School Security Guard Accused Of Aggravated Sex Assault Of Englewood Student Remains Jailed School Security Guard Accused Of Aggravated Sex Assault Of Englewood Student Remains Jailed
School Security Guard Accused Of Aggravated Sex Assault Of Englewood Student Remains Jailed A high school security guard from Englewood who was charged with sexually assaulting an underage student has remained jailed as the case against him proceeds. Joseph Hicks, a 30-year-old city resident who'd been working at Dwight Morrow High School, was arrested by Special Victims Unit detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office on Nov. 20 following a complaint forwarded by city police, authorities said last week. Hicks had sex with a child between the ages of 13 and 16 "while in a supervisory role,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Detectives charged Hicks with firs…
Bogota Man Killed In Predawn House Fire Bogota Man Killed In Predawn House Fire
Bogota Man Killed In Predawn House Fire UPDATE: A senior resident was killed in an intense house fire before dawn Saturday in Bogota, authorities confirmed. CPR was in progress as the unresponsive 74-year-old military veteran was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, responders said. A woman who lived with him in the single-family house at the corner of River Road at West Main Street escaped after the three-alarm fire ignited around 6 a.m. Nov. 18, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. She declined being taken to a hospital, the prosecutor said. Aftermath. Damien Danis for DAIL…
Married, Unemployed Englewood Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Pre-Teen Married, Unemployed Englewood Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Pre-Teen
Married, Unemployed Englewood Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Pre-Teen A married and unemployed man living in Englewood sexually assaulted a pre-teen, authorities charged. Juan Carlos Ortiz-Avendano, 43, was arrested following a joint investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Special Victims Unit and Englewood police. Investigators charged Ortiz-Avendano with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a victim under 13, sexual assault of the same victim and child endangerment through “sexual conduct.” He remained held in the Bergen County Jail. Federal authorities have placed a detainer on Ortiz-Avendano, who is listed in Bergen County Jail records as…
Popular All You Can Eat Korean BBQ Spot Coming To Lodi Popular All You Can Eat Korean BBQ Spot Coming To Lodi
Popular All You Can Eat Korean BBQ Spot Coming To Lodi A Korean BBQ spot with dozens of locations across the U.S. is adding a second Bergen County location. KPOT Korean BBQ & Hotpot, is set to open in Lodi, according to its website. The restaurant already has locations in Englewood, Kearny, Jersey City, and Union. The company is founded by four friends all from different backgrounds, who blended their cuisines over a shared table, the KPot website explains. "KPOT is a unique, hands-on, all-you-can-eat experience that merges traditional Asian hot pot with Korean BBQ flavors," it continues. "But it's more than just a meal. KPOT is for both …
Englewood Resident Carjacked, Fleeing Juveniles Captured In Paterson Englewood Resident Carjacked, Fleeing Juveniles Captured In Paterson
Englewood Resident Carjacked, Fleeing Juveniles Captured In Paterson Two 17-year-olds who carjacked an Englewood resident at gunpoint overnight Wednesday were captured in Paterson a short time later by city police and New Jersey State Police troopers. The 52-year-old victim told police the two masked robbers took his Hyundai Elantra at the Rock Creek Terrace Apartment complex shortly after midnight Nov. 1, Detective Lt. Fred Pulice said. The victim wasn’t injured, Pulice said. Englewood detectives used the vehicle's tracking system to trace the car to Paterson and alerted police there, the lieutenant said. Paterson police pursued the vehicle before the pai…
Landmark Liquor Store In Englewood Severely Damaged By Fire Landmark Liquor Store In Englewood Severely Damaged By Fire
Landmark Liquor Store In Englewood Severely Damaged By Fire Fire severely damaged a landmark business that has been part of Englewood's fabric for well over a century, officials said. The two-alarm blaze at I Wides Liquors on West Englewood Avenue broke out around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31. Firefighters kept the flames from spreading past the front of the building and had the blaze under control in barely an hour. The damage nonetheless was significant enough to render the building uninhabitable. Although an official cause wasn't immediately released, fire officials said they didn't suspect any wrongdoing. Mutual aid responders included firefight…
Charges Upgraded Against Teaneck Restaurant Manager In Double-Fatal DWI Crash Charges Upgraded Against Teaneck Restaurant Manager In Double-Fatal DWI Crash
Charges Upgraded Against Teaneck Restaurant Manager In Double-Fatal DWI Crash UPDATE: Authorities have upgraded charges against a Teaneck restaurant manager who they said was drunk when he slammed his speeding car into a tree, killing two of his passengers. Teddy Mejia, 32, originally was charged with death by auto following the horrific Oct. 21 crash that killed Rudy Rosales Escobar, 40, of Hasbrouck Heights, and Alexander Cosme Curruchich, 29, of Englewood. Investigators have since determined that Mejia was not only intoxicated but also speeding down Teaneck Road when his 2021 BMW M850i hit the tree – shearing off an entire limb – and rolled onto its roof near Bilt…
Ex-Con, 56, Arrested With Drugs After Throwing Punch At Officer: Englewood PD Ex-Con, 56, Arrested With Drugs After Throwing Punch At Officer: Englewood PD
Ex-Con, 56, Arrested With Drugs After Throwing Punch At Officer: Englewood PD An ex-con with a lengthy rap sheet was arrested after taking a swing at an Englewood police officer, authorities said. Lawrence Eugene Jones, 56, dropped a bag he was carrying when he spotted the officer on Jones Road early Thursday afternoon, Detective Lt. Fred Pulice said. Jones is well known to law enforcement in the area. He’s been arrested dozens of times over more than two decades, mostly for drug-related crimes that include dealing, aggravated assault, forgery and probation violations, among other offenses, according to criminal records. The most serious was a gun conviction stemmi…
Credit Card From Wallet Lost By Englewood Police Officer Ends Up Used At Local Liquor Store Credit Card From Wallet Lost By Englewood Police Officer Ends Up Used At Local Liquor Store
Credit Card From Wallet Lost By Englewood Police Officer Ends Up Used At Local Liquor Store A wallet lost by an Englewood police officer was found after a repeat offender picked it up and used one of its credit cards at a local liquor store, authorities said. Jaime Medina Vargas, 36, who has a local criminal history involving drugs and assault, was charged with receiving stolen property, credit card theft, and minor drug and paraphernalia possession following his arrest on Thursday, Oct. 26. The officer lost the wallet in a local restaurant on Wednesday, Detective Lt. Fred Pulice said. It wasn’t long before a charge popped up on one of his credit cards, the lieutenant said. Dete…
Five Arrests Made At Dueling Protests Over Israel-Hamas War (w/VIDEO) Five Arrests Made At Dueling Protests Over Israel-Hamas War (w/VIDEO)
Five Arrests Made At Dueling Protests Over Israel-Hamas War (w/Video) UPDATE: Dueling protests involving more than 600 demonstrators divided over the war between Israel and Hamas outside an Englewood City Council meeting led to the arrests of five of them – all of whom are from outside the city, authorities said. Englewood Police Chief Thomas Greeley had backup from several local police departments, as well as the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, at the gathering on Tuesday night, Oct. 24, which ended without any major incidents after he convinced the council to cut its meeting short. Both sides were at odds over a resolution approved by the City Council earli…
Loaded Gun Lost In Target, Ex-Con Owner Jailed: Closter PD Loaded Gun Lost In Target, Ex-Con Owner Jailed: Closter PD
Loaded Gun Lost In Target, Ex-Con Owner Jailed: Closter PD It’s not every day that a loaded gun turns up in the lost and found at Target. Surveillance video helped point Closter police to Tyshawn Culver, a 31-year-old convicted burglar from Westwood, soon after the gun was found on Tuesday, Oct. 24, Capt. Vincent Aiello said. Culver was arrested later that day in Englewood, the captain said. He was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, possessing a handgun as a convicted felon and possession of both a large-capacity ammo magazine and hollow-nose bullets, Aiello said. Culver remained held Wednesday in the Bergen County Jail pending a firs…
Abrupt Ending For Englewood Council Meeting As Protestors Rally Abrupt Ending For Englewood Council Meeting As Protestors Rally
Abrupt Ending For Englewood Council Meeting As Protestors Rally Protesters descended on Englewood City Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 24, as both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups held up signs and led chants, causing a city council meeting to end abruptly. The protests come after the city passed a resolution on Tuesday, Oct. 10 expressing their support for Israel and condemning Hamas following the Saturday, Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.  Englewood was the first municipality in New Jersey to pass a resolution supporting Israel and condemning Hamas. A similar resolution passed in Teaneck also drew a large group of protesters.  Police on scene wor…