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Police & Fire
New Jersey AG: Parties Crashed By Police Show What Violators Of Governor's Order Can Expect New Jersey AG: Parties Crashed By Police Show What Violators Of Governor's Order Can Expect
New Jersey AG: Parties Crashed By Police Show What Violators Of Governor's Order Can Expect Summonses issued at two large gatherings in Lakewood this week underscore the lengths to which law enforcement will go to protect New Jerseyans from the spread of the coronavirus, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Wednesday. A Lakewood homeowner on Tuesday continued an outdoor wedding attended by a large group of people in a tent despite police efforts to break things up, Grewal said. It wasn't until they issued a summons to Meir T. Gruskin, 37, for violating Gov. Phil Murphy's executive order banning gatherings that the crowd finally dispersed, the attorney general said. A little ove…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Freehold Man Charged With Coughing On Worried Wegmans Worker, Saying He Has Coronavirus Freehold Man Charged With Coughing On Worried Wegmans Worker, Saying He Has Coronavirus
Freehold Man Charged With Coughing On Worried Wegmans Worker, Saying He Has Coronavirus A Freehold man who got too close to a Wegmans employee coughed on her when she expressed concern and told her he had the coronavirus, leading to criminal charges, authorities said. The worker expressed a genuine concern that George Falcone, 50, was standing too close to her and an open display of prepared foods at the Wegmans on Route 9 in Manalapan, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Tuesday. She asked him to step back as she covered the food, but Falcone got closer, leaned over and purposely coughed, Grewal said. Then he “laughed and said he was infected with the coronavirus,” …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
COVID-19: County Jails Must Begin Releasing Inmates Before Dawn Tuesday, NJ Supreme Court Rules COVID-19: County Jails Must Begin Releasing Inmates Before Dawn Tuesday, NJ Supreme Court Rules
Covid-19: County Jails Must Begin Releasing Inmates Before Dawn Tuesday, NJ Supreme Court Rules Low-risk inmates serving sentences of less than a year will be released from New Jersey’s county jails before 6 a.m. Tuesday in response to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. Their sentences will be suspended or converted to some type of restitution, under an order from the New Jersey Supreme Court. The state’s highest court issued the order, announced Monday by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner, following a Sunday night mediation among representatives from state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal’s Office, the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey and the state public defender’s …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Child Services Worker Charged With Groping Client, Texting Her Masturbation Pics NJ Child Services Worker Charged With Groping Client, Texting Her Masturbation Pics
NJ Child Services Worker Charged With Groping Client, Texting Her Masturbation Pics A former caseworker for the New Jersey Department of Children and Families groped a mother he was assigned to investigate and texted her videos of himself masturbating, authorities charged. Gilberto Ortiz Jr., 50, “made sexual advances on the woman while warning her she was involved in a serious case of negligence” during home visits to the woman and her child last month, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Ortiz, a bilingual family services specialist from the Gloucester County town of Woodbury, said he’d “help her” if she had a relationship with him, Grewal added. He also touch…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Corrections Officer Charged With Sucker-Punching Handcuffed Delinquent NJ Corrections Officer Charged With Sucker-Punching Handcuffed Delinquent
NJ Corrections Officer Charged With Sucker-Punching Handcuffed Delinquent A senior correctional police officer at a state youth facility in Burlington County punched a handcuffed inmate twice, knocking his head against a wall, while colleagues were holding him, authorities charged. Two other officers at the Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility in Bordentown were holding the inmate with his back turned when Jason Parks, 40, of Gibbstown, struck him twice in the head this past Feb. 19, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Wednesday. “The force of the blows knocked the inmate’s head against a wall,” Grewal said, noting that the “use of force under th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
BEWARE: Coronavirus Scammers Calling, Texting, Emailing, Visiting Victims BEWARE: Coronavirus Scammers Calling, Texting, Emailing, Visiting Victims
Beware: Coronavirus Scammers Calling, Texting, Emailing, Visiting Victims As if there wasn’t enough to worry about: Authorities are warning New Jereyans to beware of coronavirus scams. Stay alert and be wary of any call, text, email or stranger at your door, state Attorney Gurbir S. Grewal and officials with the state Division of Consumer Affairs said. Among their warnings: Representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aren’t going door-to-door for any reason, so be sure not to let anyone in who claims to be from the CDC and make sure you call police immediately; There are countless in-store or online advertisements for products that claim…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Authorities Pursue 600+ Price-Gouging Complaints In NJ: Got Any? Authorities Pursue 600+ Price-Gouging Complaints In NJ: Got Any?
Authorities Pursue 600+ Price-Gouging Complaints In NJ: Got Any? New Jersey authorities reported 619 coronavirus-related price gouging complaints from throughout the state as of Tuesday – all of which they said are being investigated. The state Division of Consumer Affairs already was sending 82 cease-and-desist and warning letters to businesses following complaints from customers, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. The number of complaints more than doubled in just five days, when customers in New Jersey had filed 270, Grewal said. Retailers are accused of unfairly raising prices on surgical masks, hand sanitizers, disinfectant sprays and wipes, a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: NJ's Top Cop Urges Police To Use Discretion, Follow COVID-19 Guidelines UPDATE: NJ's Top Cop Urges Police To Use Discretion, Follow COVID-19 Guidelines
Update: NJ's Top Cop Urges Police To Use Discretion, Follow Covid-19 Guidelines Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal on Monday issued guidelines that law enforcement agencies across New Jersey must follow to protect the public – themselves – from the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Grewal also asked police to consider delaying criminal charges in cases that “do not imminently impact public safety” and requested that prosecutors demand defendants be held in jail pending trial only in the most serious cases. At the same time, he said, “public safety and victim safety must remain the priority in any such decision.” “Notwithstanding any court closures, law enforcement of…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Authorities Ask Consumers To Report Coronavirus Price Gougers NJ Authorities Ask Consumers To Report Coronavirus Price Gougers
NJ Authorities Ask Consumers To Report Coronavirus Price Gougers Authorities asked New Jersey residents Thursday to report any local merchants charging exorbitant amounts for virus-killing cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and other products. They also threatened to nail gougers. The state Division of Consumer Affairs sent warning letters Thursday to 10 retailers suspected of significantly inflating prices of items associated with the current concerns related to COVID-19, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. The letters warned retailers that New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) protects consumers from "gross and unreasonable inflation of the pr…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ State Troopers Busted In Child Porn Case NJ State Troopers Busted In Child Porn Case
NJ State Troopers Busted In Child Porn Case Two New Jersey state troopers were arrested Tuesday on child porn charges, authorities announced. Jeffrey Reitz, 48, of Williamstown, already was under indictment on possession of child pornography charges in connection with texts he’d had with a civilian, authorities said. During those exchanges, a woman “proposed that Reitz sexually assault a young girl and sent him a sexually explicit photo of the girl,” state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Additional images of child pornography were found in an iCloud account that belonged to Reitz, Grewal said. Reitz now faces additional ch…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Authorities Investigate Crown JUUL Of Vaping NJ Authorities Investigate Crown JUUL Of Vaping
NJ Authorities Investigate Crown Juul Of Vaping New Jersey authorities are aggressively investigating the marketing and sales practices of JUUL Labs, the state’s top cop said Tuesday. A 39-state coalition is investigating “JUUL’s targeting of the youth market, as well as the company’s claims regarding nicotine content and statements regarding the risks, safety and effectiveness of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation device,” New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. “As a father myself, I am deeply troubled by the soaring popularity among young people of vaping products in general and of JUUL’s products in particular,” Grewal s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Authorities: Police Shooting Of Knife-Wielding Jersey Shore Kidnapper Justified Authorities: Police Shooting Of Knife-Wielding Jersey Shore Kidnapper Justified
Authorities: Police Shooting Of Knife-Wielding Jersey Shore Kidnapper Justified Police were justified in shooting an Ocean County ex-con who cornered them with a knife after stabbing a K-9, authorities announced Wednesday. “Drop the knife!” the officers yelled repeatedly as Edward Walsh advanced at least 20 feet toward them, refusing to stop, during a November 2018 encounter in a Mantoloking home, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. “Officers found a large knife with a brown handle next to Walsh and a second knife in his waistband,” the prosecutor said. They administered first aid until EMS arrived, Billhimer said. The K-9 was treated at a local animal…

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by Jerry DeMarco