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New Jersey Attorney General

Philly Ex-Con Forced Captive Girls Into Prostitution At NJ Hotels: Indictment Philly Ex-Con Forced Captive Girls Into Prostitution At NJ Hotels: Indictment
Philly Ex-Con Forced Captive Girls Into Prostitution At NJ Hotels: Indictment An ex-con who was captured after a 15-year-old victim escaped from a South Jersey hotel room was indicted on a host of charges that include human trafficking, promoting prostitution and sexually assaulting minors, authorities announced on Thursday. Nieem Johnson, 40, whose last known address was in Philadelphia, was arrested in Atlantic City last Aug. 31 following a months-long state investigation, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. A second victim was rescued during the arrest, Platkin said in a Jan. 18 release. “The allegations in the indictment – holding two victims in a…
NJ University Junior Who Collected Child Porn Got Kids To Send Sex Vids, Authorities Charge NJ University Junior Who Collected Child Porn Got Kids To Send Sex Vids, Authorities Charge
NJ University Junior Who Collected Child Porn Got Kids To Send Sex Vids, Authorities Charge Investigators who arrested a student at Montclair State University for collecting child porn made a frightening discovery after raiding his dorm room, authorities said. The MSU junior from Burlington County had contacted underage children online using a bogus identity, then engaged them in sexually explicit chats – and even had some send him videos of them pleasuring themselves, they said. Keyon Luff, 21, of Edgewater Park, was arrested by state Division of Criminal Justice detectives assisted by Montclair State police during a raid of his on-campus dorm room last week, New Jersey Attorney …
Officer Facing Long Recovery, Suspect In South Jersey Police Shooting ID'd Officer Facing Long Recovery, Suspect In South Jersey Police Shooting ID'd
Officer Facing Long Recovery, Suspect In South Jersey Police Shooting ID'd UPDATE: Authorities identified a civilian killed during a struggle in which a South Jersey police officer was shot as a 24-year-old local resident. Ring video from the Gloucester County neighborhood reportedly captured a significant portion of the incident. Mitchell Negron Jr., 24, first ran and then struggled with Deptford Police Officer Robert Shisler after being approached on dead-ended Delsea Drive shortly after 12:30 p.m. Friday, March 10, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. "Both individuals were shot in the area of Doman Avenue," Platkin said on Sunday. Negron wa…
NJ Troopers Justified In Shooting Driver From Poconos Who Shot Dog, Grand Jury Rules NJ Troopers Justified In Shooting Driver From Poconos Who Shot Dog, Grand Jury Rules
NJ Troopers Justified In Shooting Driver From Poconos Who Shot Dog, Grand Jury Rules A country music song played on the car stereo as a Pennsylvania driver who'd just crashed into a ditch off Route 80 shot his dog and was then shot and killed by two New Jersey State Police troopers. The troopers’ actions were justified, a grand jury has found. Panel members reviewed a collection of videos, among other evidence, before rendering their decision earlier this week, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Thursday, March 2. The videos, which can be found here, show the two troopers approaching the disabled vehicle from either side on Starlite Hill Road in the Columbia…
Abused Woman Held Captive By NJ Man During Year-Long Cross-Country Trip Escapes: Authorities Abused Woman Held Captive By NJ Man During Year-Long Cross-Country Trip Escapes: Authorities
Abused Woman Held Captive By NJ Man During Year-Long Cross-Country Trip Escapes: Authorities A South Jersey man kidnapped a woman in New Mexico, then held her hostage during a nearly year-long cross-country trip before she managed to escape, authorities said Friday. James W. Parrillo Jr., 57, may have done the same thing to other women in other states, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and State Police Supt. Colonel Patrick J. Callahan said in a joint statement on  Feb. 17. Parillo was captured after the woman escaped from a residence in Bass Township where she’d been confined and fled to a nearby gas station, they said. Authorities charged Parillo with first-deg…
Sniper Kendall Howard Accused Of Shooting 2 Newark Officers Captured After Manhunt: Sources Sniper Kendall Howard Accused Of Shooting 2 Newark Officers Captured After Manhunt: Sources
Sniper Kendall Howard Accused Of Shooting 2 Newark Officers Captured After Manhunt: Sources UPDATE: Kendall Howard, the accused East Orange sniper wanted for shooting two Newark police officers, has been captured after a massive search, sources tell Daily Voice. Howard was arrested Wednesday morning by Newark police on two attempted murder charges, sources with direct knowledge of the incident say. Details surrounding his arrest were not immediately clear. Howard had been wanted in connection with another shooting from last Friday when police received a 911 call from a civilian who reported seeing him in the area of an apartment building at 25 Van Velsor Place, authorities said. …
Law Enforcement 'Supergroups' In NJ Unite To Fight Organized Violent Criminals Law Enforcement 'Supergroups' In NJ Unite To Fight Organized Violent Criminals
Law Enforcement 'Supergroups' In NJ Unite To Fight Organized Violent Criminals A collection of crime-fighting 'supergroups' nailed 42 defendants in a series of pinpointed attacks on organized gangs dealing drugs, packing weapons and waging street warfare in North Jersey, authorities announced. The Violent Crime Initiative, as it's called, targeted what had been thriving criminal organizations in Newark, Paterson and elsewhere, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Shooting incidents statewide and in cities where the VCIs operate are “appreciably lower” than the year-to-date total from last year, including a 23% reduction statewide, a 30% reduction in …
Police Justified In Shooting Jersey Shore Drugstore Robber Who Stabbed Officer, Grand Jury Says Police Justified In Shooting Jersey Shore Drugstore Robber Who Stabbed Officer, Grand Jury Says
Police Justified In Shooting Jersey Shore Drugstore Robber Who Stabbed Officer, Grand Jury Says UPDATE: Police were justified in shooting an ex-con who’d stabbed a Keansburg lieutenant with a large knife while holding a pharmacy worker hostage during a robbery, a state grand jury ruled. James Sutton, 55, of Keansburg, was holding up the Keansburg Pharmacy in Keansburg Plaza on Main Street when officers responding to multiple 911 calls arrived shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2022, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Sutton had “demanded oxycodone, and was holding a pharmacy employee at knifepoint,” Platkin said. Two officers deployed their Tasers with no effect, t…
FATAL SHOOTOUT: NJ Gunman Fires Point-Blank At Police, Shot Dead In Exchange FATAL SHOOTOUT: NJ Gunman Fires Point-Blank At Police, Shot Dead In Exchange
Fatal Shootout: NJ Gunman Fires Point-Blank At Police, Shot Dead In Exchange Dramatic footage shows a fully-armed man shooting point-blank at West New York police, then being shot dead himself. The incident is captured in a compilation of police bodycam footage and home surveillance video released late Tuesday, Sept. 6, by Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. Several uniformed officers responding to a domestic dispute at the 59th Street home of Kevin Colindres, 32, of West New York on June 3, 2022 had their body cameras activated, Platkin said. Home security cameras in the neighborhood were working, as well. Bodycam footage video recorded throug…
GOTCHA! Gunman Who Carjacked Couple Captured Thanks To Police Drone: NJ Authorities GOTCHA! Gunman Who Carjacked Couple Captured Thanks To Police Drone: NJ Authorities
Gotcha! Gunman Who Carjacked Couple Captured Thanks To Police Drone: NJ Authorities A gunman who carjacked a couple waiting to pick up food outside an Elizabeth restaurant was captured by police thanks to a Newark police drone that followed their Mercedes to Jersey City, authorities said. Rahmel Belle, 22, of Jersey City, and another man were both wearing masks when they got out of a car behind the couple on Morris Avenue around 7:30 p.m. this past April 23, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Pointing a grey handgun with a laser at them, Belle ordered the victims out of the Mercedes and took their keys, cellphones and other valuables – as well as $…
NJ Officers Justified In Shooting PA Man Who Rushed Them With Broken Bottle, Grand Jury Finds NJ Officers Justified In Shooting PA Man Who Rushed Them With Broken Bottle, Grand Jury Finds
NJ Officers Justified In Shooting PA Man Who Rushed Them With Broken Bottle, Grand Jury Finds UPDATE: Police in South Jersey had no choice but to shoot a Pennsylvania man who rushed at them with a broken bottle, a grand jury has found. Grand jurors had crystal-clear bodycam video of officers alternately imploring and commanding Amir Johnson, 30, to drop the bottle during a late-afternoon standoff in the middle of an Atlantic County highway in August 2020. “We don't wanna do this, man. Stop! Stop!" a Ventnor police officer shouts over and over in the video. “Put it down, bro, we don’t wanna do this,” another officer yells. Johnson, of Wilkes-Barre, keeps coming, however, and is onl…
Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Charged With Scamming Health Benefits Program Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Charged With Scamming Health Benefits Program
Current, Former Wildwood Mayors, Commissioner Charged With Scamming Health Benefits Program The city of Wildwood’s former and current mayor and a city commissioner broke the law – committing “breaches of the public trust” -- by collecting health benefits that they didn’t earn, state authorities said Friday. Wildwood Mayor Peter J. Byron, former Mayor Ernest V. Troiano Jr., and current City Commissioner Steven E. Mikulski were charged criminally for fraudulently participating in the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP), Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. In order to be eligible for the benefits, they needed to be full-time employees “whose hours of work are…
NJ Man Shot By Police ID'd, Was Wielding Short-Handled Ax, AG Says NJ Man Shot By Police ID'd, Was Wielding Short-Handled Ax, AG Says
NJ Man Shot By Police ID'd, Was Wielding Short-Handled Ax, AG Says UPDATE: A man was wielding an ax when police who encountered him outside his Edison home shot and killed him, state authorities said. Merrill Rambarose, 49, was pronounced dead at the scene after two officers opened fire on Judson Street at the Margate co-op complex just off Route 1 and the Menlo Park Mall at 4:41 p.m. April 12, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. "A short-handled ax was recovered near Mr. Rambarose," the attorney general said Police had been called there a little under an hour earlier. There they "encountered Mr. Rambarose in a parking lot of the …
New Pot Law In NJ Lets Off-Duty Police Use Weed Without Consequences, State's Top Cop Says New Pot Law In NJ Lets Off-Duty Police Use Weed Without Consequences, State's Top Cop Says
New Pot Law In NJ Lets Off-Duty Police Use Weed Without Consequences, State's Top Cop Says Off-duty police officers in New Jersey can fire up a doob -- or use any other cannabis product -- under the state’s new legal marijuana law, the state’s top law enforcer said. Departments “may not take any adverse action against any officers because they do or do not use cannabis off duty,” acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin wrote in a memo to police chiefs and directors at the local, county and state level. Employers also cannot fire or refuse to hire workers “solely due to the presence of cannabinoid metabolites in the employee’s bodily fluid,” Platkin noted. “But to be c…
SUICIDE BY COP: Video Shows Detective Shooting Knife-Wielding Man At NJ Apartment Complex SUICIDE BY COP: Video Shows Detective Shooting Knife-Wielding Man At NJ Apartment Complex
Suicide BY COP: Video Shows Detective Shooting Knife-Wielding Man At NJ Apartment Complex Eight videos released by authorities show the shooting of a knife-wielding man by a sheriff's detective at an apartment complex in Plainsboro last month, but one of them is particularly chilling. That's the bodycam footage recorded by the detective himself. Four other officers firing Tasers couldn't disarm an agitated Atiba Lewis, 45, as he advanced on them at the Crest at Princeton Meadows Apartment Complex off Plainsboro Road between Routes 1 and 130 on Feb. 16. The standoff ended when Lewis rushed the detective. Middlesex County sheriff's officers had gone to the complex that morning …
Exec Fired By NJ Company After Maternity Leave, Breastfeeding Request Gets $195,000 Settlement Exec Fired By NJ Company After Maternity Leave, Breastfeeding Request Gets $195,000 Settlement
Exec Fired By NJ Company After Maternity Leave, Breastfeeding Request Gets $195,000 Settlement A Hudson County company agreed to pay $195,000 to a former executive who was fired after taking maternity leave and seeking breastfeeding accommodations when she returned, state authorities said. The marketing director was on federal leave time when VCNY Home, a North Bergen-based manufacturer and importer of bedding, bath textiles and other home products, told her she couldn't take an additional 12 weeks allowed under state law to bond with and care for her newborn, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. VCNY contended that the time she was taking under the federal Fam…
Officer-Involved Shooting At NJ Apartment Complex Undergoes Review Officer-Involved Shooting At NJ Apartment Complex Undergoes Review
Officer-Involved Shooting At NJ Apartment Complex Undergoes Review A knife-wielding man was shot and killed by law enforcement officers at a Plainsboro housing complex, state authorities said. The shooting occurred on Ravens Crest Drive at the Crest at Princeton Meadows Apartment Complex off Plainsboro Road between Routes 1 and 130 during what witnesses said began as the serving of an eviction notice around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16. "Law enforcement officers, including members of the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office, were outside a residence when they encountered the decedent," Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. "During …
Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection
Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection UPDATE: Police were justified in shooting a fleeing motorist when he pointed a gun at them at a convergence of highways in Wayne, a state grand jury has found. Bradley G. Pullman, 48, of Queens is seen on dashcam video pointing the gun out of his Lexus sedan following a high-speed chase that ended at the “spaghetti bowl” intersection of Route 46, 23 and 80 near the Willowbrook Mall. The video was among the evidence reviewed by the grand jury, along with witness testimony, reports and autopsy results, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Grand jury reviews are mandated …
Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection
Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection UPDATE: Police were justified in shooting a fleeing motorist when he pointed a gun at them at a convergence of highways in Wayne, a state grand jury has found. Bradley G. Pullman, 48, of Queens is seen on dashcam video pointing the gun out of his Lexus sedan following a high-speed chase that ended at the “spaghetti bowl” intersection of Route 46, 23 and 80 near the Willowbrook Mall. The video was among the evidence reviewed by the grand jury, along with witness testimony, reports and autopsy results, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Grand jury reviews are mandated p…
AG: Somerset County Man Shot By Police Came At Them With Large Knife AG: Somerset County Man Shot By Police Came At Them With Large Knife
AG: Somerset County Man Shot By Police Came At Them With Large Knife A man shot and killed by local police in Somerset County came at officers with a large knife, New Jersey's top law enforcement official said Wednesday. Joshua Mathis 19, confronted Hillsborough police who responded to a report of a man with a gun at an apartment on Corporal Langon Way shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Mathis "was holding a large knife" and "advanced toward the officers with the knife" in the apartment, Bruck said. An officer fired his service weapon, stopping Mathis, he said. Police and EMS workers rendered first aid bef…
Authorities ID Ex-Con Shot, Killed After Stabbing Officer During Jersey Shore Drugstore Robbery Authorities ID Ex-Con Shot, Killed After Stabbing Officer During Jersey Shore Drugstore Robbery
Authorities ID Ex-Con Shot, Killed After Stabbing Officer During Jersey Shore Drugstore Robbery UPDATE: An ex-con who was shot and killed by police who interrupted a robbery at a Keansburg drug store had stabbed an officer with a large knife and threatened a pharmacy worker, New Jersey's top law enforcer said Tuesday. James Sutton, 55, of Keansburg, was holding up the Keansburg Pharmacy in Keansburg Plaza on Main Street when officers responding to multiple 911 calls arrived shortly before 3:30 p.m. last Thursday, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Sutton "was holding a large knife and threatening to harm an employee of the pharmacy" and then stabbed an …
Grand Jury Backs NJ Officer Who Shot Fleeing Driver Trying To Kill Him Grand Jury Backs NJ Officer Who Shot Fleeing Driver Trying To Kill Him
Grand Jury Backs NJ Officer Who Shot Fleeing Driver Trying To Kill Him UPDATE: A Riverdale police officer was justified in shooting a fleeing suspect who slammed a vehicle into his patrol car, pinning him, following a pursuit that ended in Passaic County, a grand jury has found. Officer Andrew Duffy had tried to stop Michael Rivera, 32, of Newark, who "jumped into a vehicle and started it" following a shoplifting at the Home Depot on northbound Route 23 the morning of Jan. 23, 2020, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said Tuesday. Duffy tried but couldn't get the keys out of the ignition, then fell back as the Acura SUV sped off, he said. "Pol…
AG: NJ Man Shot, Killed In Confrontation With Police AG: NJ Man Shot, Killed In Confrontation With Police
AG: NJ Man Shot, Killed In Confrontation With 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 …
Services Scheduled For NJ Man Shot, Killed By Detective Services Scheduled For NJ Man Shot, Killed By Detective
Services Scheduled For NJ Man Shot, Killed By Detective Services are scheduled this coming Saturday for a Paterson man who was shot and killed last week in a confrontation with city police detectives. Witnesses insist that Thelonious “RaRa” McKnight, 25, was gunned down in cold blood last Wednesday night after detectives chased him down an alley in a mixed-use neighborhood of multi-family homes and businesses near the Passaic River New Jersey's top law enforcer, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck, said that a 9mm handgun was found near McKnight's body. Investigators had made an arrest there hours earlier and were looking fo…
Man, 20, Shot By Police In NJ Backhoe Rampage ID'd Man, 20, Shot By Police In NJ Backhoe Rampage ID'd
Man, 20, Shot By Police In NJ Backhoe Rampage ID'd Authorities on Wednesday identified a rampaging man who was shot and killed by a police officer in South Jersey after he damaged two police vehicles, an ambulance and an occupied civilian sedan with a hijacked backhoe. Joshua Gonzalez, 20, of Millville, kept police at bay for nearly a half-hour during the rampage in Vineland, which began around 5 a.m. Dec. 18, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Video shows one police vehicle being smashed and another being knocked onto its side. An ambulance was toppled, and a sedan was repeatedly struck with a female driver inside. …
AG: NJ Police Officer Busted For Child Porn AG: NJ Police Officer Busted For Child Porn
AG: NJ Police Officer Busted For Child Porn A Lawrence Township police officer was busted on child porn charges, authorities announced Thursday. Officer Shane Hickey, 29, who lives in the Mercer County town where he works, was issued a summons charging him with possession of child sexual abuse materials, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. State Police charged Hickey with emailing himself 45 child porn files on a cellphone following an investigation by the NJSP Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit. Hickey has been suspended from the department pending the outcome of the case, Bruck said.
Suspect Shoots Detective, Dies In Exchange Of Gunfire After Nine-Hour Jersey Shore Standoff Suspect Shoots Detective, Dies In Exchange Of Gunfire After Nine-Hour Jersey Shore Standoff
Suspect Shoots Detective, Dies In Exchange Of Gunfire After Nine-Hour Jersey Shore Standoff UPDATE: An out-of-state man who shot and wounded a detective trying to serve a warrant and then remained holed up for nearly nine hours in a Long Branch apartment was gunned down when he came out firing, authorities said. The wounded Monmouth County prosecutor's detective was working a homicide investigation with colleagues when they went to 274 Chelsea Avenue with the warrant Friday afternoon, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. The man, whose identity was temporarily being withheld, moved into a room of the apartment and then fired as they followed him, hitting the de…
NYC Crew Conspired To Scam Atlantic City Casinos Out Of $1.12 Million, Authorities Charge NYC Crew Conspired To Scam Atlantic City Casinos Out Of $1.12 Million, Authorities Charge
NYC Crew Conspired To Scam Atlantic City Casinos Out Of $1.12 Million, Authorities Charge A group of New York City con artists conspired to scam five Atlantic City casinos out of $1,120,000 by exchanging bogus bank checks for gaming chips, authorities said. The Hard Rock casino rejected a check and the Golden Nugget permitted only incremental amounts, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said Thursday. But Caesars, the Borgata and the Ocean Casino Resort all honored $284,000 checks, losing a combined total of $852,000, he said. The New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau and the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau began investigating soon a…
South Jersey Man Killed In Police Shooting Had Reported Gunman On His Property, AG Says South Jersey Man Killed In Police Shooting Had Reported Gunman On His Property, AG Says
South Jersey Man Killed In Police Shooting Had Reported Gunman On His Property, AG Says UPDATE: A South Jersey man who was killed in a police-involved shooting last month had called 911 to report a trespasser on his property wielding a gun, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck revealed Wednesday. Two Mantua Township police officers responded to a 911 call at the Elm Avenue home of Charles Sharp III, 49, shortly after 1:30 a.m. Sept 14, Bruck said. Sharp had called police to report that several people were trespassing on his property, including someone armed with a gun, the attorney general said. He was shot by one of the officers when they encountered him outs…
Video Released Of Atlantic City Bicyclist Struck, Killed In Police Car Crash Video Released Of Atlantic City Bicyclist Struck, Killed In Police Car Crash
Video Released Of Atlantic City Bicyclist Struck, Killed In Police Car Crash State authorities released surveillance video from up the street of a bicyclist struck and killed in a crash with an Atlantic City police car. The officer was “responding to a routine call for service in a marked patrol vehicle, with no lights or siren activated” when the crash occurred in the intersection of Arkansas and Arctic avenues around 8:30 p.m. June 18, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Everett Stern, 63, was riding past traffic stopped at a red light when the police cruiser entered the intersection and his bicycle slammed into the driver’s side, Bruck said. …
PA Health Aide Accused Of Tying Patient, 71, To Chair Loses Certification PA Health Aide Accused Of Tying Patient, 71, To Chair Loses Certification
PA Health Aide Accused Of Tying Patient, 71, To Chair Loses Certification The certification of a home health aide from Pennsylvania accused of tying a 71-year-old dementia patient to a chair at a South Jersey assisted living facility was permanently revoked, authorities announced. A supervising registered nurse at the Juniper Village/Well Springs Assisted Living Facility in Monroe Township discovered the abused victim during a visit to her apartment at last fall, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. The woman – who had round-the-clock health care -- had been “tied to a chair at the waist with a nightgown,” Bruck said. Afua Dankwah, 51, of Mo…