Atlantic City Man Admits Brandishing Gun In Rival Gang Territory: Prosecutor Atlantic City Man Admits Brandishing Gun In Rival Gang Territory: Prosecutor
Atlantic City Man Admits Brandishing Gun In Rival Gang Territory: Prosecutor A 22-year-old man from Atlantic City has admitted to brandishing a loaded handgun in rival gang territory, authorities said. Altarik Hopkins pleaded guilty on Monday, Oct. 2 to possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, resisting arrest and obstruction, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office. "Hopkins admitted he possessed a loaded handgun with the purpose of intimidating rival gang members," the prosecutor said. On May 5, 2021, Atlantic City police attempted to stop a vehicle that had been reported stolen out of Vineland, the prosecutor said. Hopkins and his …
UPDATE: Admitted Homemade Bomb Maker From South Jersey Gets 2 Years, No Parole UPDATE: Admitted Homemade Bomb Maker From South Jersey Gets 2 Years, No Parole
Update: Admitted Homemade Bomb Maker From South Jersey Gets 2 Years, No Parole A South Jersey man whom federal authorities said they caught with a do-it-yourself bomb and the materials to make it was sentenced to two years in prison without parole. Thomas Petronglo, 64, had a 5¾-inch diameter metal can filled with potassium perchlorate and aluminum with a fuse sticking out when authorities raided his Vineland home in March 2021, according to a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Camden. The mixture is commonly used in commercial fireworks displays. Authorities seized several other improvised devices -- mostly plastic cylinders and cardboard tubes containing "…
E. Coli Prompts Recall Of Costco Butternut Squash Sold In Virginia Stores E. Coli Prompts Recall Of Costco Butternut Squash Sold In Virginia Stores
E. Coli Prompts Recall Of Costco Butternut Squash Sold In Virginia Stores If you bought butternut squash from Costco recently, it may contain E. Coli. Safeway Fresh Foods, based in Vineland, NJ, is recalling fresh-cut butternut squash sold in Costco stores in several states, due to E. Coli found during routine testing. A letter was sent to customers who purchased the product between Sept. 7 and Sept. 15. The squash product was sold in Costco stores in Washington D.C.; Maryland (Gaithersburg, Frederick, Columbia, Wheaton, and Owings Mills); Pennsylvania (Robinson and Homestead); and Virginia (Fairfax, Sterling, Pentagon City, Leesburg, and Charlottsville). Click…
Newly-Widowed NJ Mom Falls Victim To Gravestone Scammer: 'I Want Him Stopped' Newly-Widowed NJ Mom Falls Victim To Gravestone Scammer: 'I Want Him Stopped'
Newly-Widowed NJ Mom Falls Victim To Gravestone Scammer: 'I Want Him Stopped' Another New Jersey resident who was scammed out of thousands of dollars by Gregory Stefan, Jr. is sharing her story. It wasn't a week after Irene Pollard lost her husband before Gregory Stefan, Jr. had found her number. The North Brunswick mom was just beginning to wrap her head around the death of her husband, Myron Pollard, on Dec. 29, 2022, when Stefan began calling, asking her about creating a headstone for the gravesite. "It was way too soon," Pollard said.  Not one to make others feel pushed aside, Pollard saved Stefan's number as a contact in her phone so she could at least answer…
South Jersey Jail Guard Guilty Of Threatening To Kill Ex-Inmate Who He Had Sex With: Prosecutor South Jersey Jail Guard Guilty Of Threatening To Kill Ex-Inmate Who He Had Sex With: Prosecutor
South Jersey Jail Guard Guilty Of Threatening To Kill Ex-Inmate Who He Had Sex With: Prosecutor A corrections officer at the Cumberland County Jail has been convicted of threatening to kill a former inmate whom he had a relationship with, authorities said. Neal J. Armstrong, 35, of Vineland, was found guilty on Thursday, Sept. 14 of his involvement in an incident that occurred in the City of Millville in the fall of 2017, according to Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae. Armstrong was alleged to have shared drugs and sex with the inmate during an ongoing relationship after her release from jail, she said. Armstrong was convicted of third-degree terrorist threat…
Grieving Bridgewater Woman Victimized By NJ Gravestone Scammer: 'People Can't Find Closure' Grieving Bridgewater Woman Victimized By NJ Gravestone Scammer: 'People Can't Find Closure'
Grieving Bridgewater Woman Victimized By NJ Gravestone Scammer: 'People Can't Find Closure' Barbara Kalmus was still reeling from the death of her sister last May when she was preyed upon by Gregory Stefan, Jr. The Bridgewater resident was one of several people authorities say was grifted by Stefan, who was recently arrested on a warrant by police in Vineland for scamming customers out of thousands of dollars through his company Colonial Memorials, not long after it was revealed he had been doing the same with his father and brother with their Pennsylvania company, 1843 LLC. Following her sister's death due to cancer, Stefan reached out to Kalmus about getting a headstone for he…
Woman, 25, Shot Dead In Cumberland County: Prosecutor Woman, 25, Shot Dead In Cumberland County: Prosecutor
Woman, 25, Shot Dead In Cumberland County: Prosecutor A 25-year-old Vineland woman was shot and killed, authorities said. In the early morning hours of Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, Shanelle Stewart of Vineland was found dead inside a vehicle in the 2000 block of Wheaton Avenue, Millville having succumbed to her injuries, according to Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae. Alex Blocker, 34, of Bridgeton, was arrested by members of the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office and Millville Police Department. Blocker has been charged with murder and weapons offenses, the prosecutor said. The investigation is ongoing.  Anyone …
Hero Dad Who Drowned Saving Stepdaughter At Jersey Shore Was Medic In National Guard Hero Dad Who Drowned Saving Stepdaughter At Jersey Shore Was Medic In National Guard
Hero Dad Who Drowned Saving Stepdaughter At Jersey Shore Was Medic In National Guard Mark Antwain Costin of Vineland lived and died a hero. His final act of heroism came on Labor Day, while trying to save his 12-year-old future step-daughter from drowning at the beach in Strathmere. Costin's fiancé, Melissa Metcalf, told 6abc they planned a last-minute trip to the beach in Cape May County on Labor Day, Sept. 4. They brought Metcalf's three children, Logan, Riley and Reagan Gallagher, as well as one of her son's girlfriends. They also brought Costin's daughter, Jocelyn. But while Mark was swimming with Jocelyn and Reagan, tragedy struck.  His soon-to-be stepdaughter, Reag…
Gravestone Scammer Targets Murder Victim's Vineland Mom: 'Sick To My Stomach' Gravestone Scammer Targets Murder Victim's Vineland Mom: 'Sick To My Stomach'
Gravestone Scammer Targets Murder Victim's Vineland Mom: 'Sick To My Stomach' A mom who fell victim to a New Jersey headstone scammer just after she buried her 31-year-old son last year is sharing her story in hopes of putting a stop to a man she says should've been stopped long ago. Nearly a month after Luz Vasquez's son, Chad Stuart, was killed outside of a Vineland bar in September 2022, she was contacted by Gregory Stefan, Jr., who explained he was the owner of Colonial Memorials, a headstone company.  And he wanted Vasquez as a client. Vasquez set up a meeting with Stefan in her Vineland home on Oct. 21, 2022. "He was a professional man, and seemed sympatheti…
Gravestone Company Owner Wanted Out Of NJ For Bilking Customers — Again Gravestone Company Owner Wanted Out Of NJ For Bilking Customers — Again
Gravestone Company Owner Wanted Out Of NJ For Bilking Customers — Again Police are hoping the public can help them locate the owner of a gravestone company who opened a New Jersey business after Pennsylvania officials shut him down for bilking customers. Gregory John Stefan Jr., 53, took money for a headstone and then failed to deliver for his customer, police in Vineland said. Stefan and his father, Gregory John Stefan, Sr., who was involved in previous businesses with his son, have residences in Conshohocken, Upper Darby, and Havertown, PA, records show. Earlier this year, Pennsylvania Acting Attorney General Michelle Henry announced a settlement wi…
NJ Police Officer Justified In Shooting Driver To Stop Backhoe Rampage, Grand Jury Rules NJ Police Officer Justified In Shooting Driver To Stop Backhoe Rampage, Grand Jury Rules
NJ Police Officer Justified In Shooting Driver To Stop Backhoe Rampage, Grand Jury Rules UPDATE: A local New Jersey police sergeant was justified in shooting a man who hijacked a backhoe and went on a rampage, damaging two police vehicles, an ambulance and an occupied civilian sedan before he was finally stopped. Although authorities collected a trove of surveillance and bodycam video showing precisely what led to the death of Joshua Gonzalez, 20, of Millville, state law still required a grand jury to review the outcome. Gonzalez kept police at bay for nearly a half-hour during the video-recorded rampage in Vineland, which began around 5 a.m. on Dec. 18, 2021, on West Park Dri…
27 NJ Boston Market Stores Issued Stop-Work Orders By Labor Department 27 NJ Boston Market Stores Issued Stop-Work Orders By Labor Department
27 NJ Boston Market Stores Issued Stop-Work Orders By Labor Department Boston Market stores across New Jersey owe its workers thousands of dollars in back wages, and the state's labor department is taking action. The NJDOL issued 27 stop-work orders to Boston Market locations throughout the state on Monday, Aug. 14 saying the rotisserie chicken franchise owes more than $600,000 in back wages to 314 employees. The investigation began after the NJDOL received a complaint from an employee at a restaurant in Hamilton last November. Since then, almost three dozen people have come forward, naming several other locations. Citations were issued for unpaid/late pa…