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‘John Doe’ Shot Dead In Paterson ‘John Doe’ Shot Dead In Paterson
‘John Doe’ Shot Dead In Paterson Authorities were trying to identify a man shot dead on a Paterson street corner. The victim was shot in the head and arm at the intersection of North Main and Arch streets around 9:45 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29, they said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Acting Paterson Police Chief Bert Ribeiro said. They classified it as a homicide – Paterson’s 22nd of the year -- but didn't say whether any suspects had been arrested or identified. The gun was recovered, police at the scene said.

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Metal Detection Begins At Paterson High Schools After Seizure Of 3 Guns, Four Teens Metal Detection Begins At Paterson High Schools After Seizure Of 3 Guns, Four Teens
Metal Detection Begins At Paterson High Schools After Seizure Of 3 Guns, Four Teens Officials began screening students entering John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson following an incident late last week in which a trio of loaded guns were seized and the armed teens taken into custody. The hand-held metal-detecting wandings will continue indefinitely at all city high schools, Paterson Schools Supt. Eileen F. Shafer announced on Monday, Dec. 19. Additional city police officers will also patrol the grounds, she said. “The safety of our students and staff is our top priority, and we are working to make sure that no one is able to bring an unauthorized weapon onto school pro…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Paterson School Shooting Threats: Loaded Guns Found On Three Teens, One Of Them 15 Paterson School Shooting Threats: Loaded Guns Found On Three Teens, One Of Them 15
Paterson School Shooting Threats: Loaded Guns Found On Three Teens, One Of Them 15 A trio of teens were all found armed with loaded guns after a brawl broke out at JFK High School in Paterson and two juveniles threatened to shoot up the place, authorities said. Officers stationed at the school separated the students and found one of them, a 17-year-old, carrying a handgun, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Acting Paterson Police Chief Bert Ribeiro announced Sunday, Dec. 18. A 14-year-old involved in the Friday morning hallway brawl was seized after he was “overheard by responding officers threatening to commit a shooting in the school,” they said in a prepar…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
One Dead In Route 3 Crash, Authorities Confirm One Dead In Route 3 Crash, Authorities Confirm
One Dead In Route 3 Crash, Authorities Confirm A driver who was killed in a chain-reaction crash on Route 3 was identified as a 46-year-old Kearny resident. A BMW X3 had become disabled and was stopped on the westbound Passaic River Bridge in Clifton when it was struck by a Subaru Impreza driven by Karen Garcia shortly before 5 a.m. last Thursday, Dec. 15. Garcia's Impreza was then broadsided by an oncoming Toyota Prius, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Clifton Police Chief Thomas Rinaldi said in a joint release on Monday, Dec. 19. Garcia, who was extricated by firefighters, was later pronounced dead at Hackensack Unive…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Paterson Man Charged With Illegally Touching Girl, 15 Paterson Man Charged With Illegally Touching Girl, 15
Paterson Man Charged With Illegally Touching Girl, 15 A Paterson man illegally touched a 15-year-old girl, authorities charged. Kenyatta Lighty, 44, was sent to the Passaic County Jail following his arrest last Friday, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes announced on Monday, Dec. 12. Members of her Special Victims Unit charged Lighty with two counts each of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and third-degree child endangerment for two separate incidents in July 2021 and July 2022, the prosecutor said.

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Passaic Man, 19, Shot Dead In Clifton Passaic Man, 19, Shot Dead In Clifton
Passaic Man, 19, Shot Dead In Clifton A 19-year-old Passaic man was shot dead in Clifton before dawn Monday, authorities confirmed. Ariel Henriquez was brought to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center with a gunshot wound via private vehicle shortly before 4 a.m. Dec. 12, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Clifton Police Chief Thomas Rinaldi said. He was pronounced dead a short time later, they said in a joint release. Police who responded to the location of the shooting “discovered evidence of a crime scene" near the corner of Kulick Street and Central Avenue, Valdes and Rinaldi said in the brief release. They…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Passaic County Pedophile Who Tried To Get Victim To Change Story Gets 30 Years Without Parole Passaic County Pedophile Who Tried To Get Victim To Change Story Gets 30 Years Without Parole
Passaic County Pedophile Who Tried To Get Victim To Change Story Gets 30 Years Without Parole UPDATE: A convicted pedophile from Clifton must spend the next 30 years in prison before he’ll be eligible for parole for sexually assaulting a child over the course of several years. Alfredo Hernandez-Sanchez, 36, was convicted by jurors in Paterson this past April of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, as well as sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact and child endangerment. Investigators from the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office seized Hernandez-Sanchez after being alerted by Clifton police in June 2018. The victim, who was 15 at the time, “reported being sexually abus…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Paterson Man, 34, Shot Dead Outside Church Paterson Man, 34, Shot Dead Outside Church
Paterson Man, 34, Shot Dead Outside Church A 34-year-old Paterson man was shot and killed steps from a city church early Sunday. The victim was brought via private vehicle to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after the 8 a.m. shooting, Dec. 4, on Jelsma Place near the Greater Bethel Church of Christ. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Acting Paterson Police Chief Bert Ribeiro confirmed the killing but didn’t say whether the suspected shooter had been arrested or identified. The victim’s identity was temporarily being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Meanwhile, Va…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Paterson Man, 18, Charged With Shooting Totowa Motorist In Botched Robbery Attempt Paterson Man, 18, Charged With Shooting Totowa Motorist In Botched Robbery Attempt
Paterson Man, 18, Charged With Shooting Totowa Motorist In Botched Robbery Attempt An 18-year-old Paterson resident shot a Totowa man during a botched robbery, authorities charged. Wiziar Johnson is charged with attempted murder, among other counts, for the Nov. 15 shooting around midnight near the corner of Franklin and Mercer streets, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Acting Paterson Police Chief Bert Ribeiro said in a joint release. The 45-year-old victim – who was an intended robbery victim -- was immediately treated at the scene but denied further attention, they said Wednesday, Nov. 30. City police identified Johnson as the shooter, obtained an arrest…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Jurors Convict Paterson Senior Of Repeatedly Sexually Assaulting Girl, 10 Jurors Convict Paterson Senior Of Repeatedly Sexually Assaulting Girl, 10
Jurors Convict Paterson Senior Of Repeatedly Sexually Assaulting Girl, 10 Jurors in Paterson convicted a 66-year-old Ecuadorian national of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl. Julio Largo-Veletanga has remained jailed since city police seized him in May 2020. Detectives from the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office said they then interviewed multiple witnesses, including the girl. She “reported being sexually abused by Mr. Largo-Veletanga on multiple occasions between February 2020 and May 2020 at her home in Paterson,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. All told, there were no fewer than four incidents in the three-month span, inves…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Ex-Con Accused Of Shooting 16-Year-Old, Two Adults At Notorious Paterson Street Corner Ex-Con Accused Of Shooting 16-Year-Old, Two Adults At Notorious Paterson Street Corner
Ex-Con Accused Of Shooting 16-Year-Old, Two Adults At Notorious Paterson Street Corner UPDATE: An ex-con who was only just released from prison less than three months ago was charged with shooting and wounding three people -- including a 16-year-old juvenile – at a Paterson street corner where a young girl was gunned down earlier this year. Cleon Pooler, 30, is expected to remain held following his arrest Monday afternoon, Nov. 15, in the area of Ellison Street and Memorial Drive. That’s just blocks from the site of the Oct. 15 shooting at Madison and Essex streets. That day, police responding to a shots-fired report found a 19-year-old Sunbury, Pennsylvania resident, a 32-…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Woman Instructed To Shoot Paterson Victim Misses, 2 Charged With Attempted Murder: Prosecutor Woman Instructed To Shoot Paterson Victim Misses, 2 Charged With Attempted Murder: Prosecutor
Woman Instructed To Shoot Paterson Victim Misses, 2 Charged With Attempted Murder: Prosecutor A Pennsylvania woman and a Newark woman have both been charged with attempted murder after one handed the other a gun, instructing her to shoot at a 31-year-old female victim who was not struck over the weekend in Paterson, authorities said. It started sometime before 3:40 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6 near Wait and Wood streets in Paterson, when Abriyah Griffin, 25, of Newark, gave 31-year-old Lakenya Griffin, of Minersville, PA, the gun and told her to shoot the victim, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. Lakenya fired the weapon but missed the victim, who fled the scene — fol…

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by Cecilia Levine