene, leaving his car behind, then threatened a group of people who were sitting in a car parked around the corner with what looked like a gun. Zhang fired the weapon, then tri…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Pair Busted For Robbing Juvenile Rivals Of Gucci Vest, Sneakers At Moonachie Bus Stop Pair Busted For Robbing Juvenile Rivals Of Gucci Vest, Sneakers At Moonachie Bus Stop
Pair Busted For Robbing Juvenile Rivals Of Gucci Vest, Sneakers At Moonachie Bus Stop An ongoing war between regional rivals was further stoked when two juveniles were mugged at a bus stop in Moonachie, authorities said. A pair of Moonachie police officers quickly nabbed one of the strong-arm robbers, they said. The second turned himself in. Their victims were waiting for a bus at Moonachie Road and Rooney Place when they were roughed up by Taiwan Davis, 20, of Paterson and a juvenile from town on Sunday, Nov. 19, Police Lt. Jeff Napolitano said. The 6-foot-4-inch, 280-pound Davis and his accomplice fled with a Gucci vest and a pair of sneakers that the victims had been wea…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fuel Truck Crashes Through Fence, Clips Pole, Nearly Hits Elmwood Park Home Fuel Truck Crashes Through Fence, Clips Pole, Nearly Hits Elmwood Park Home
Fuel Truck Crashes Through Fence, Clips Pole, Nearly Hits Elmwood Park Home  A single-axle tanker truck filled with heating oil sideswiped a utility pole, crashed through a chain link fence and finally stopped short of hitting a house near a Garden State Parkway overpass in Elmwood Park on Monday. No injuries were reported in the Nov. 20 mishap in the 900 block of River Drive near the Garden Drive intersection. No oil leaked from the Fairclough fuel truck out of Paterson, either. River Drive was closed in both directions between the Garden State Parkway and Route 46 overpasses while a PSE&G crew replaced the pole. Boyd A. Loving Power was knocked out only …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson Ex-Con Who Murdered Woman About To Have His Baby Sentenced To Life Paterson Ex-Con Who Murdered Woman About To Have His Baby Sentenced To Life
Paterson Ex-Con Who Murdered Woman About To Have His Baby Sentenced To Life UPDATE: A Paterson ex-con who shot and killed a woman who was two weeks away from delivering his baby was sentenced to life in prison. Donqua Thomas, 33, was convicted by a jury in Paterson this past summer of murder in the cold-blooded killing of Remy Lee, a 31-year-old mother of two. It was early afternoon on Oct. 29, 2020 when “Quay” Thomas parked a red Scion coupe in a rear lot at the Brooks-Sloate Terrace co-ops, prosecutors said. Lee, returning from a doctor's visit, pulled up an hour and a half later, got out of her car and headed to her apartment.Thomas then pointed a gun out his …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Workers At Moonachie Company Stricken By Bodega-Bought Chocolate Workers At Moonachie Company Stricken By Bodega-Bought Chocolate
Workers At Moonachie Company Stricken By Bodega-Bought Chocolate Two employees at a food importing company in Moonachie had to be revived on Thursday, Nov. 16, after putting what they said was "natural" chocolate in their coffee. The man and woman at the Peterson Company on Empire Boulevard immediately became ill from the additive, which they said they bought at a bodega in Paterson, Moonachie Police Lt. Jeff Napolitano said. Responding officers began treating the unresponsive pair with oxygen, then administered Narcan out of an abundance of caution, the lieutenant said. It had no effect, he said. "It was only after several minutes of oxygen and after …

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by Jerry DeMarco