Overcast 76°
Tag:

Prospect Park, NJ

Police & Fire
Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM
Ex-Con Charged By FBI With Igniting Explosive Outside Passaic County ATM A career criminal from Passaic County who's been busted dozens of times in North Jersey in just the past few years used an explosive device to damage an ATM, federal authorities charged. Nicolas Torres, 41, of Passaic, has amassed a lengthy rap sheet over much of his adult life, mostly involving business break-ins that local police and county prosecutors have dealt with. This time, though, the FBI's got him. Torres was captured on surveillance video igniting the device in front of the Chase Bank ATM on North 6th Street in Prospect Park in the early morning hours of July 5, 2022, U.S. Attor…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Lyft Driver From Morris Found Guilty Of Fondling Underage Prospect Park Passenger UPDATE: Lyft Driver From Morris Found Guilty Of Fondling Underage Prospect Park Passenger
Update: Lyft Driver From Morris Found Guilty Of Fondling Underage Prospect Park Passenger A former U.S. military member from Morris County was convicted of sexually assaulting a Passaic County pre-teen while working as a Lyft driver. Julio Mejia, 43, of Wharton rejected a plea deal after investigators said the underage Prospect Park girl told them he had sex with her after she took a Lyft ride in August 2019 and then again after several weeks of texting. He took his chances with a jury in Superior Court in Paterson and was convicted of sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, enticing and child endangerment. Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Portelli scheduled sentencing for Feb. …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
New Year's Fire Consumes Multi-Family Paterson Building New Year's Fire Consumes Multi-Family Paterson Building
New Year's Fire Consumes Multi-Family Paterson Building A vicious New Year's fire blew through the roof of a Paterson apartment building. A firefighter was brought to St. Joseph's University Medical Center with a minor injury sustained in Sunday's 10 a.m. blaze on Harrison Street. The damage was nonetheless extensive, displacing dozens of residents -- while forcing others out temporarily -- in a tightly packed cluster of homes between Rosa Parks Boulevard and Carroll Street. 🚨 BREAKING VIDEO: LARGE FIRE IN PATERSON, NEW JERSEY pic.twitter.com/cPLVj36OvO — Breaking News Video (@BreakingVideoHQ) January 1, 2023 A second alarm was called on a…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Fire Destroys One Prospect Park Home, Ravages Another Fire Destroys One Prospect Park Home, Ravages Another
Fire Destroys One Prospect Park Home, Ravages Another Firefighters from surrounding towns rushed to aid their colleagues in Prospect Park after a noontime house fire spread to a neighboring home. Initial reports of an occupant possibly trapped thankfully proved unfounded after the fire broke out on the second floor of the primary North 11 Street home, off Fairview Avenue, around 11:30 a.m. Council President Anand Shah called for prayers for those who lost their homes and belongings in the destructive blaze, which topped out at five alarms for coverage. Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah praised the first responders who braved not only the fire itse…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Passaic County Man Threatens To Kill Police Captain With Traffic Stop Ambush: Authorities Passaic County Man Threatens To Kill Police Captain With Traffic Stop Ambush: Authorities
Passaic County Man Threatens To Kill Police Captain With Traffic Stop Ambush: Authorities A Passaic County man was charged with threatening to lure a local police captain into a traffic stop so he could shoot him and chop his head off, authorities said. Jante Bagh, 41, called the Prospect Park Police Department on Tuesday and said he would lure the captain into a stop, “pop one in his head” and then cut it off, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. Bagh, who lives in Prospect Park, was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats and harassment. He remained held Thursday in the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Cour…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Handcuffed Fugitive Who Jumped Into Passaic River Was Wanted Out Of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Handcuffed Fugitive Who Jumped Into Passaic River Was Wanted Out Of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts
Handcuffed Fugitive Who Jumped Into Passaic River Was Wanted Out Of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts A suspect who nearly drowned after jumping into the Passaic River while handcuffed was wanted in both Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, authorities said. Juan Castano, 29, of New York was a passenger in a car driven by a Paterson resident that Hawthorne police stopped in response to a call late Tuesday afternoon of two suspicious-looking men peering over the barbed wire fence of the Citywide Towing impound lot in Hawthorne. “People have previously jumped their fence and stolen vehicles that had been impounded due to being stolen,” Hawthorne Detective Lt. Matthew Hoogmoed said Thursday. Borou…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Judge Refuses To Release Newark Defendant Charged With Shooting Jersey Shore Man In Paterson Judge Refuses To Release Newark Defendant Charged With Shooting Jersey Shore Man In Paterson
Judge Refuses To Release Newark Defendant Charged With Shooting Jersey Shore Man In Paterson A state judge refused to release a defendant from Newark who was captured in New York City and charged with shooting a Jersey Shore man following a robbery in Paterson. The 27-year-old Sea Bright victim was shot near the corner of Putnam Street and Rosa Parks Boulevard on Jan. 8, 2021. He sought treatment at Riverside Medical Center in Red Bank without telling city police, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora said in a joint release. Red Bank police who were alerted to the shooting immediately notified their Paterson colleagues, they said.&n…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
No Bail Reform In This Court: Judge Orders Accused Prospect Park Shooter From Midland Park Held No Bail Reform In This Court: Judge Orders Accused Prospect Park Shooter From Midland Park Held
No Bail Reform In This Court: Judge Orders Accused Prospect Park Shooter From Midland Park Held A state court judge in Paterson has refused to release a Midland Park man charged in a Prospect Park shooting. That defendant, Rahjshone Newkirk, 23, and borough resident Tylaire Clark, 22, had been sought by police after two people reported being shot at on Hopper Street around 6 p.m. Feb. 2, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Prospect Park Police Chief Ammen Matari said in a joint release. Their vehicle was struck, but the victims’ weren’t wounded, they said. Borough police nabbed Newkirk on North 8th Street last Thursday, May 12.  Despite a state bail reform law that …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
12th Gun Seized In Paterson Since April Follows Foot Pursuit 12th Gun Seized In Paterson Since April Follows Foot Pursuit
12th Gun Seized In Paterson Since April Follows Foot Pursuit A Paterson man hanging out in a large group partying on a local street corner was caught with a loaded handgun after he tried to run from detectives, authorities said. Joseph Shoulars, 22, bolted as Detectives John Rikowich, Levis Qirjako, Muhammed Dombayci and Yamil Pimienta approached the noisy crowd, which was drinking and blocking the road with double-parked vehicles at Belle Avenue and Hopper Street, city Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. "The intersection has recently been the subject of numerous complaints by both Paterson and Prospect Park residents due to large groups con…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
HEROES: Paterson's Bravest Rescue Resident In Three-Building Blaze HEROES: Paterson's Bravest Rescue Resident In Three-Building Blaze
Heroes: Paterson's Bravest Rescue Resident In Three-Building Blaze UPDATE: A vicious blaze was engulfing one two-family home and significantly damaging two other residences -- displacing 26 tenants in all -- when Paterson firefighters rescued a resident in a wheelchair. PHOTO GALLERY: BTFirePhotos The four-alarm Warren Street fire broke out in one of the tightly bunched buildings up the street from Public School No. 10 shortly before 8 a.m. Sunday. It spread quickly. The city's bravest immediately got the trapped resident out before retreating to battle the blaze from the exterior. The main body of the fire was knocked down by 9:45 a.m., a little under …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Girl, 13, Kidnapped, Raped By Long Island Man, 24, She Met Online, Authorities Say NJ Girl, 13, Kidnapped, Raped By Long Island Man, 24, She Met Online, Authorities Say
NJ Girl, 13, Kidnapped, Raped By Long Island Man, 24, She Met Online, Authorities Say A 13-year-old Paterson girl was picked up by a 24-year-old Long Island man she met online and taken to a remote area where he sexually assaulted her, authorities said. Floiran Langumas-Montero of Farmingdale traveled to New Jersey around midnight Oct. 29 for "the purpose of picking up and taking” the girl to an unidentified location in Prospect Park, where he “engaged in sexual intercourse” with her, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Prospect Park Police Chief Ammen Matari said in a joint release Friday. Langumas-Montero had “met and communicated with [her] online for several …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Traffic Stop Turns Up Loaded Gun, 200 Heroin Folds, Crack, $1,547 Cash, Haledon Police Say Traffic Stop Turns Up Loaded Gun, 200 Heroin Folds, Crack, $1,547 Cash, Haledon Police Say
Traffic Stop Turns Up Loaded Gun, 200 Heroin Folds, Crack, $1,547 Cash, Haledon Police Say A Haledon police officer found a 19-year-old Paterson man carrying a loaded gun, 200 heroin folds, a half-ounce of crack and $1,547 in proceeds during a traffic stop, authorities said. Officer Jeffrey Welsh stopped the Dodge Dart with Michigan license plates on Aberdeen Court after the driver failed to signal a turn shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday, Capt. George Guzman said. The driver – who turned out to be unlicensed -- also wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, he said. Welsh approached from the passenger side and spotted a brick of heroin jutting out of the front-seat passenger’s jacket pocket, the …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco