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Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels
Some of the passengers were dead. Some of the drivers had never driven a car.
But a New Jersey woman and her Colombian lover apparently had no trouble taking taxpayers for a ride.
For years, prosecutors say, Jael Watts, 45, of Alloway, operated Pearl Transit Corporation, a New Jersey-based company that purported to have drivers scattered across the country giving rides to elderly and disabled people while also conducting outreach for homeless Americans.
Watts and Luis Pino-Copete, 42, of Bogota, Colombia, were convicted following a multi-week federal trial in Utica of orchestrating a spraw…
Fashion CEO, Wife Found Shot Dead Outside California Residence
A fashion company CEO and his wife were found shot dead outside their California home, according to multiple reports.
Neighbors identified the couple as Bryan and Michelle Walker, who built the women’s clothing brand, Bryn Walker.
They were found outside their home on Panoramic Way in Oakland, California, on Friday, Oct. 2, The Berkeley Scanner reported.
Police had not publicly released their names when the Scanner published its report. Michelle was 63. Reports differed on Bryan’s age.
A neighbor who heard gunfire discovered the couple around 10:45 a.m., according to the Scanner, ci…
Fully Automatic Handgun Found After Albany Men Flee Traffic Stop, Police Say
A routine traffic stop in the Capital Region turned into a vehicle and foot pursuit that ended with two Albany men under arrest and two loaded handguns recovered — including one modified to fire fully automatically, police announced Friday, Oct. 2.
Zyeef I. Cancer, 24, and Akeim N. Ryan, 26, both of Albany, were arrested following the early-morning incident in Watervliet on Thursday, Oct. 1, according to the Watervliet Police Department.
An officer on routine patrol near 2nd Avenue and 15th Street spotted a vehicle violating New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law at approximately 2:45 a.m.,…
Duo Busted In $18K Heroin Deal In Hudson Valley: Half-Kilo Seized, DA Says
Two men, including a New Jersey resident, have been indicted on top-level felony drug charges after arranging an $18,000 deal involving about half a kilogram of heroin in Rockland County, prosecutors said.
Orange County resident Marvin Jeanty, age 42, also known as “Cream,” of Monroe, and Passaic County resident Jordan Miranda, age 23, of Paterson, New Jersey, were indicted following an investigation by the Rockland County Drug Task Force into heroin distribution in Airmont, the Rockland County District Attorney's Office announced on Friday, Oct. 2.
Prosecutors allege that on Ma…
Father Of Four Stabbed To Death On NYC Subway, ‘Heartbroken’ Children Launch Fundraiser
After a father of four was stabbed to death in a random attack on the New York City subway, his children have launched a fundraiser to honor his life.
Mesias Lojano, 59, of Jamaica, Queens, was killed while riding the J train near Woodhaven Boulevard on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
“He was a devoted father to four children, a cherished member of our family, and a friend to so many,” the Lojano children wrote in a GoFundMe. “We are his children, William, Laura, Darwin, and Edwin, and we are heartbroken.”
Jyrell Thomas, 25, of the Bronx, was arrested and charged with murder in Lojano’s death, WABC r…
Columbia County Driver Who Killed Woman In Head-On Crash Charged 11 Months Later: Authorities
A young Capital Region man has been arrested for a deadly car crash that killed a former elementary school teacher last year, authorities announced Friday, Oct. 2.
Cody Dunton, 21, of Canaan, was charged with manslaughter and assault for the wreck that killed Patricia Balcom, the Rensselaer County District Attorney’s office said.
Dunton was driving recklessly on Route 20 through Nassau on Nov. 10, 2025, when he caused the deadly crash, prosecutors said.
He was traveling eastbound on the road when he suddenly swerved into the westbound lanes and struck Balcom’s vehicle head-on, state police…
Taconic Crackdown: Almost 400 Tickets Issued In 2 Days Across Hudson Valley
Nearly 400 tickets were issued during a two-day enforcement detail targeting commercial and other restricted vehicles on the Taconic State Parkway in four Hudson Valley counties, police said.
Troopers conducted the commercial vehicle enforcement detail on Wednesday, Sept. 30, and Thursday, Oct. 1, along the parkway in Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, and Columbia counties, New York State Police announced on Friday, Oct. 2.
During the operation, troopers said they issued 376 traffic tickets. Of those, 198 were issued for violations of parkway rules prohibiting certain restricted typ…
Capital Region Gun Dealer Cuts Plea Deal After Selling To Undercover Cops: Authorities
A Capital Region man arrested on weapons and marijuana charges has taken a plea deal, authorities announced Friday, Oct. 2.
Bazeil Phoenix, 32, of Cohoes, copped to one count of third-degree criminal sale of a firearm, the Albany County District Attorney’s office said. He’s expected to get five years in prison and three years of probation at his sentencing hearing on Jan. 6, 2027, authorities said.
In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped two more weapons counts and a marijuana possession count against Phoenix, according to online court records.
Phoenix was arrested in January …
Driver Killed, Two People Airlifted Following Head-On Car Crash In New York: Police
A Capital Region man was killed in a head-on car crash Thursday, Oct. 1 in New York, police said.
Jonathan R. Hynes, 46, of Albany, was driving northbound on State Route 10 through Richmondville, Schoharie County, when he crossed into the southbound lanes, New York State Police said.
Hynes’s vehicle collided head-on with a vehicle traveling southbound just before 10 a.m. Thursday, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities.
A passenger in Hynes’s car and the driver of the other vehicle were airlifted to Albany Medical Center with serious injuries, state poli…
