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Police & Fire
ATTEMPTED MURDER: Bergen Man Chokes, Tries To Sexually Assault Pre-Teen: Authorities ATTEMPTED MURDER: Bergen Man Chokes, Tries To Sexually Assault Pre-Teen: Authorities
Attempted Murder: Bergen Man Chokes, Tries To Sexually Assault Pre-Teen: Authorities A 33-year-old Ridgefield man choked a Fairview pre-teen “to the point of unconsciousness” and had removed both his and the incapacitated child's clothes before he was stopped, authorities said. Julio Amaro-Vasquez, who lives on Bergen Boulevard just off Oakdene Avenue, was charged with attempted murder, attempted aggravated sexual assault, aggravated assault, attempted sexual assault by contact and child endangerment. He wasn't the only person arrested in connection with the alleged incident, however. Amaro-Vasquez's girlfriend, Marlin Cervantes Santos, 30, of Fairview, “directed…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Chilean Ring Used NJ Digs To Stash Loot From Home Burglaries In NY, MD, Elsewhere: Feds Chilean Ring Used NJ Digs To Stash Loot From Home Burglaries In NY, MD, Elsewhere: Feds
Chilean Ring Used NJ Digs To Stash Loot From Home Burglaries In NY, MD, Elsewhere: Feds Six Chilean nationals who burglarized homes in multiple states were recorded on video stashing a huge safe and other items stolen in the break-ins in a Jersey City apartment building, authorities said. The crew took pearl necklaces, diamond earrings, a distinctive high school “state champions” ring, and other jewelry during the burglary of a Westchester County, NY, residence in late March, an FBI complaint says. The same burglars struck again in Baltimore County, MD, in mid-April, taking luxury timepieces, distinctive cufflinks, and a safe that contained a collection of rare coins, the comp…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! South American Theft Network Fugitive Pegged In $25,000 Dumont Home Burglary, More GOTCHA! South American Theft Network Fugitive Pegged In $25,000 Dumont Home Burglary, More
Gotcha! South American Theft Network Fugitive Pegged In $25,000 Dumont Home Burglary, More A wanted member of a notorious transnational group of thieves was tied by Dumont detectives to the theft of $25,000 in cash during a home break-in two months ago. Jhan Michael Rodriguez-Fonseca, 26, lives in Jersey City and most recently worked as a food delivery driver, Dumont Police Chief Brian Joyce said. He really belongs to what’s known as the South American Theft Group network and is tied to other burglaries in the state, the chief said. He was also wanted by the NYPD and by agents with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), he said. Primarily from Colombia, the members of the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Saudi National Who Drove Stolen NJ School Bus To PA Indicted By Federal Grand Jury Saudi National Who Drove Stolen NJ School Bus To PA Indicted By Federal Grand Jury
Saudi National Who Drove Stolen NJ School Bus To PA Indicted By Federal Grand Jury A college student from Saudi Arabia who stole a school bus in Livingston, NJ, and drove it nearly 60 miles to Stroudsburg, PA, has been indicted by a federal grand jury, authorities said. Bader Alzahrani, a 22-year-old divorced sophomore who attends an undisclosed college, broke into a vacant home across the street from a Livingston Board of Education parking lot on Hill Side Avenue where the bus was parked on Jan. 15, the indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Newark says. The district reported the bus stolen two days later. Police found a backpack with a Saudi Arabian passport bea…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
FACE OF EVIL: Series Of Sex Assaults On Paterson Girl Sends Ecuadorian National, 67, To Prison FACE OF EVIL: Series Of Sex Assaults On Paterson Girl Sends Ecuadorian National, 67, To Prison
Face OF EVIL: Series Of Sex Assaults On Paterson Girl Sends Ecuadorian National, 67, To Prison A 67-year-old Ecuadorian national living in Paterson was sentenced to 44 years in state prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in her home. Julio Largo-Veletanga was convicted by a jury in Paterson last November of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, child endangerment and hindering his arrest. Under the sentence imposed by Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Portelli earlier this month, he'd have to serve 25 years before he could be eligible for parole. Largo-Veletanga has remained in custody since city police arrested him in May 2020. Detectives from the Pas…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Ecuadorian National Pleads Guilty To Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef Ecuadorian National Pleads Guilty To Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef
Ecuadorian National Pleads Guilty To Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef A Jersey City man who brutally stabbed a well-known chef to death during a party at the victim’s Little Ferry home cut a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter in exchange for a lesser sentence. Ray Edwardo Arcentales Sanchez, 24, could still get a minimum sentence of 10 years in state prison for the plea, entered in Superior Court in Hackensack earlier this week. Then there’s the matter of his citizenship. Police at the time said the Ecuadorian national was sitting on a curb, spattered with blood, when officers responding to a 911 call found a mortally wounded …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Immigrant Seized By ICE For Deportation After Beating Young Fairview Man With Autism: Police Immigrant Seized By ICE For Deportation After Beating Young Fairview Man With Autism: Police
Immigrant Seized By ICE For Deportation After Beating Young Fairview Man With Autism: Police A Guatemalan immigrant illegally living in Fairview was seized by ICE agents after he beat a defenseless young man with autism, authorities said. Alexander Castellanos, 33, was initially sent to the Bergen County Jail on aggravated assault charges following his weekend arrest, records show. Fairview police said Castellanos punched the 20-year-old victim in the face, sending him to the hospital with was believed to be a broken nose. The victim obtained a temporary restraining order, they said, but that won't be necessary now. Within hours of being booked into the county lockup on aggravate…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Human Traffickers Forced Victims Into Sex At Fortified Brothels In Asbury, Trenton, NJ AG Says Human Traffickers Forced Victims Into Sex At Fortified Brothels In Asbury, Trenton, NJ AG Says
Human Traffickers Forced Victims Into Sex At Fortified Brothels In Asbury, Trenton, NJ AG Says Customers bought poker chips to have sex with an underage girl and women who were forced into prostitution against their will by a human trafficking ring that operated out of Monmouth and Mercer counties, authorities said. New Jersey State Police watched 10 men enter a Hudson Street home in Trenton through the back door and then exit 15 to 20 minutes later one January night, Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. A man then came out and locked the gate, the attorney general said. A search-warranted raid later that night included members of the State Police T.E.A.M.S. Unit, K-9 Un…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
East Coast Luxury Car Theft Ring Smashed By PalPark Detectives East Coast Luxury Car Theft Ring Smashed By PalPark Detectives
East Coast Luxury Car Theft Ring Smashed By PalPark Detectives What at first seemed like a run-of-the-mill package theft led Palisades Park detectives to an organized theft ring that used bogus IDs to buy high-end luxury cars, authorities said. Jeon Kichul, a 43-year-old Korean national, was arrested last December after Detective David Chun identified him as the porch pirate who swiped a package containing a baseball glove from outside a resident’s home, Capt. Shawn Lee said. Kichul, who was also carrying bogus ID, was released pending further investigation, said Lee, the officer in charge of the department. Chun then learned that Jeon was "part of a …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Roofer From Bergenfield Charged With Raping Pre-Teen Roofer From Bergenfield Charged With Raping Pre-Teen
Roofer From Bergenfield Charged With Raping Pre-Teen A painter from Guatemala who works as a roofer was charged with raping a pre-teen several times in Bergenfield. ICE immediately placed a detainer on Victor Chitay, 37, after he was arrested Tuesday and booked into the Bergen County Jail, records show. Chitay sexually assaulted the pre-teen “on more than one occasion,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Detectives from the prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit arrested the roofing contractor following a tip from Bergenfield police, Musella prosecutor said. They charged him with three counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault an…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
ICE Puts Hold On Hudson Man Jailed In Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef ICE Puts Hold On Hudson Man Jailed In Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef
ICE Puts Hold On Hudson Man Jailed In Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef UPDATE: Federal authorities have placed an immigration detainer on a 22-year-old Jersey City man accused of brutally stabbing a well-known chef to death during a party at the victim’s Little Ferry home. ICE issued the detainer amid questions over the immigration status of Ray Edwardo Arcentales Sanchez, who is listed in Bergen County Jail records as an Ecuadoran national. Sanchez was sitting on a curb, spattered with blood, when police responding to a 911 call before dawn Thursday found a mortally wounded Yuryin Herrera, 36, on the backyard steps of his Abend Street home, responders said.…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'History Of Ongoing Abuse': Garfield Man Charged With Severely Shaking 3-Month-Old Baby 'History Of Ongoing Abuse': Garfield Man Charged With Severely Shaking 3-Month-Old Baby
'History Of Ongoing Abuse': Garfield Man Charged With Severely Shaking 3-Month-Old Baby A warehouse worker living in Garfield was jailed after physicians found that a hospitalized 3-month-old child had suffered a history of ongoing physical abuse. ICE issued a detainer on Dominican-born Nelson Ventura Delacruz, 31, who remained held in the Bergen County Jail on Saturday. An investigation began after the child was brought to Hackensack University Medical Center on Oct. 2, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. “A medical evaluation determined that the child was suffering from significant injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome,” Musella said. “Additionally, the inj…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
MURDER IN MAHWAH: Laborer Extradited, Booked Into Bergen County Jail MURDER IN MAHWAH: Laborer Extradited, Booked Into Bergen County Jail
Murder IN Mahwah: Laborer Extradited, Booked Into Bergen County Jail UPDATE: A gas station worker accused of shooting his Mahwah roommate dead in their rented home near the New York State border this summer was extradited to New Jersey this week to face murder charges. Milan Ghimire, a 23-year-old Nepali national, is accused of shooting and killing station co-worker Phu Tsewang, 56, in the West Mahwah residence the night of July 12. Both were among several residents who rented the 1,760-square-foot home in a residential neighborhood between Route 202 and Route 17 within walking distance of work. Township police called to the Avenue A home by another re…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Ridgefield Laborers Charged With Sexually Assaulting Minors Ridgefield Laborers Charged With Sexually Assaulting Minors
Ridgefield Laborers Charged With Sexually Assaulting Minors ICE has issued detainers on two related Ridgefield laborers after they were jailed on charges of sexually assaulting underage victims. Oscar Hernandez Estrada, 43, sexually abused two pre-teens while his brother-in-law, Daniel Aria Estrada, 24, “engaged in sexual conduct including sexual penetration” of a child while at their residence in Ridgefield, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Ridgefield police fielded the complaints and notified Musella’s Special Victims Unit detectives and the state Department of Child Protection and Permanency. The Estradas, who live in the same Hillsi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Woman, 48, Indicted For Murdering Wife With Wine Chiller, Prosecutor Says Jersey Shore Woman, 48, Indicted For Murdering Wife With Wine Chiller, Prosecutor Says
Jersey Shore Woman, 48, Indicted For Murdering Wife With Wine Chiller, Prosecutor Says A 49-year-old woman from the Jersey Shore has been indicted in connection with the fatal bludgeoning of her wife last year, authorities said. Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus of Brick Township was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday on murder and weapons charges, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. The charges come in connection with the death of the suspect's 32-year-old spouse, Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus, at their Creek Road home on May 17, 2020, Billhimer said. Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus' weapons charges relate to her allegedly using a wine container…

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by Jon Craig
News
Undocumented Pizzeria Worker From Hackensack Charged With Raping Pre-Teen Undocumented Pizzeria Worker From Hackensack Charged With Raping Pre-Teen
Undocumented Pizzeria Worker From Hackensack Charged With Raping Pre-Teen Federal authorities placed a detainer on an Ecuadoran national living in Hackensack after local authorities jailed him on charges of sexually assaulting a pre-teen. Nelson Fabian Padilla, a 26-year-old pizzeria worker, remained held Monday in the Passaic County Jail following his arrest three days earlier on charges of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault by contact and child endangerment, records show. ICE authorities issued a detainer so that Padilla can be brought before a U.S. District Court judge in Newark for a hearing on his immigration status if a local judge releases him …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
BUSTED: Man Recorded Himself Taking Shower Video Of Underage Bergen Girl, Authorities Say BUSTED: Man Recorded Himself Taking Shower Video Of Underage Bergen Girl, Authorities Say
Busted: Man Recorded Himself Taking Shower Video Of Underage Bergen Girl, Authorities Say A Guatemalan national living in Fairview hid his cellphone behind shampoo bottles to record video of an underage girl in the shower – and in doing so gave investigators all the evidence they needed, authorities said. It was a different kind of "gotcha!" they said. Rene Quino-Curruchiche, 38, of Walker Street was arrested after borough police received a 911 call from the youngster, who is in her early teens, according to a complaint on file in Superior Court in Hackensack. A Special Victims Unit detective from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office who interviewed him got Quino-Curruchiche’s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Ecuadoran Fugitive In Hackensack Child Sex Case Returned After Being Taken Into Custody Ecuadoran Fugitive In Hackensack Child Sex Case Returned After Being Taken Into Custody
Ecuadoran Fugitive In Hackensack Child Sex Case Returned After Being Taken Into Custody A fugitive Ecuadoran national from Hackensack who was apprehended on Long Island was returned to New Jersey this week to face charges of raping a pre-teen. ICE placed a detainer on Jorge Luis Mora, 37, whom a local judge in Hackensack ordered held in the Bergen County Jail pending trial following his extradition Friday from New York. Mora became a fugitive after detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office charged him earlier this year with sexually assaulting the victim in Hackensack in 2013. He already had a criminal record, with arrests in 2017 for harassment and violating a co…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Weather
First Snow, Then Rain: New Forecasts Released For Sunday Storm First Snow, Then Rain: New Forecasts Released For Sunday Storm
First Snow, Then Rain: New Forecasts Released For Sunday Storm A newly-released forecast called for two rounds of precipitation Sunday, with winter weather advisories issued for parts of North Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. The first was snow, and it was making its way across North Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania as of 8:15 a.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service said. Between two and four inches of snow and sleet were possible in North Jersey and The Poconos before noon, while rain was expected across Central and South Jersey.  The second round of precipitation was expected to feature more rain than snow in the early afternoon and …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Bergen Sheriff: ICE Protestor From Yonkers Who Maced Officers And Ran Captured Next Day Bergen Sheriff: ICE Protestor From Yonkers Who Maced Officers And Ran Captured Next Day
Bergen Sheriff: ICE Protestor From Yonkers Who Maced Officers And Ran Captured Next Day A Yonkers woman who sprayed officers with MACE and then vanished into the crowd during an anti-ICE protest outside the Bergen County Jail was identified and taken into custody when she returned the next day, authorities said. Lizbeth Vazquez, 19, was already facing rioting charges in New York City, Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton said Monday. Vazquez “sprayed the officers with MACE and threatened bodily harm as an unruly group was asked to disperse” during a protest against ICE detainment of immigrants at the jail that erupted into a couple of brief skirmishes on Saturday, the sheriff…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bergen Sheriff: Eight Of 9 ICE Protestors Arrested Are From NY, Officers Pepper-Sprayed, Bit Bergen Sheriff: Eight Of 9 ICE Protestors Arrested Are From NY, Officers Pepper-Sprayed, Bit
Bergen Sheriff: Eight Of 9 ICE Protestors Arrested Are From NY, Officers Pepper-Sprayed, Bit A troubled but resolute Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton on Sunday said that he agrees with anti-ICE protestors but emphasized that "inciting chaos for the sake of chaos will not be tolerated." "What occurred yesterday was not a peaceful protest. It was not a productive act of political expression," the sheriff said during a news conference Sunday outside the jail in Hackensack. "What we saw yesterday was not, in the words of my hero, John Lewis, 'good trouble'." Cureton corrected social media errors -- noting, for example, that "tear gas was not employed" and that pepper spray was di…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Sheriff's Officers, Anti-ICE Protestors Clash Outside Bergen Jail Sheriff's Officers, Anti-ICE Protestors Clash Outside Bergen Jail
Sheriff's Officers, Anti-ice Protestors Clash Outside Bergen Jail Escalating tensions erupted Saturday night when a few protestors pepper-sprayed and threw bricks at sheriff's officers outside the Bergen County Jail, witnesses said. EMS units were summoned to treat at two injured sheriff's officers, a ranking officer with direct knowledge of the incident said. Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton confirmed the report on Sunday. The sheriff said that he agrees with the anti-ICE protestors but emphasized that "inciting chaos for the sake of chaos will not be tolerated." SEE: Bergen Sheriff: Eight Of 9 ICE Protestors Arrested Are From NY, Officers Pepper-…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bergen County Jail Protestors Struck By Runaway Sedan In Manhattan Bergen County Jail Protestors Struck By Runaway Sedan In Manhattan
Bergen County Jail Protestors Struck By Runaway Sedan In Manhattan Surveillance video shows a speeding sedan plowing into a group of demonstrators in Manhattan who were demanding the release of ICE detainees at the Bergen County Jail. The NYPD said 52-year-old Kathleen Casillo, of Queens, was charged with reckless endangerment following the incident in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. Casillo had stopped near the corner of East 39th Street and Third Avenue when some protestors surrounded her car, hitting it, shortly after 4 p.m. responders said. She apparently hit the gas in a panic to get away and struck at least seven people, several who were in th…

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by Jerry DeMarco