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49°
Tuesday, nov 26
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legal system
Police & Fire
Former Jersey Shore Gymnastics Coach Sexually Assaulted Girl, Police Say
A former Galloway Township gymnastics coach was accused of sexually assaulting a girl under 16 years old, authorities said. The Galloway Township Police Department announced the arrest of 51-year-old Matthew Shriver in a news release on Tuesday, Nov. 19. The Brigantine man was a co-owner of Everest Gymnastics and Tumbling Center in Galloway Township. The investigation began after officers received a report regarding the abuse accusations. Police said they obtained cell phone evidence that corroborated the victim’s statements. This evidence led to search warrants for Shriver’s phone, perso…
Police & Fire
NJ Youth Soccer Coach Admits To Sexually Exploiting Players, Prosecutors Say
A Union Beach youth soccer coach admitted to molesting two players and sending sexual pictures to several others, authorities said. Ryan Gunsauls, 33, pleaded guilty during a hearing in superior court, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said in a news release on Monday, Nov. 18. The investigation began in May when a teen reported Gunsauls had asked for and shared sexually explicit material through a social media app. As the case developed, eight additional victims between 11 and 17 years old were identified. Gunsauls was held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution an…
Police & Fire
Queens Man Gets 15 Years For Fatally Shooting Jersey City Teen: Prosecutor
A 20-year-old Queens resident was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old Jersey City boy in 2022. In February 2022, Jersey City police responded to 112 Myrtle Ave. and found Devin Bryant, suffering from a gunshot wound, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital that evening, Suarez said. Justin Goris was 17 at the time he fatally shot Bryant and was charged as a juvenile before being tried as an adult, Suarez said. He pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in July, Suarez said.
Politics
Andy Kim Wins Senate Race Replacing Bob Menendez
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., won the election to the United States Senate, defeating Republican challenger Curtis Bashaw. BREAKING: Kamala Harris Wins New Jersey The Associated Press made Kim's call Tuesday, Nov. 5 just as polls closed at 8 p.m. Kim will be filling the seat left vacant following the resignation of former Sen. Rob Menendez, D-NJ, who was convicted of felony corruption and bribery charges. Kim will be appointed to the seat by Gov. Phil Murphy after his election is certified. Kim will be the first Asian American senator from the Garden State and the first Korean senator from any s…
Politics
Accused Pelosi Laptop Thief's Dad Convicted Of Child Abuse One Year After NJ Defamation Case
The father of a Pennsylvania woman who was accused of stealing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's laptop was convicted of sexually abusing a girl on Wednesday, Oct. 30 — just two days after the trial began, according to court documents and the Dauphin County District Attorney's office. Rickey Williams, 55, — a security guard from Dauphin County — touched the girl when she was between the ages of 8 and 18. Judge William T. presided over the trial. She came forward about the abuse within two weeks after police allegedly caught him soliciting a video of a 14-ye…
Police & Fire
NJ Man Convicted Of Beating Mom To Death, Prosecutor Says
A 38-year-old Maplewood resident was convicted on Monday, Oct. 21 of murder charges in his mother's death, which he then framed as a suicide, authorities said. Benjamin Avrut was found guilty of first-degree murder after beating his 70-year-old-mothe Gwen to death, Prosecutor Theodore Stephens said. The jury had rejected Avrut's insanity defense. On Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, Avrut entered his sleeping mother's apartment at The Top, a luxury condominium in Maplewood, Stephens said. When she awoke, Avrut beat her to death with his fists, Stephens said. Avrut, who had a hist…
Politics
Meet Andy Kim, Curtis Bashaw: NJ Politicians Vying For Menendez's Former Seat
Rep. Andy Kim, D-NJ and Curtis Bashaw, a business owner, are running for Sen. Bob Menendez's old senate seat after the disgraced senator resigned following his conviction on felony corruption charges. Here's a little bit about the two candidates: Kim has represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district since 2019. He jumped into the race upon Menendez's indictment and fended off a challenge from First Lady Tammy Murphy, whose campaign struggled, forcing her to drop out before the primary. Kim's lasting impact in the race may be upending New Jersey's controversial "line" system. A j…
Police & Fire
Killer Gets 35 Years For Deadly Bergen Town Center Stabbing: Prosecutor
A 74-year-old North Bergen man was sentenced on Wednesday, Oct. 16, to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing a man in 2021, authorities said. On Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, Augusto Perez stabbed Omar Cruz, a 64-year-old Albany, NY resident, to death behind the Ulta Beauty store in the Bergen Town Center mall in Maywood, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Muella said. With his dying breath, Cruz identified his killer, as previously reported by Daily Voice. Perez was arrested the next day, Musella said. Perez was convicted of aggravated manslaughter in April following a six-week trial, Mu…
Police & Fire
Newark Man Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting Stepdaughter: Prosecutor
A 36-year-old Newark man was convicted on Friday, Sept. 27, of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter over the course of three years, authorities said. The man’s identity is being withheld to protect the privacy of the victim, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens, II said. The girl, now 16, testified against her stepfather and said the abuse began when she was 11 and continued until she was 14, Stephens said. The sexual assaults occurred in different homes that the family lived in during the time period of the assaults, Stephens said. The defendant committed the assaults while the vict…
Police & Fire
Man Gets 16 Years For Fatal New Year's Day Jersey City Stabbing: Prosecutor
A 49-year-old Jersey City man was sentenced to 16 years in state prison on Thursday, Sept. 19 for fatally stabbing a man on New Year's Day 2021. At 2:45 a.m., Jersey City police located Tyrone Haskins, a 39-year-old Jersey City resident at 333 Ocean Ave. with a stab wound to his torso, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. He was transported to Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at approximately 3:20 a.m. Darius Evans was sentenced after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter in May, Suarez said.
Police & Fire
Toms River Woman Sentenced In Roommate's Shower Rod, Tape Dispenser Killing: Prosecutors
A Toms River woman will spend at least eight years in prison after admitting to her role in the death of her roommate, a former Manchester High School janitor, authorities said. Mary Carbone, 60, was sentenced on Friday, Sept. 13 to ten years in state prison, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. She must serve eight-and-a-half years before she's eligible for parole under the No Early Release Act. Carbone pleaded guilty on Monday, July 8 to aggravated manslaughter. She had been indicted for murder in the death of 55-year-old Frank St…
Police & Fire
NJ Youth Soccer Coach Accused Of More Sexual Crimes Against Ninth Player, Prosecutors Say
A Monmouth County youth soccer coach accused of molesting two players and sending sexual pictures to others was given more charges, authorities said. A grand jury indicted 32-year-old Ryan Gunsauls of Union Beach on 30 counts, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said in a news release on Tuesday, Aug. 14. He was previously arrested in the case in Hazlet on Friday, May 11. Investigators said one boy told police earlier in May that Gunsauls had been sending him "sexually explicit materials" and asking for them on social media. Eight more victims bet…
Police & Fire
Why Sergeant Won't Be Charged In Crash That Killed 44-Year-Old Pedestrian: AG (
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Charges will not be filed against a police officer who last November struck and killed a 44-year-old man while on-duty in a patrol car, authorities said. Sgt. Richard Sbarra was on White Horse Pike (Route 30) in the Atco section of Waterford when he hit Christofe “Christopher” Wita, 44, of Berlin on Nov. 23, 2023, NJ Attorney General Matthew Platkin previously said. Bodycam footage and radio transmissions from the incident were released last month. On Monday, Aug. 12, Platkin said Sbarra would not be charged following an investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Account…
Traffic
State Agency Director ID'd As Driver, 55, Killed By Motorist Running Red Light On Route 130
The driver killed in an early-morning crash Wednesday, July 10 on Route 130 in Hamilton has been identified as the director of the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (SCI). The agency identified its executive director Chadd W. Lackey as the 55-year-old Voorhees driver who died in the Hamilton crash. Police in their initial report said the crash was caused by a 51-year-old Bordentown woman who allegedly ran a red light at Klockner Road and struck a 2020 Ford Edge SUV heading east around 6 a.m. Lackey's 44-year-old passenger from Hamilton was left critical. “We are deva…
Police & Fire
TV Remote Fight Leads To Brain Bleed, NJ Man Convicted, Prosecutor Says
A 23-year-old East Orange man was recently convicted of aggravated assault after violently beating a woman over a remote control in 2023, authorities said. In April 2023, John Davis was staying in a woman's apartment when he assaulted her when she raised an issue over a TV remote control, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens, II said. The woman suffered a broken eye socket and a brain bleed and was hospitalized for several days, Stephens said. Davis was convicted following a two-day trial and after several days of jury deliberations, Stephens said. Davis faces up to 10 years in state …
News
Meek Mill Joins NJ Gov. Murphy To Celebrate Landmark Clemency Effort On Juneteenth
Gov. Phil Murphy celebrated Juneteenth by announcing a historic initiative in an effort to improve racial justice in New Jersey. The governor signed an executive order on clemency at Saint James AME Church in Newark on Wednesday, June 19. The order establishes standards for people to receive expedited consideration for pardons and commutations. Gov. Murphy said the goal is to fix the racial inequalities that have existed in the criminal justice system. "As we celebrate Juneteenth and reflect on our nation’s ongoing journey toward racial justice for Black and Brown …
Police & Fire
Former Notorious NJ Political Boss George Norcross Indicted For Racketeering
Former New Jersey Democratic kingmaker George E. Norcross III ran a criminal enterprise for nearly a dozen years during which he used his power and influence over elected officials to make laws that best served him, among other offenses, says a state indictment that charges him with racketeering. The poster boy of New Jersey political bosses, Norcross attended a news conference held on Monday, June 17 by state Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin in Trenton -- uninvited -- to announce the indictment naming him and five co-defendants. When one of the attorney general's sta…