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Somerset County, NJ

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Drone Sightings Across PA Raise Security Concerns Drone Sightings Across PA Raise Security Concerns
Drone Sightings Across PA Raise Security Concerns Authorities along the East Coast are grappling with a surge in drone sightings, raising security concerns and prompting high-level responses. In New Jersey, residents have reported numerous drone sightings since mid-November, particularly in Morris and Somerset counties, and more than a dozen mayors are calling for investigations. Gov. Phil Murphy is urging residents to report suspicious drone activity to law enforcement and emphasizing the state's commitment to public safety.  "We are actively monitoring the situation and in close coordination with our federal and law enforcement par…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Billionaire CEO Of PA Company Leading SpaceX Mission 'Polaris Dawn' Billionaire CEO Of PA Company Leading SpaceX Mission 'Polaris Dawn'
Billionaire CEO Of PA Company Leading SpaceX Mission 'Polaris Dawn' A high school dropout from New Jersey who owns a multi-billion-dollar Pennsylvania tech firm is making history, again. Jared Isaacman, 41, the CEO of Shift4 Payments in Allentown, PA is the mission commander of SpaceX's mission Polaris Dawn, which launched into space on Tuesday morning, Sept. 10. Alongside Isaacman are Retired US Air Force Lt. Col Scott "Kidd" Potee, and two SpaceX specialists, Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis. You can read more about the mission on the SpaceX website here. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Po…

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by Cecilia Levine
Weather
Tornado Watch Shifts, Now Covers These Counties Across NJ, PA As Debby Creeps In Tornado Watch Shifts, Now Covers These Counties Across NJ, PA As Debby Creeps In
Tornado Watch Shifts, Now Covers These Counties Across NJ, PA As Debby Creeps In The National Weather Service has shifted its tornado watch across New Jersey and Pennsylvania as Hurricane Debby creeps in. In New Jersey, the tornado watch is in effect through 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9 and covers Bergen, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties in North Jersey. In Pennsylvania, the tornado watch is issued in Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Monroe, and Bucks counties. The tornado threat for South Jersey has diminished since the initial watch was issued early Friday morning, which has since been canceled. AccuWeather Th…

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by Cecilia Levine
Weather
Tracking Hurricane Debby, Severe Storms Expected To Slam Northeast This Week Tracking Hurricane Debby, Severe Storms Expected To Slam Northeast This Week
Tracking Hurricane Debby, Severe Storms Expected To Slam Northeast This Week The Northeast is in for a wild week of weather. AccuWeather forecasters say episodes of drenching rain and heavy winds are working their way across the country and are expected to arrive in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland on Tuesday, Aug. 6. AccuWeather The above AccuWeather map shows which part of the region will be most impacted by the storms arriving Tuesday afternoon and lasting into the evening. Those include the Pennsylvania-Maryland border, South Jersey, and the Philadelphia and Baltimore areas. Tuesday will be sunny and hot with a high of 90 before storms roll in,…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
4.0 Magnitude Earthquake Aftershock: NY Feels Additional Tremors 4.0 Magnitude Earthquake Aftershock: NY Feels Additional Tremors
4.0 Magnitude Earthquake Aftershock: NY Feels Additional Tremors Hours after a 4.8 magnitude earthquake rattled the northeast, several states are once again feeling the earth move in what appears to be an aftershock. Just after 6 p.m. on Friday, April 5, the tremors of a 4.0 magnitude earthquake — an aftershock from an earlier 4.8 quake originating in New Jersey — could be felt across the Northeast. Similar to its earlier counterpart, the quake shook buildings across New York City, New Jersey, and parts of Connecticut, with some reporting feeling it in Pennsylvania and western Massachusetts. Original Story: 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Northeast T…

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by Sophie Grieser
Police & Fire
Trans Pedo Who Made Sadistic Sex Videos Of Daughter, 7, Moved To Infamous NJ Women's Prison Trans Pedo Who Made Sadistic Sex Videos Of Daughter, 7, Moved To Infamous NJ Women's Prison
Trans Pedo Who Made Sadistic Sex Videos Of Daughter, 7, Moved To Infamous NJ Women's Prison A transgender pedophile who produced sadistic sex abuse videos of her 7-year-old daughter has been housed since last summer in New Jersey's notorious women's prison along with her lover, state records confirm. Marina Volz, 34, originally was processed as a man and sent to serve a 25-year sentence at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton. But a check of state records -- prompted by recent published reports -- found Volz listed at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility along with Ashley Romero, a 30-year-old transgender inmate herself who was convicted of participating in the abuse. New Jerse…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
Memorial For Councilman Shot Dead At PSE&G Will Help Daughter Through College In PA Memorial For Councilman Shot Dead At PSE&G Will Help Daughter Through College In PA
Memorial For Councilman Shot Dead At PSE&G Will Help Daughter Through College In PA A former PSE&G employee shot and killed his supervisor outside the utility company's Somerset County facility on Wednesday, Feb. 8,  authorities say.  But this "one-of-a-kind" man's legacy will live on through his daughter, according to his family. Russell "Russ" D. Heller, 51-year-old councilman in Milford, NJ, was gunned down by 58-year-old Gary T. Curtis on Weston Canal Road in Franklin Township shortly after 7 a.m. Feb. 8, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. Curtis soon turned the gun on himself, and both men died the same day, as Daily Voice previously reported.  H…

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by Jillian Pikora
News
Ex-Trump Stalker Gets 6 Years, No Parole, For Threatening Secret Service Agent, Vets Officer Ex-Trump Stalker Gets 6 Years, No Parole, For Threatening Secret Service Agent, Vets Officer
Ex-Trump Stalker Gets 6 Years, No Parole, For Threatening Secret Service Agent, Vets Officer UPDATE: A former longtime stalker of former President Trump must spend nearly six years in federal prison for threatening to assault a Secret Service agent and "shoot up" an officer at a VA hospital in New Jersey. Frank Monte, 52, of Passaic County, NJ, must serve out just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal court system. Monte, of the Oak Ridge section of West Milford, "repeatedly called the emergency line of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Police at the VA Lyons hospital campus" in Somerset County, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said on Tuesd…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
7 Bounty Hunter Bloods Banged By Feds In NJ Gang War That's Left Four Dead, 10 Wounded 7 Bounty Hunter Bloods Banged By Feds In NJ Gang War That's Left Four Dead, 10 Wounded
7 Bounty Hunter Bloods Banged By Feds In NJ Gang War That's Left Four Dead, 10 Wounded An ongoing gang war that has ignited gunfire during a funeral and outside a hospital has led to charges against seven reputed members of a New Jersey gang associated with the Bounty Hunter Bloods. Federal authorities used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law to secure a grand jury indictment charging the defendants with conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Tuesday, Sept. 20. All seven are members or associates of the Bounty Hunter Bloods, which operated under the umbrella of neighborhood street gangs known as “Parkside” in Somerset and “The Ville” in N…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
PA Man Admits Traveling To NJ For What He Thought Was Sex With 14-Year-Old PA Man Admits Traveling To NJ For What He Thought Was Sex With 14-Year-Old
PA Man Admits Traveling To NJ For What He Thought Was Sex With 14-Year-Old A Pennsylvania man admitted traveling to New Jersey for what he thought would be sex with a 14-year-old partner, federal authorities said. Quentin Anthony Blount, 29, of Easton, was one of a dozen men nabbed in an undercover roundup of accused predators who investigators said trolled social media for what would be the statutory rape of underage girls and boys. He took a deal from the government rather than risk trial, pleading guilty on Thursday to traveling with the intent to engage in sex. Blount, like the other defendants, virtually hooked up with what he thought was an underage teen af…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Man Charged With 'Upskirting' On Jersey Shore Also Charged With Doing It In Bergen County Man Charged With 'Upskirting' On Jersey Shore Also Charged With Doing It In Bergen County
Man Charged With 'Upskirting' On Jersey Shore Also Charged With Doing It In Bergen County A Monmouth County Grand Jury has returned a five-count indictment against a Somerset County man accused of taking lewd photographs of under a young girl's dress at a car dealership, authorities said. The action is commonly described as "upskirting." David M. Chapinski, 41, of the Somerset section of Franklin Township is charged with manufacturing of child sexual abuse materials, invasion of privacy, and child endangerment, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey. The former adjunct professor has been charged with upskirting before at an Edgewater sup…

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by Jon Craig
News
NJ Transgender Family Used Daughter, 7, To Make Fetishized Porn (SENTENCING) NJ Transgender Family Used Daughter, 7, To Make Fetishized Porn (SENTENCING)
NJ Transgender Family Used Daughter, 7, To Make Fetishized Porn (Sentencing) A mom and three accomplices were sentenced to a combined 67 years in prison for sexually abusing the woman's 7-year-old daughter to make "amateur, BDSM and taboo fetish" pornography in the child's New Jersey home, authorities said. Marina Volz (aka Matthew Volz, 32), Ashley Romero (aka Adam Romero), 28), Sean Allen, 54, and Dulcinea Gnecco, 21, were sentenced by Somerset County Superior Court Judge Peter J. Tober on Friday, May 6,  Acting Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart said. The investigation into the four began in January 2019, when an anonymous caller contacted the New Jersey Divis…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Major Drug Trafficker Admits Shipping 40 Pounds Of Heroin From Cali To NJ On Car Carrier Major Drug Trafficker Admits Shipping 40 Pounds Of Heroin From Cali To NJ On Car Carrier
Major Drug Trafficker Admits Shipping 40 Pounds Of Heroin From Cali To NJ On Car Carrier UPDATE: A major drug trafficker from Somerset County who led investigators on a high-speed chase admitted moving massive amounts of heroin into New Jersey, federal authorities said. Authorities targeted William T. Bouza, 45, of Watchung, in early 2019 after intercepting 33 pounds of heroin stashed in a secret compartment of a Mercedes shipped on a car carrier to New Jersey from California, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Bouza was waiting for the drugs in Union but bolted after sensing something fishy, an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Newark says. The following mont…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Five From NJ Charged With Pocketing More Than $1M From Aircraft Equipment Scam Five From NJ Charged With Pocketing More Than $1M From Aircraft Equipment Scam
Five From NJ Charged With Pocketing More Than $1M From Aircraft Equipment Scam A crew of con artists from New Jersey swindled more than $1 million from businesses nationwide that thought they were buying aircraft equipment and replacement parts, state authorities charged. For five years, the thieves cut deals online for the purported sale of specialized equipment, including airline ground support parts and hydraulic jacks, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. As soon as the payments arrived, members of the crew either made a bunch of cash withdrawals or slid the money into a Somerset County accomplice's account, Platkin said. The buyers got bup…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
CHILLING AUDIO: Local NJ Police Try To Convince Man To Drop Sword Before Shooting Him CHILLING AUDIO: Local NJ Police Try To Convince Man To Drop Sword Before Shooting Him
Chilling Audio: Local NJ Police Try To Convince Man To Drop Sword Before Shooting Him "Patrick, drop it," a New Jersey police officer says in a calm, steady voice, pleading several times with a man wielding a 3-foot sword to surrender. "Listen to me, I know you're going through some...," the officer says before his voice rises. "Patrick drop it! Get on the ground! Get on the ground!" he screams. "Drop the knife!" Then four shots are heard. The confrontation in Somerset County early last fall lasted barely a minute. About an hour and 20 minutes later, Patrick Chin, 43, was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. The comman…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
AG: Somerset County Man Shot, Killed In Confrontation With Local Police AG: Somerset County Man Shot, Killed In Confrontation With Local Police
AG: Somerset County Man Shot, Killed In Confrontation With Local Police A man was shot and killed in a confrontation with local police in Somerset County over the weekend, state authorities said Monday. Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck confirmed the shooting, which he said occurred shortly before 6:30 p.m. Sunday inside an apartment on Corporal Langon Way in Hillsborough. No one else was injured, he said. Township police were responding to a 911 call at the residence when the confrontation occurred, the attorney general said. "Officers and emergency medical personnel rendered first aid to the man, and he was pronounced deceased at the scene …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds Charge Somerset County Data Analyst With Trafficking Child Porn Feds Charge Somerset County Data Analyst With Trafficking Child Porn
Feds Charge Somerset County Data Analyst With Trafficking Child Porn A data analyst from Somerset County was charged with trafficking child porn following an undercover investigation, federal authorities said. Marc-Evan Manasse, 27, Somerville “distributed material containing images and video files of child sexual abuse” on a file-sharing network, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Detectives went undercover to access five video files and 11 images containing child sexual abuse from an IP address at Manasse’s home, Honig said. The files included “multiple visual depictions of pre-pubescent children being sexually abused by adults,” s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
PA Trio Charged With Attempted Murder In Shooting Of NJ Motorcyclist On I-287 PA Trio Charged With Attempted Murder In Shooting Of NJ Motorcyclist On I-287
PA Trio Charged With Attempted Murder In Shooting Of NJ Motorcyclist On I-287 Three Pennsylvania men were charged in a drive-by shooting on Interstate 287 in New Jersey that injured a motorcyclist over the weekend, authorities said. Matthew Plaza, 32, of Allentown; Luis Velez, 37, of Bethlehem; and Raymond Bethancourt, 35, of Shillington have been arrested on various weapons charges while Plaza is also facing a charge of attempted murder, New Jersey State Police said. Troopers from the Somerville Station responded to Chimney Rock Road in Bridgewater, where the motorcyclist had called 911 saying another driver brandished a gun and shot him on the highway around 6:40 p…

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by Cecilia Levine