Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
One Stabbed, One Slashed In Paterson By Anti-Gay Assailant, Authorities Say One Stabbed, One Slashed In Paterson By Anti-Gay Assailant, Authorities Say
One Stabbed, One Slashed In Paterson By Anti-Gay Assailant, Authorities Say UPDATE: A man who stabbed one person and slashed another overnight in Paterson made several anti-gay slurs, authorities said. Damian Padilla, 42, was captured by Passaic County sheriff’s officers moments after a 35-year-old victim flagged down city police and told them he’d been stabbed on Fair Street shortly before 4 a.m. Tuesday, May 16. Also assaulted was a 41-year-old woman found around the corner with a slash wound on her left leg, responders said. Both victims were treated at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Depa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Two Guns, Five Arrests In Less Than 24 Hours: Paterson Crime Crackdown Continues Two Guns, Five Arrests In Less Than 24 Hours: Paterson Crime Crackdown Continues
Two Guns, Five Arrests In Less Than 24 Hours: Paterson Crime Crackdown Continues Paterson police took two guns off the street, arrested four young men and seized a juvenile in a span of less than 24 hours, authorities said. It began when a colleague alerted a detective sergeant and two detectives who were on patrol to a man carrying a handgun. The pair recovered the weapon and took Tysaun Beach, 18, into custody on 12th Avenue, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and NJ State Police Major Frederick Fife said in a joint announcement. Two other officers patrolling downtown the same day spotted Cameron Louzan, 20, who was wanted for a carjacking and weapons off…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
State Takeover Doesn't Faze Paterson PD: Detectives Seize Two Guns Thanks To Off-Duty Officer State Takeover Doesn't Faze Paterson PD: Detectives Seize Two Guns Thanks To Off-Duty Officer
State Takeover Doesn't Faze Paterson PD: Detectives Seize Two Guns Thanks To Off-Duty Officer Amid a temporary state takeover of their department, Paterson police continue fiercely fighting crime in the Silk City. A caller told police she’d “heard a loud bang” on Southhard Street and “saw a gray Audi drive off” around 6 p.m. April 20. Hearing the shots-fired report, an off-duty city police officer began following the vehicle. The off-duty officer radioed in the location, and two detectives who were responding to the same call quickly headed that way, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and NJ State Police Major Frederick Fife said in a joint announcement on Tuesday, May…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Worshippers Seize Attacker Who Stabbed Imam During Prayer Service At Paterson Mosque (w/VIDEO) Worshippers Seize Attacker Who Stabbed Imam During Prayer Service At Paterson Mosque (w/VIDEO)
Worshippers Seize Attacker Who Stabbed Imam During Prayer Service At Paterson Mosque (w/Video) Sayed Elnakib was leading an early morning prayer service at the Omar Mosque in Paterson on Sunday when a man among the worshippers suddenly rushed forward and stabbed the beloved imam, surveillance video shows. The assailant, 32-year-old Serif Zorba, turned and bolted for the door, but the worshippers -- without regard for their own safety -- quickly converged on the assailant and held him for police. Elnakib, 65, sustained liver damage, a mosque spokesperson said, but he was expected to survive after being rushed into surgery at nearby St. Joseph's University Medical Center following the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Distraught Man Holds Officers At Bay For Hours In First Paterson Standoff Since State Takeover Distraught Man Holds Officers At Bay For Hours In First Paterson Standoff Since State Takeover
Distraught Man Holds Officers At Bay For Hours In First Paterson Standoff Since State Takeover The first standoff in Paterson since the state attorney general's office took control of the police department ended peacefully last weekend when a distraught man wielding a knife surrendered after 6 ½ hours, authorities said. Paterson and New Jersey State police worked together to resolve the confrontation with no injuries at NJ TRANSIT's Market Street garage, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Friday, April 14 No charges were filed, either, because the incident was considered a mental-health crisis that “involved police action as part of law enforcement’s community caret…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
NJ Attorney General To Take Over Paterson Police Operations, Live Stream Link Here NJ Attorney General To Take Over Paterson Police Operations, Live Stream Link Here
NJ Attorney General To Take Over Paterson Police Operations, Live Stream Link Here “There is no safety without trust,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in announcing a state takeover of the day-to-day operations of the Paterson Police Department and plans to include mental health professionals in responses to barricaded individuals there and statewide. Experience has shown that both moves are absolutely necessary at the moment, the state’s top law enforcement officer said. “There is a crisis of confidence in law enforcement in this city,” Platkin said, speaking outside the Frank X. Graves Jr. Public Safety Complex on Broadway on March 27. “Under these ci…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
3 Paterson Officers Used 'Less Lethal Force' Before Two Shot Non-Violence Activist, AG Says 3 Paterson Officers Used 'Less Lethal Force' Before Two Shot Non-Violence Activist, AG Says
3 Paterson Officers Used 'Less Lethal Force' Before Two Shot Non-Violence Activist, AG Says UPDATE: Three Paterson police officers first employed “less lethal force” before two others shot and killed a local non-violence activist who was in the middle of a mental health crisis last week, the state’s top law enforcement official said Wednesday. Tensions were rising in the city as New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin formally identified Najee Seabrooks, who was killed during the nearly five-hour confrontation at his home last Friday, and the officers who were directly involved in a release on Wednesday. Mayor Andre Sayegh, who has been criticized by community leaders for …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Gunman Shooting From Inside Paterson House Wounds Man, 47, On Street: Responders Gunman Shooting From Inside Paterson House Wounds Man, 47, On Street: Responders
Gunman Shooting From Inside Paterson House Wounds Man, 47, On Street: Responders Police and Passaic County sheriff’s officers converged on a Paterson neighborhood after a man on the street was shot in the neck, apparently by someone in a nearby home, responders said. No arrests had been announced nor suspects identified following the 1 p.m. shooting on Lyon Street at the north end of Rosa Parks Boulevard around 12:45 p.m. Monday, March 6. The 47-year-old victim made it about a half-dozen blocks before police found him near the corner of River Street and 6th Avenue, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Bert Ribeiro said in a joint releas…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
14-Year-Old Boy Stabbed Dead Outside Paterson Eastside High School, 16-Year-Old Wounded 14-Year-Old Boy Stabbed Dead Outside Paterson Eastside High School, 16-Year-Old Wounded
14-Year-Old Boy Stabbed Dead Outside Paterson Eastside High School, 16-Year-Old Wounded A 14-year-old boy was stabbed dead in broad daylight Friday afternoon outside Paterson Eastside High School, in what tragically marked the first homicide in the city this year. A 16-year-old boy was hospitalized after he, too, was stabbed in the 3 p.m. incident on Park Avenue, authorities confirmed. Witnesses said police escorted the ambulance carrying the gravely injured boy to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, where the younger boy later succumbed to his injuries. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Acting Paterson Police Chief Bert Ribeiro confirmed the incident but di…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Paterson School Shooting Threats: Loaded Guns Found On Three Teens, One Of Them 15 Paterson School Shooting Threats: Loaded Guns Found On Three Teens, One Of Them 15
Paterson School Shooting Threats: Loaded Guns Found On Three Teens, One Of Them 15 A trio of teens were all found armed with loaded guns after a brawl broke out at JFK High School in Paterson and two juveniles threatened to shoot up the place, authorities said. Officers stationed at the school separated the students and found one of them, a 17-year-old, carrying a handgun, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Acting Paterson Police Chief Bert Ribeiro announced Sunday, Dec. 18. A 14-year-old involved in the Friday morning hallway brawl was seized after he was “overheard by responding officers threatening to commit a shooting in the school,” they said in a prepar…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Accused Kidnapper Of Couple In Paterson Has Been Jailed Since Last Week, Authorities Reveal Accused Kidnapper Of Couple In Paterson Has Been Jailed Since Last Week, Authorities Reveal
Accused Kidnapper Of Couple In Paterson Has Been Jailed Since Last Week, Authorities Reveal Authorities revealed on Monday that one of several men who carjacked and abducted a couple in Paterson last week was actually captured in Bloomfield later that night. City resident Juan Montero-Pena, 30, was among several men who accosted the 38-year-old Paterson woman and her 47-year-old male companion from Long Island in the area of Jackson Street and Washington Avenue around 8 p.m. last Thursday, Dec. 1, authorities announced on Dec. 5. Bloomfield police located the vehicle and captured Montero-Pena in the area of Arlington and Watsessing avenues in their town shortly after 9:30 p.m., Pa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Paterson Man, 34, Shot Dead Outside Church Paterson Man, 34, Shot Dead Outside Church
Paterson Man, 34, Shot Dead Outside Church A 34-year-old Paterson man was shot and killed steps from a city church early Sunday. The victim was brought via private vehicle to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after the 8 a.m. shooting, Dec. 4, on Jelsma Place near the Greater Bethel Church of Christ. Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Acting Paterson Police Chief Bert Ribeiro confirmed the killing but didn’t say whether the suspected shooter had been arrested or identified. The victim’s identity was temporarily being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Meanwhile, Va…

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by Jerry DeMarco