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Police & Fire
Morris County Jurors Convict Wayne Cigarette Thief In High-Speed DWI Chase, Crash Morris County Jurors Convict Wayne Cigarette Thief In High-Speed DWI Chase, Crash
Morris County Jurors Convict Wayne Cigarette Thief In High-Speed DWI Chase, Crash Jurors in Morristown convicted a 37-year-old Wayne man who authorities said was drunk during a high-speed Morris County chase that ended in a crash. Pequannock police tried pulling over Derek Schor on Route 23 after he stole cigarettes from an Exxon station in Wayne in August 2017, authorities said. Schor -- who had a suspended driver's license -- kept going, leading a pursuit involving several police units that ended when his Ford F-150 rolled over three times on the I-287 entrance ramp in Riverdale, they said.  Schor bolted, but a K-9 unit found him hiding in waist-deep water i…

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by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
Christine Moschella Benavente Of Pequannock Was Warrior Who 'Taught Grace Under Pressure' Christine Moschella Benavente Of Pequannock Was Warrior Who 'Taught Grace Under Pressure'
Christine Moschella Benavente Of Pequannock Was Warrior Who 'Taught Grace Under Pressure' Christine Benavente of Pequannock died on Feb. 21 after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 48 years old. The Clifton native was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer in June 2017.  She lived her life with velocity, her husband Michael said in a Facebook tribute "and she literally did not stop until she could no longer physically move. "Christine taught all of us the true meaning of grace under pressure." Christine's passion for travel began her junior year of high school when she landed her first job at Travel World, her obituary says. She began a corporate travel job at VTS (Direc…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Hearing Set For Driver In Gas Station Crash That Killed Dad, Teenage Son, Attendant Hearing Set For Driver In Gas Station Crash That Killed Dad, Teenage Son, Attendant
Hearing Set For Driver In Gas Station Crash That Killed Dad, Teenage Son, Attendant UPDATE: A detention hearing was scheduled this Monday for a Susssex County man who authorities said overdosed on heroin before his SUV went airborne, smashing into a killing a father and son and an attendant at a gas station on Route 23 in Wayne early Tuesday. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said her staff will ask Superior Court Judge Ernest M. Caposela during a 10 a.m. hearing in Central Judicial Processing Court in Paterson to order 29-year-old Jason Vanderee held in the Passaic County Jail pending trial. Vanderee, of the Glenwood section of Vernon Township, was charged with th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Drugged Driver, 29, Charged In Gas Station Crash That Killed Dad, Teenage Son, Attendant Drugged Driver, 29, Charged In Gas Station Crash That Killed Dad, Teenage Son, Attendant
Drugged Driver, 29, Charged In Gas Station Crash That Killed Dad, Teenage Son, Attendant UPDATE: Authorities late Tuesday identified the drugged driver in a morning crash that killed a father and son and a gas station attendant as a 29-year-old Sussex County resident. Jason Vanderee, of the Glenwood section of Vernon Township, was charged with three counts each of aggravated manslaughter and death by auto, among other offenses. A detention hearing was scheduled this Monday. SEE: https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/southpassaic/police-fire/hearing-set-for-driver-charged-in-gas-station-crash-that-killed-dad-teenage-son-attendant/748562/ Jon Warbeck, a former Carlstadt firefighte…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Drugged Driver In Route 23 Gas Station Crash Kills Dad, Teenage Son, Attendant UPDATE: Drugged Driver In Route 23 Gas Station Crash Kills Dad, Teenage Son, Attendant
Update: Drugged Driver In Route 23 Gas Station Crash Kills Dad, Teenage Son, Attendant UPDATE: Authorities late Tuesday identified the drugged driver in a morning crash that killed a father and son and a gas station attendant as a 29-year-old Sussex County resident. Jason Vanderee, of the Glenwood section of Vernon Township, was charged with three counts each of aggravated manslaughter and death by auto, among other offenses. A detention hearing was scheduled this Monday. SEE: https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/southpassaic/police-fire/hearing-set-for-driver-charged-in-gas-station-crash-that-killed-dad-teenage-son-attendant/748562/ Jon Warbeck, a former Carlstadt firefighte…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
These Celebrities Call Morris County Home These Celebrities Call Morris County Home
These Celebrities Call Morris County Home Some actors, athletes and musicians call or at one point have called Morris County home. Maybe you saw them at the grocery store -- or are still hoping to. Either way, here's your common thread with the rich and famous. Boonton Jim Lewis ("The Muppets) writerChatham Ben Bailey (Comedian, host of "Cash Cab") Ben Bailey on Cash CabBaltz & Company Nick Mangold (New York Jets) Chester James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano, "The Sopranos" -- died 2013) Jim Breur (Comedian formerly on "SNL")Denville Kevin and Danielle Jonas (Member of Jonas Brothers band and wife -- photo courtesy Kevin …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Boom, Lawsuit: Wayne Officials Threaten To Sue Pequannock Over Castle Fireworks Boom, Lawsuit: Wayne Officials Threaten To Sue Pequannock Over Castle Fireworks
Boom, Lawsuit: Wayne Officials Threaten To Sue Pequannock Over Castle Fireworks Fireworks loved by some and feared by others have caused tension between neighbors in Morris and Passaic counties. Wayne Township officials are threatening to sue Pequannock and claiming booming fireworks are causing a disruption for residents, the Daily Record reports. Mayor Christopher Vergano is blaming Pequannock officials for allowing Route 23's Legacy Castle to put on nighttime fireworks displays, the article says. Wayne officials maintain the explosions could be a violation of noise ordinances. Vergano in October 2018 sent a letter published in the Daily Record to Pequanno…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Couple Caught On Route 23 With 'Cobain'-Stamped Heroin Bags, Wayne Police Say Couple Caught On Route 23 With 'Cobain'-Stamped Heroin Bags, Wayne Police Say
Couple Caught On Route 23 With 'Cobain'-Stamped Heroin Bags, Wayne Police Say Nearly half of 44 heroin bags that Wayne police found a couple carrying after stopping their nearly 20-year-old sedan were stamped “Kurt Cobain,” authorities said. Officer Thomasz Cydzik and Sgt. James Clark stopped the dilapidated 2000 Saturn on northbound Route 23 just before 4:30 p.m. Thursday because its brake lights were out, Detective Capt. Lawrence Martin said. The driver, 30-year-old Michael Straube of Vernon Township, had small blood spots on his sweatshirt in the crook of his arm, Martin said. A computer check also determined that passenger Allison Miller, 27, of Newton, had…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Wayne PD: Swerving Driver On Route 23 Registers Nearly 4x Legal Blood-Alcohol Limit Wayne PD: Swerving Driver On Route 23 Registers Nearly 4x Legal Blood-Alcohol Limit
Wayne PD: Swerving Driver On Route 23 Registers Nearly 4x Legal Blood-Alcohol Limit A swerving driver stopped by Wayne police in the middle of the afternoon on Route 23 registered nearly four times the legal limit on a blood-alcohol test, authorities said. Alerted by citizens to a vehicle that was “all over the road,” Officers Tomasz Cydzik and Adrian Sulejmani stopped the 2015 Toyota Sienna on the northbound highway near the Pequannock border at 3:15 p.m. Friday, Detective Capt. Laurence Martin said. Hitesh J Patel, 43, of Pequannock had “bloodshot eyes and droopy eyelids,” along with a trio of mini bottles of vodka, Martin said. Police got Patel out of the car for a sob…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Wayne Police: Unsteady Drugged Motorist Slams Car Into Mailbox, Shatters Windshield Wayne Police: Unsteady Drugged Motorist Slams Car Into Mailbox, Shatters Windshield
Wayne Police: Unsteady Drugged Motorist Slams Car Into Mailbox, Shatters Windshield A Pequannock motorist was under the influence of some type of drug – or drugs – when his car slammed into a mailbox in Wayne, shattering part of his windshield, police said. Officer Robert Sova found Andrew Treible, 29, “having a hard time standing without support, with slurred speech,” after the 3 p.m. crash Friday at Packanack Lake Road and Newark Pompton Turnpike, Detective Capt. Laurence Martin said. Treible “admitted ingesting legal prescription drugs,” after which the officer found a vape pen containing THC oil, Martin said. Treible was brought to headquarters after failing field sob…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
TRIBUTE: Wayne Baseball Player Nicholas McIlwrath, 29, Was Natural Charmer TRIBUTE: Wayne Baseball Player Nicholas McIlwrath, 29, Was Natural Charmer
Tribute: Wayne Baseball Player Nicholas McIlwrath, 29, Was Natural Charmer Nicholas J. McIlwrath of Wayne died Wednesday, May 23. He was 29 years old. Nicholas was born in Pequannock and raised in Wayne where he attended Wayne Valley High School. He played baseball through the youth programs at Wayne PAL, his father one of his coaches.  He could switch hit at bat and could play multiple positions including catcher, shortstop and pitcher in the field.  His coaches nicknamed him “Nolan Nicky” after Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. As Nicholas grew, he was also honored to be a member of the Traveling All Stars. To be in the company of Nicholas was al…

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by Cecilia Levine
Lifestyle
West Milford Teen Plays Love Interest In Coming Of Age Summer Movie West Milford Teen Plays Love Interest In Coming Of Age Summer Movie
West Milford Teen Plays Love Interest In Coming Of Age Summer Movie A new coming of age tale released May 11 stars West Milford teen Danielle Rose Russell. The Pequannock native plays love interest Joanie Williams in "Measure of a Man," the adaptation of the Robert Lipsyte novel "One Fat Summer" about an insecure teen who bonds with a Wall Street executive during a life-changing summer. The 19-year-old got her start through local theater programs and went on to commercial and print advertising. Her first film was "A Walk Among the Tombstones" in 2014, at 13 years old alongside Liam Neeson.  She went on to star in other films s…

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by Cecilia Levine