Hackensack, NJ
News
Convicted Felon From Garfield Caught With Loaded Gun Hidden In Vehicle 'Trap': Little Ferry PD Convicted Felon From Garfield Caught With Loaded Gun Hidden In Vehicle 'Trap': Little Ferry PD
Convicted Felon From Garfield Caught With Loaded Gun Hidden In Vehicle 'Trap': Little Ferry PD A Little Ferry police lieutenant nabbed a convicted felon from Garfield with a loaded gun stashed in a hidden compartment of his vehicle, authorities said. Lt. John Andronaco spotted the 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee parked on Redneck Avenue shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday, March 12, Police Chief James Walters said. The driver -- Raul Leguen, 42 -- "appeared startled, quickly looking down," the chief said. The vehicle's rear license plate also was covered by snow, he said. Leguen pulled out, turned the vehicle around and passed Adronaco, who ran a computer check that showed the owner wanted on a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Englewood, NJ
News
Englewood Ex-Con Charged With Torching SUV Englewood Ex-Con Charged With Torching SUV
Englewood Ex-Con Charged With Torching SUV An Englewood ex-con deliberately set fire to an SUV, said authorities who charged him with also illegally having a handgun. John Young, a 33-year-old manager of an auto parts store, was arrested Wednesday, Feb. 16, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. It was around 9 p.m. the night before that firefighters doused a blaze that engulfed the vehicle on Washington Place, the prosecutor said. Police immediately notified his Arson Task Force. A joint investigation with city detectives determined that the fire was set by Young, who lives several blocks away on Fourth Street, Musella said.…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Middletown, NJ
News
Confessed Jersey Shore Gun Trafficker Headed To Federal Prison Confessed Jersey Shore Gun Trafficker Headed To Federal Prison
Confessed Jersey Shore Gun Trafficker Headed To Federal Prison A Monmouth County ex-con must serve a full five-year sentence in federal prison for trafficking guns from Florida to the Jersey Shore. As part of a gun-running network, Javier "Broly" Rodriguez-Valpais, 33, Morganville sold a .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle to a co-defendant -- who, in turn, sold it to an FBI cooperator, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Rather than face trial, Rodriguez-Valpais took a deal from the government, pleading guilty earlier to gun-trafficking conspiracy and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He must serve just about all o…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Bristol, PA
News
Homeless Man Shoots Good Samaritan Giving Him Shelter At Trailer Park: Bucks DA Homeless Man Shoots Good Samaritan Giving Him Shelter At Trailer Park: Bucks DA
Homeless Man Shoots Good Samaritan Giving Him Shelter At Trailer Park: Bucks DA A homeless man who shot another man who had given him shelter at a Morrisville trailer park has been sentenced to 18 to 40 years in Pennsylvania State Prison, authorities said. Thomas Zorrer, 39, was convicted on all counts against him by a Bucks County jury in December, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. In addition to an attempted homicide charge, Zorrer was found guilty on two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of felon not to possess a firearm, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, and possession of an instrument of crime, the DA…

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by Jon Craig
Newark, NJ
News
Feds: Impatient Repeat Felon Points Police To Smuggled Gun, Drugs Feds: Impatient Repeat Felon Points Police To Smuggled Gun, Drugs
Feds: Impatient Repeat Felon Points Police To Smuggled Gun, Drugs "We can just cut the chase bro -- the gun [is] behind the couch and there's drugs in the cabinet," an impatient six-time convicted felon told police who raided his North Jersey home, federal authorities said. "That sh*t belong to me," Jabbar Pierce, 41, told officers in his Penns Grove apartment who read him his Miranda rights and then recorded his every word, according to a criminal complaint. A federal judge ordered Pierce held following a video-conferenced initial court appearance Friday afternoon in Newark on charges of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Authorities in Salem C…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Paterson Ex-Con Sent To Fed Pen For Nearly 5 Years For Selling Revolvers, Pistols, Rifles, Ammo Paterson Ex-Con Sent To Fed Pen For Nearly 5 Years For Selling Revolvers, Pistols, Rifles, Ammo
Paterson Ex-Con Sent To Fed Pen For Nearly 5 Years For Selling Revolvers, Pistols, Rifles, Ammo UPDATE: An ex-con from Paterson who'd already done state prison time for a gun conviction is headed to federal prison for nearly five years for selling 16 weapons smuggled into New Jersey. Rather than face trial, Floyd “HK” Henry, 36, took a deal from the government, pleading guilty via videoconference with a federal judge in Newark last summer to gun selling, as well as being a convicted felon in possession of firearms and ammo. Henry sold two semi-automatic rifles, three revolvers and 11 semi-automatic pistols – as well as over 100 rounds of ammunition -- when ATF agents arrested him in S…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Bristol, PA
Police & Fire
Gunman Found Guilty In Bucks Trailer Park Shooting Gunman Found Guilty In Bucks Trailer Park Shooting
Gunman Found Guilty In Bucks Trailer Park Shooting A 38-year-old man was convicted of attempted homicide for the shooting of another man at a Bucks County trailer park, authorities said. Thomas Zorrer was also found guilty Thursday of two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of felon not to possess a firearm, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, and possession of an instrument of crime, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. In 2019, Zorrer, who was homeless, was living with his girlfriend at the Bel Aire Trailer Park in Morrisville, authorities said. The victim, who was not specifi…

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by Nicole Acosta
North Hunterdon, NJ
News
Feds: Ex-Con Whose Companion Crashed Into NJ Restaurant Sentenced For 'Glock Switch' Pistol Feds: Ex-Con Whose Companion Crashed Into NJ Restaurant Sentenced For 'Glock Switch' Pistol
Feds: Ex-Con Whose Companion Crashed Into NJ Restaurant Sentenced For 'Glock Switch' Pistol An ex-con whose companion crashed his car into a Route 22 restaurant was sentenced in Newark to 2½ years in federal prison for carrying a pistol converted into a machine gun. Christian Cordero-Gotay, 29, of Brooklyn was being arrested Clinton Township police during an August 2020 traffic stop on Route 22 when his companion, Genesis Bertefabian, suddenly jumped behind the wheel and sped off, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. The vehicle crashed into a Lebanon restaurant minutes later, Honig said. Bertefabian ran into woods behind Chelsea’s Restaurant and tried to hide a 9mm Glock-…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Newark, NJ
News
Gun-Toting Ex-Con Who Tried To Flee Newark PD On Bicycle Sent To Federal Prison Gun-Toting Ex-Con Who Tried To Flee Newark PD On Bicycle Sent To Federal Prison
Gun-Toting Ex-Con Who Tried To Flee Newark PD On Bicycle Sent To Federal Prison A bicycle-riding ex-con who tossed a gun as he tried to evade pursuing Newark police officers was sentenced Monday to a plea-bargained 32 months in federal prison. Joseph Triplett, 32, of East Orange, was maneuvering his bike around pedestrians on a South 8th Street sidewalk when an officer tried to stop him in September 2019, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Triplett ignored the officer's orders and pedaled off in the opposite direction, Honig said. Officers pursued Triplett, who tossed a fanny pack holding a loaded .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver before he was capture…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Rutherford, NJ
News
Prosecutor: Ex-Con Busted With 'Ghost Gun,' More In SWAT Raid On East Rutherford Drug Den Prosecutor: Ex-Con Busted With 'Ghost Gun,' More In SWAT Raid On East Rutherford Drug Den
Prosecutor: Ex-Con Busted With 'Ghost Gun,' More In SWAT Raid On East Rutherford Drug Den A SWAT team-supported raid on a quiet East Rutherford street turned up two firearms – one of them a “ghost gun,” the other loaded with hollow-nose bullets – along with illegal drugs and $27,000 in proceeds, authorities said Thursday. Ex-con Sardar Habib, 21, was arrested on a host of charges -- including operating a drug-production facility -- following an investigation by Bergen County prosecutor’s detectives and borough police. Detectives who obtained the warrant found a 9mm “ghost gun,” a .40-caliber handgun loaded with hollow-nose bullets and a large-capacity magazine, along with heroin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Newark, NJ
News
Pagans Leader From Long Island Gets Nearly 3 Years For Gun Found In NJ Stop Following PA Party Pagans Leader From Long Island Gets Nearly 3 Years For Gun Found In NJ Stop Following PA Party
Pagans Leader From Long Island Gets Nearly 3 Years For Gun Found In NJ Stop Following PA Party UPDATE: The former national president of the Pagans was sentenced Thursday to a plea-bargained 33 months in federal prison for having a gun while returning home through New Jersey from a party in Pennsylvania. Keith Richter – a 62-year-old ex-con known as “Conan the Barbarian” – was returning to his Bay Shore (Suffolk County) home from a Pagan's Motorcycle Club party in Lancaster, PA when he was stopped in Mercer County this past February. Police found him carrying a loaded .45-caliber Ruger P345 handgun, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Rather than risk trial, Ri…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hamilton Township, NJ
News
Ex-Con Indicted In Brutal Slaying Of LGBTQ+ Advocate, Motive Remains A Mystery Ex-Con Indicted In Brutal Slaying Of LGBTQ+ Advocate, Motive Remains A Mystery
Ex-Con Indicted In Brutal Slaying Of LGBTQ+ Advocate, Motive Remains A Mystery Authorities this week still hadn't offered a motive for why an ex-con killed a 23-year-old LGBTQ+ advocate from Trenton in a horrific shooting this summer. “Detectives continue to investigate what prompted the attack,” Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said in announcing an indictment charging ex-con Daniel L. Smith, 37, with murder in the July 30 shooting of Shaquil Loftin, also known as Shai Vanderpump. Shaquil Lofti was pronounced dead at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton a short time after being found with several gunshots wounds in the face in a house on Kelsey …

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by Jerry DeMarco