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Five Arrested After $7K In Ecstasy, Coke, Heroin, Meth Seized: Essex County Prosecutor
Five people were arrested after multiple raids in Hudson, Essex and Union counties last month uncovered $7,000 in illegal drugs, authorities said.
The raids, which took place Wednesday, Oct. 30 and Thursday, Oct. 31, were the result of a four-month investigation and targeted individuals believed to be involved in the distribution of controlled substances, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens II said.
Recovered in the raids were approximately 27 grams of heroin, 20 vials of cocaine and crack cocaine, 84 Ecstasy pills, Oxycodone and Xanax pills as well as drug packaging paraphernali…
West New York Man Sexually Assaulted 14-Year-Old Girl: Prosecutor
A 37-year-old West New York man was arrested and charged on Friday, Oct. 18 with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in March, authorities said.
The girl reported that in the early morning hours of Monday, March 11, she was approached by an unknown male, later identified as Christopher Ortiz, and she entered his vehicle, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. The girl reported Ortiz later sexually assaulted her inside his residence, Suarez said.
Ortiz is charged with sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal sexual contact, Suarez said.
He was arre…
Two Hudson County Men Get Lengthy Sentences For Gas Station Robberies: Feds
Two Hudson County men were sentenced to years in prison on Tuesday, Oct. 15 for their role in a series of robberies at gas stations in 2022, authorities said.
From January to February 2022, Wendell Bradley, a 27-year-old Bayonne resident, – either alone or with Joseph Brown, a 26-year-old Jersey City resident – would drive to a gas station, pull up to a gas pump, ask the gas station attendant to put gas in the car’s tank, and, while the tank was being filled, would pull a gun on the attendant and demand money, US Attorney Philip Sellinger said.
On Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, in Union, Brown po…
Man Killed In Fatal Jersey Fire: Prosecutor
A 56-year-old Jersey City man was killed in a fire on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 16, authorities said.
At 10 a.m., firefighters responded to a fire at 121 Garfield Ave. in Jersey City, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Upon arrival, firefighters found a fire coming from a third floor bedroom of a three-story residential building, Suarez said.
While battling the blaze, firefighters located an injured male, later identified as Pablo Renta, Suarez said. He was transported to Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead just before 7 p.m, Suarez sa…
Man In NJ Police Station Calls 9-1-1 Over Scented Candle — And It Didn't Stop There, Cops Say
A 34-year-old Hudson County man was jailed after police said he walked into a local police station and called 9-1-1 over a scented candle, and continued with similar behavior until he was jailed later that day, police said.
Alfredo Gonzalez, of Guttenberg, waltzed into the police station on Wednesday, Oct. 2 to speak with officials from the public safety office, Guttenberg police said. While inside, Gonzalez expressed concern over the lighting of a scented candle, police said.
Gonzalez then called the county's emergency dispatch line, requesting North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue to th…
Three People Conspired To Fake Life Insurance Policies: Hudson County Prosecutor
Three Queens residents were arrested and charged over the past month, with creating phony life insurance policies in Hudson County, authorities said.
Auditya Ramotar, 69, in his role as a license life insurance provider, fraudulently obtained two life insurance policies for an individual without their consent, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.
Leona Ramroop, a 58-year-old phlebotomist, generated falsified medical records to support fraudulent claims that would benefit accounts associated with Ramotar and Bhogewattie Ramotar, a 57-year-old Queens resident, Suarez said.
Auditya is…
Sex Workers Robbed, Sexually Assaulted By Trio At Gunpoint In Jersey City: Prosecutor
Three men were arrested and charged on Friday, Sept. 20 with robbing and sexually assaulting two sex workers in Jersey City on Wednesday, Sept. 11, authorities said.
The two women agreed to meet three men, Mohamed Mohamed, 24, Abdalla Abdelsalam Elsayed, 20, and Mahmoud Hegazi, 18, all Jersey City residents, at an apartment on Bergen Avenue in exchange for sex for money, according to a criminal complaint.
After having sex with the men, one of the men pulled out a handgun, held it to one of the women and demanded money. The gun was held as she spoke on a phone call, forcing her to …
Luxury Essex County Car Theft Ring Dismantled, Four Arrests Made, Prosecutor Says
Four teenagers were arrested on Thursday, Sept. 12 and charged for their participation in an auto theft trafficking network in North Jersey, authorities said.
Two juveniles, a 16-year-old Newark resident and a 17-year-old Jersey City resident would use stolen Kias, Hondas and Hyundais to look for high-end luxury vehicles like BMWs and Mercedes, Union County Prosecutor William Daniel said.
After identifying target vehicles, they would go to target homes and search for keys/key fobs, Daniel said. Once they got the vehicles, they would contact Tikeem Shearin, 18, and Carlos Espi…
Man Charged With Sexual Assault, Assaulting Police Officer In Weehawken: Prosecutor
A 27-year-old man was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a woman at his Weehawken residence on Tuesday, Sept. 17, authorities said.
At 2 a.m., Weehawken police received a report of a woman who had been physically and sexually assaulted by a man, later identified as Dennis Hackett, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.
Hackett was charged with sexual assault, criminal sexual assault and simple assault, Suarez said. Hackett faces additional charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, throwing bodily fluids at a police officer and resisting arrest, police said.
Hacket…
Two West Nile Virus-Related Deaths Among Six New Cases Reported In New Jersey
New Jersey health officials are reporting an additional six cases of West Nile Virus including two deaths, and two presumptive viremic blood donor (PVD) cases in the state.
The six new WNV cases are residents of Bergen, Camden, Cumberland, Hudson, Mercer, and Middlesex counties (one 50+, two 60+, one 70+, two 80+). The two individuals who died were older adults from Cumberland and Mercer counties, the DOH said.
Two human cases of WNV were reported earlier this year in Middlesex and Union counties.
Seven out of the eight cases were hospitalized with neuroinvasive disease, includi…
Pickpocketing Family Steals $1,400 From Unsuspecting Victim At NJ Sneaker Expo: Police
A family of pickpocketers from Somerset County are facing charges after police allege they stole more than $1,400 from an unsuspecting victim in Hudson County.
Anthony Curichumbe-Guilcapi, 21, Luis Cholota-Maldonado, Silvia Curichumbe-Guilcapi, 38, and Dolores Cholota-Curichumbe, 21, who live together in North Plainfield, conspired to steal the cash from the victim at Sneaker Expo on Plaza Drive in Secaucus on Aug. 22 around 9:30 a.m., Secaucus Police Deputy Chief Joseph Baccola said.
"Anthony, Luis and Dolores bumped into the victim to distract the victim, while Silvia stole the cash …
Charges Upgraded For 20-Year-Old Man After Pedestrian Dies In Hudson County Hit-Run Crash
Charges were upgraded for two people arrested in a hit-and-run crash after the victim died over the weekend, authorities in Hudson County said.
Samuel Collazo, a 20-year-old Westfield resident, was identified as the driver of the motorcycle that struck Angel Guzman Morales, 54, of Union City, last Saturday, Aug. 17, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.
Collazo was initially charged with knowingly leaving the scene of a crash resulting in serious bodily injury, endangering an injured victim, receiving stolen property, and unlawful taking, Suarez said.
After Morales died on Saturday,…
