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GUILTY: Kidnapping Rapist Who Cancelled Plea Deal Convicted In Rampage Through PA, NJ, NY GUILTY: Kidnapping Rapist Who Cancelled Plea Deal Convicted In Rampage Through PA, NJ, NY
Guilty: Kidnapping Rapist Who Cancelled Plea Deal Convicted In Rampage Through PA, NJ, NY An ex-con who kidnapped and raped his ex-girlfriend in Pennsylvania, torched a used car dealership in Paterson and crashed a stolen SUV into police cars on either side of the George Washington Bridge rolled the dice and lost. After originally pleading guilty to several charges, Luis Figueroa, 41, withdrew his plea and took his chances with federal jurors in Newark. They ended up convicting him following a two-week trial. So now, instead of the 26-year deal that he originally accepted from the government, Figueroa could be sentenced to nearly 50 years in federal prison. The rampage had an “…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Suspicious Fire Near NJ Turnpike In Ridgefield Engulfs Box Trucks, Tire Stacks UPDATE: Suspicious Fire Near NJ Turnpike In Ridgefield Engulfs Box Trucks, Tire Stacks
Update: Suspicious Fire Near NJ Turnpike In Ridgefield Engulfs Box Trucks, Tire Stacks A suspected arson fire consumed the cabs of four box trucks and multiple stacks of large tires in an industrial area along Overpeck Creek in Ridgefield, responders said. Billowy black smoke could be seen from the nearby New Jersey Turnpike to the west and Route 46 to the north after the fire broke out on Bell Drive -- off Edgewater Avenue and Bergen Turnpike -- shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, May 21. Temperatures that broke 90 degrees required additional manpower supplied by firefighters from Fort Lee, Palisades Park and Ridgefield Park. Their colleagues from Cliffside Park and Fairview prov…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Authorities: Convicted Pyro Calls In Lyndhurst Car Fire, Waits For Responders, Lands In Jail Authorities: Convicted Pyro Calls In Lyndhurst Car Fire, Waits For Responders, Lands In Jail
Authorities: Convicted Pyro Calls In Lyndhurst Car Fire, Waits For Responders, Lands In Jail A paroled arsonist was waiting when firefighters in Lyndhurst responded to his call of an SUV fire. It didn’t take long for investigators to charge him with setting it. Christopher Baulch, 43, has an extensive criminal history that includes prison time served for torching two occupied Lyndhurst apartment buildings in 2000 – one on Christmas Eve, the other on New Year’s Eve – and then trying to play hero, records show. “In both cases, he went to help the people,” the sentencing judge in Hackensack said at the time. Baulch -- formerly of Lyndhurst and currently of Wayne – also has a chi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
SEE ANYTHING? Deliberately Set Elmwood Park Brush Fire Draws Investigators SEE ANYTHING? Deliberately Set Elmwood Park Brush Fire Draws Investigators
SEE Anything? Deliberately Set Elmwood Park Brush Fire Draws Investigators UPDATE: Someone apparently ignited a brush fire in Elmwood Park at a particularly dangerous time. Fortunately, borough firefighters made quick work of the blaze, which broke out in a wooded area off Gilbert Avenue and Mola Boulevard between 6:30-7 p.m. Friday, April 29. The Bergen County Prosecutor's Arson Squad was alerted after a gas can was found in the area, responders said. The pattern of the fire was also a dead giveaway. One area resident said it wasn't the first time, either. "I'm extremely concerned," he said. "This is a disturbed person that is doing this."  Low humidity and p…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
2 Hurt, Dozens More Relocated As Massive 3-Alarm Fire Ravages Newark Home 2 Hurt, Dozens More Relocated As Massive 3-Alarm Fire Ravages Newark Home
2 Hurt, Dozens More Relocated As Massive 3-Alarm Fire Ravages Newark Home Two people were hurt and dozens more relocated as a massive three-alarm fire ravaged a Newark home Thursday morning, authorities said. More than 100 firefighters responded to 390 Lincoln Ave. as the blaze was reported just after 11:15 a.m., Newark Public Safety Director Brian A. O’Hara said. A third alarm was called about 10 minutes later as the fire started spreading from the two-and-a-half-story wooden-framed home to two neighboring homes, O’Hara said. A Newark firefighter was taken to St. Barnabas Medical Center for treatment of facial burns, authorities said. Meanwhile, a woman at one…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Security Guard Charged With Setting Fire At Macy's Meadowlands Thankgiving Parade Studio Security Guard Charged With Setting Fire At Macy's Meadowlands Thankgiving Parade Studio
Security Guard Charged With Setting Fire At Macy's Meadowlands Thankgiving Parade Studio A security guard was charged with deliberately setting a fire at the building in the Meadowlands where the balloons and floats for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are designed, constructed and stored. Mathew Awojobi, 63, of Newark was arrested in connection with the brush fire set outside the Macy's Parade Studio in Moonachie, which broke out shortly before 7 p.m. Monday, April 18, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella . Moonachie firefighters doused the suspicious blaze on State Street off Moonachie Road. Detectives reviewed area security video as part of an investigation by Mus…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Rideshare Driver Charged With Setting Early-Morning Arson Fire At Bergen County Pizzeria Rideshare Driver Charged With Setting Early-Morning Arson Fire At Bergen County Pizzeria
Rideshare Driver Charged With Setting Early-Morning Arson Fire At Bergen County Pizzeria GOTCHA! A rideshare driver from Carlstadt was charged with setting a fire in the basement of a Wood-Ridge pizzeria that investigators said had multiple points of origin. Majd Abdallah, a 27-year-old Jordanian national, was arrested following an investigation into the Feb. 21 blaze, which broke out in a common basement area below Emilia Romagna Pizza & Ristorante on Valley Boulevard shortly before 8 a.m., Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. He’s charged with several counts of aggravated arson and burglary, Musella said. No injuries were reported were in the two-alarm blaze. Fir…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ARSON: Morris County Woman Started Fire That Killed Cat For Insurance Claim, Prosecutor Says ARSON: Morris County Woman Started Fire That Killed Cat For Insurance Claim, Prosecutor Says
Arson: Morris County Woman Started Fire That Killed Cat For Insurance Claim, Prosecutor Says A 46-year-old Morris County woman was accused of starting a fire that destroyed a home and killed a cat for insurance purposes, authorities announced Tuesday. Pamela Hankin, of Boonton, was charged with aggravated arson, insurance fraud, endangerment, and animal cruelty, Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll said in a joint release with Chief of Detectives Christoph K. Kimker, Morris County Sheriff James Gannon, and Pequannock Township Police Chief Daniel Comune. Authorities say Hankin intentionally started the fire in her room at the Prospect Avenue home she lived in on Wednesday, Jul…

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by Valerie Musson
News
SEE ANYTHING? Brush Fire In Ridgewood Raises Suspicions SEE ANYTHING? Brush Fire In Ridgewood Raises Suspicions
SEE Anything? Brush Fire In Ridgewood Raises Suspicions Authorities turned to the public for help investigating a suspicious brush fire that broke out in Ridgewood over the weekend. The Bergen County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Identification collected valuable evidence from the area on Crest Road known as "The View" after village firefighters doused the blaze around 8 p.m. Sunday, Police Chief Jacqueline Luthcke said. Luthcke's detectives are working with their counterparts from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Arson Squad, Luthcke said Monday. They asked that anyone who might have seen something, or has information that could help identify who…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Englewood Ex-Con Charged With Torching SUV Englewood Ex-Con Charged With Torching SUV
Englewood Ex-Con Charged With Torching SUV An Englewood ex-con deliberately set fire to an SUV, said authorities who charged him with also illegally having a handgun. John Young, a 33-year-old manager of an auto parts store, was arrested Wednesday, Feb. 16, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. It was around 9 p.m. the night before that firefighters doused a blaze that engulfed the vehicle on Washington Place, the prosecutor said. Police immediately notified his Arson Task Force. A joint investigation with city detectives determined that the fire was set by Young, who lives several blocks away on Fourth Street, Musella said.…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Amazon Worker Sets Fire, Slashes Tires On Former Fair Lawn Classmates' Cars, Authorities Charge Amazon Worker Sets Fire, Slashes Tires On Former Fair Lawn Classmates' Cars, Authorities Charge
Amazon Worker Sets Fire, Slashes Tires On Former Fair Lawn Classmates' Cars, Authorities Charge UPDATE: An Amazon warehouse worker from Bergenfield stuffed a rag into the gas tank of a car and lit it on fire after slashing tires on former Fair Lawn classmates' vehicles, authorities charged. Daniella Aliaga, 24, of Bergenfield was sent to the Bergen County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack after being arrested Wednesday, Feb. 16. Charges against the former Fair Lawn High School honor student include aggravated arson. Fair Lawn police responding to a 5:25 a.m. call at the corner of Western Drive and Fairclough Place last Wednesday found…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Flawed DNA Test Gets Bergen Man Doing Life For Beating, Burning Woman, 70, New Trial Flawed DNA Test Gets Bergen Man Doing Life For Beating, Burning Woman, 70, New Trial
Flawed DNA Test Gets Bergen Man Doing Life For Beating, Burning Woman, 70, New Trial DNA evidence found under the fingernails of a 70-year-old Bergen County woman bludgeoned and burned in her home wasn’t reliable enough to convict a man who’s now serving a life sentence for her murder, a state appeals court ruled. Daniel Rochat, 46, of Wood-Ridge, has already been moved from New Jersey State Prison in Trenton to the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack in anticipation of a new trial following the Appellate Division ruling. He remains charged with various counts of murder and felony murder, as well as aggravated arson, desecrating human remains, burglary, hindering arrest and f…

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by Jerry DeMarco