Fair 21°
News
Jersey City Drug Dealer Gets 7 Years In Fed Pen Jersey City Drug Dealer Gets 7 Years In Fed Pen
Jersey City Drug Dealer Gets 7 Years In Fed Pen A drug-dealing ex-con from Jersey City must spend a plea-bargained seven years in federal prison. Hason Armfield, 43, must serve just about all of the sentence handed down via videoconference Monday in Newark because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Armfield was arrested following a raid on his York Avenue apartment by DEA agents and Jersey City police in June 2019, records show. An authorized search of the place turned up nearly a half-pound of cocaine, 3½ ounces of heroin and unspecified criminal proceeds, a complaint on file in federal court in Newark says. Authorities a…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
MS-13 Members Convicted Of Murder Of Innocent West New York Man, 19, Other Gang-Related Crimes MS-13 Members Convicted Of Murder Of Innocent West New York Man, 19, Other Gang-Related Crimes
MS-13 Members Convicted Of Murder Of Innocent West New York Man, 19, Other Gang-Related Crimes Three ranking MS-13 members from El Salvador were convicted by federal jurors in Newark of the murder of an innocent 19-year-old dishwasher from West New York, among other charges stemming from their participation in the international gang. It was one of many offenses that jurors agreed were committed by Juan Pablo “Humilde” Escalante-Melgar, 31, Elmer “Locote” Cruz-Diaz, 33, and Oscar “Snappy” Sanchez-Aguilar, 25 – among them, extortion, witness tampering, and drug trafficking. Federal prosecutors told the jurors that Escalante-Melgar and Sanchez-Aguilar instructed an MS-13 member and an …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
Jersey City Woman Struck By Federal Agent's Car Dies, Report Says Jersey City Woman Struck By Federal Agent's Car Dies, Report Says
Jersey City Woman Struck By Federal Agent's Car Dies, Report Says A 58-year-old Jersey City woman struck by a federal agent's car was taken off life support over the weekend after just over a week on life support, NJ Advance Media reports. Carmelina Tusa was struck while crossing Route 139 and Baldwin Avenue on her way to work on Oct. 22 around 8:10 a.m.  Spokespeople from the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, Port Authority and Jersey City police departments told NJ Advance Media they are not involved in the investigation. Click here for the full story from NJ Advance Media.

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
NJ Gunman Whose Brothers Died In Gang Shootings Wanted On Murder Charge NJ Gunman Whose Brothers Died In Gang Shootings Wanted On Murder Charge
NJ Gunman Whose Brothers Died In Gang Shootings Wanted On Murder Charge Authorities are on the lookout for a Newark man accused of killing a one person and hurting two others in a Jersey City shooting last February. Jimmy B. Colclough, 30, is accused of shooting Raven Harris dead and hurting two other victims, ages 28 and 29, at the intersection of Old Bergen Road and Neptune Avenue in Jersey City on Feb. 10, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. He is wanted on charges of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and second-degree possession of a wea…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
FBI Makes Arrest In Jersey City Gang War FBI Makes Arrest In Jersey City Gang War
FBI Makes Arrest In Jersey City Gang War An ongoing gang war in Jersey City led to the arrest by federal authorities of a man accused in one shooting and implicated in another. Shamar Bey, 29, a reputed member of the SaLaf gang, opened fire at a gas station at Gates Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard after following a rival from Ocean and Neptune avenues on June 19, 2020, an FBI complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says. A city surveillance camera helped identify him, the FBI said. Less than 24 hours after that shooting, three people entered the Salem-Lafayette housing project -- where SaLaf operates -- and shot into a cr…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Schools
Jersey City Teacher, 68, Charged With Sexually Assaulting More Students Jersey City Teacher, 68, Charged With Sexually Assaulting More Students
Jersey City Teacher, 68, Charged With Sexually Assaulting More Students A 68-year-old teacher from Hudson County is facing additional and upgraded charges in the sexual assaults of two students, authorities said. Apparao Sunkara was arrested at his Hicksville, Long Island home on March 16, and charged with abusing an 11-year-old victim at the Infinity Institute, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Sunkara was indicted this week by a Hudson County Grand Jury for sexually assault a total of three female students, all ages 11 and 12 years old at the time of the assaults, Suarez said. The Grand Jury indictment upgraded Sunkara's charges from 201…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
Feds: Six Jersey City Gang-Bangers Charged With Stabbing Rival Feds: Six Jersey City Gang-Bangers Charged With Stabbing Rival
Feds: Six Jersey City Gang-Bangers Charged With Stabbing Rival Federal authorities have charged six purported members of a Jersey City gang with stabbing a rival in broad daylight on a busy city street. All were part of a street gang that operated in and around the Curries Woods housing complex near the Bayonne border, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today. On Aug. 3, 2020, they sought out the victim and stabbed him, Honig said. The victim was critically injured but survived, she said. Charged with assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering: Sheldon “Thottie” Mays, 21; Jermaine “Maine” Jennings, 20; Divine “Dee” Abraham, …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Teen Charged With Bias Attempted Murder For Savage Beating In North Hudson Park Teen Charged With Bias Attempted Murder For Savage Beating In North Hudson Park
Teen Charged With Bias Attempted Murder For Savage Beating In North Hudson Park A grand jury has indicted a Baltimore teen on bias attempted murder charges for savagely beating a learning-disabled man in a Hudson County park because he thought he was gay. José Tobias Carranza Serrano, 18, was captured by police in Bayonne who found him and his clothes covered in blood while arresting him on a trespassing charge hours after the June 21 attack in James J. Braddock Park in North Bergen, authorities said. The indictment returned Wednesday charges Carranza Serrano with attempted murder, bias intimidation, aggravated assault and robbery. The 37-year-old victim from West New…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: Gunman Admits Intent To ‘Kill Lot Of People’ In Jersey City After Brother Was Shot Dead Feds: Gunman Admits Intent To ‘Kill Lot Of People’ In Jersey City After Brother Was Shot Dead
Feds: Gunman Admits Intent To ‘Kill Lot Of People’ In Jersey City After Brother Was Shot Dead An ex-con bent on avenging his brother’s death admitted he went to Jersey City armed with a semi-automatic handgun intending to “kill a lot of people.” Aware of his plan, police grabbed Raheem Allen, 34, of Newark and seized an Intratec Tec-22 loaded with 25 rounds of ammunition this past March, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Allen’s brother, Anthony Alvarado, 27, was considered a high-ranking member of a Jersey City street gang, Honig said. Alvarado was gunned down in the area of East 49th Street and Avenue E in Bayonne the night of March 6. He was pronounced dead about 45 mi…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds Charge Reputed Jersey City Gang Member With Gunning Down Rival Feds Charge Reputed Jersey City Gang Member With Gunning Down Rival
Feds Charge Reputed Jersey City Gang Member With Gunning Down Rival Federal authorities have charged a reputed gang member from Jersey City with murder in the shooting death of a rival during a running feud between allied crews. Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced Tuesday that her office has taken over the prosecution of Phillip Wiggins Jr. of Newark for the March 31, 2020 slaying of Damone “Munch” Smith. Wiggins, 24, who investigators say belongs to the Wilkinson Avenue gang, shot Smith in the chest near the corner of Rose and Cator avenues.  Smith, 25, was brought by private vehicle to Jersey City Medical Center, where he …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Sheriff: Attacker Admits Beating, Leaving Hudson Man For Dead Because He Thought He Was Gay Sheriff: Attacker Admits Beating, Leaving Hudson Man For Dead Because He Thought He Was Gay
Sheriff: Attacker Admits Beating, Leaving Hudson Man For Dead Because He Thought He Was Gay A Baltimore man admitted luring and then savagely beating a learning-disabled man from West New York in North Hudson Park, leaving him for dead, because he thought he was gay, authorities said. José Tobias Carranza Serrano, 18, was captured by police in Bayonne who found him and his clothes covered in blood while arresting him on a trespassing charge, it was revealed Wednesday. Carranza Serrano confessed to them that he lured the 37-year-old victim into a wooded area of the North Bergen park, where he tried to kill him because he "does not like homosexuals," an affidavit filed by the Hudson…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Long Island Man Lured, Sexually Assaulted Jersey City Girl, Prosecutor Says Long Island Man Lured, Sexually Assaulted Jersey City Girl, Prosecutor Says
Long Island Man Lured, Sexually Assaulted Jersey City Girl, Prosecutor Says A Long Island man was arrested for luring and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Jersey City, authorities said Thursday. Cecilio Viera-Viera, 21, of Freeport, NY, met the girl on social media and lured her through conversations and interactions to meet him in-person on June 4, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Viera-Viera met the girl in Jersey City and lured her into his car, where he sexually assaulted her, authorities said. Viera-Viera was arrested Wednesday at his home just after 5 p.m. without incident on charges of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault by c…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine