Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Police & Fire
UPDATE: No Charges For Troubled Driver Who Claimed Child Was In Burning Car, Fair Lawn PD Says UPDATE: No Charges For Troubled Driver Who Claimed Child Was In Burning Car, Fair Lawn PD Says
Update: No Charges For Troubled Driver Who Claimed Child Was In Burning Car, Fair Lawn PD Says An emotionally disturbed woman who told Fair Lawn police that a child was inside her burning car won't be criminally charged, authorities said. Officers were looking for an erratically-driven Dodge Neon when they spotted it speeding down a resident's driveway into a heavily wooded area off Saddle River Road around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 1.  The sedan got stuck on a large mulch pile, after which the driver began redlining the engine in a futile attempt to free it, a witness said."It sounded like someone was running a wood chipper," the witness said. The hot exhaust system ignit…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Saddle Brook-Elmwood Park, NJ
Police & Fire
Elmwood Park PD: Quartet From PA Nabbed After One Waves Loaded Gun Out Sedan Window Elmwood Park PD: Quartet From PA Nabbed After One Waves Loaded Gun Out Sedan Window
Elmwood Park PD: Quartet From PA Nabbed After One Waves Loaded Gun Out Sedan Window Elmwood Park police seized a Pennsylvania couple and two minors who they said had a loaded gun, a high-capacity magazine and hollow-point bullets in their car. Officers responding to a report of a male passenger brandishing a gun out the window of a blue 2019 Chevy Malibu on Donor Avenue stopped the sedan on Elmwood Terrace shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 16, Police Chief Michael Foligno said. As they approached, the officers saw a front passenger shove the gun between his feet, the chief said. All four occupants were ordered out of the vehicle, Foligno said. Officers recovered a …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Mahwah-Ramsey, NJ
Police & Fire
Animal Control Officer Left Dog To Die In Kennel Dumpster: Mahwah PD Animal Control Officer Left Dog To Die In Kennel Dumpster: Mahwah PD
Animal Control Officer Left Dog To Die In Kennel Dumpster: Mahwah PD An animal control officer for several New Jersey towns was arrested after leaving a dog to die in a Dumpster at a kennel he owns and operates in Mahwah, township police said. Authorities took Richard A. DuBarton III, 57, into custody and removed 47 malnourished and severely weakened dogs from the Aranwood Kennels after finding them locked outside in freezing temperatures, a Mahwah police complaint says. They'd been left in dog runs "with feces and urine that [DuBarton] failed to clean up," according to the complaint filed in Superior Court in Hackensack. "Multiple dogs were seen shiver…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Three Cats Die In Fierce Fair Lawn House Fire UPDATE: Three Cats Die In Fierce Fair Lawn House Fire
Update: Three Cats Die In Fierce Fair Lawn House Fire UPDATE: Three cats died in a fierce fire that all but destroyed a Fair Lawn home, officials said. The feline trio were the only ones home when the three-alarm blaze ignited at the front of the nearly 100-year-old wood-frame house on 5th Street off Morlot Avenue shortly before 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24. Fair Lawn native Nick Cornwell and his wife, Ashley, also lost all of their belongings. “We encountered heavy fire upon our arrival," Fair Lawn Fire Department Assistant Chief Ralph Rinaldo said. "The members did a great job knocking the fire down using deck guns before entering the b…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Northern Highlands, NJ
Police & Fire
WILD CHASE: Career Offender, 62, In Multi-Town Police Pursuit Caught After Blowing Two Tires WILD CHASE: Career Offender, 62, In Multi-Town Police Pursuit Caught After Blowing Two Tires
Wild Chase: Career Offender, 62, In Multi-Town Police Pursuit Caught After Blowing Two Tires A wild police pursuit through several Bergen County towns ended with the arrest of a 62-year-old former repeat offender from Fair Lawn who authorities said stole the car from Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. Daniel McKay at one point tried fleeing on two flat tires before the stolen sedan broke down and he was arrested on Franklin Turnpike in Allendale, witnesses said. Upper Saddle River Detective Capt. Edward Kane said the Valentine's Day pursuit began after McKay pulled over on Lake Street and asked officers out on another call for directions shortly before noon. One of the officer…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
Weather
These North Jersey Towns Got The Most Snow These North Jersey Towns Got The Most Snow
These North Jersey Towns Got The Most Snow New Jersey residents are digging out of this week's snow storm — the worst of the season so far. According to the National Weather Service, the storm left 15 inches in the northern-most part of the state, canceling schools across the region. Here are the towns who got the most snow in the Tuesday, Feb. 13 storm, according to the National Weather Service. BERGEN River Vale: 9.8 inches Franklin Lakes: 9.1 Waldwick: 9.0 Bergenfield: 8.1 Mahwah: 8.0 Fair Lawn: 7.0 Lyndhurst: 6.5 HUDSON Harrison: 5.5 East Newark: 5.0 SW Hoboken: 4.8 MORRIS Green Pond/Randolph: 11.5 Denville: 10.2 Kinnelon…

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by Cecilia Levine
Paramus, NJ
Police & Fire
Paramus Police Officer Struck At Mall By Hit-And-Run Driver Paramus Police Officer Struck At Mall By Hit-And-Run Driver
Paramus Police Officer Struck At Mall By Hit-And-Run Driver A Paramus police officer was rushed to a local hospital after being struck by a car driven by a fleeing suspect Monday night in the lower-level parking garage at the Garden State Plaza, authorities confirmed. "They were looking at suspects who were breaking into cars when a vehicle sped through the parking lot clipping one of the officers" before 8:30 p.m. Jan. 29, Paramus Police Chief Robert Guidetti said. The vehicle -- described by witnesses as a black Honda CRV -- kept going and sped off. Fellow officers took their colleague to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood with a knee injury, resp…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Police & Fire
Fair Lawn Officer Injured In Crash Pursuing Suspect Into Paterson Fair Lawn Officer Injured In Crash Pursuing Suspect Into Paterson
Fair Lawn Officer Injured In Crash Pursuing Suspect Into Paterson A Fair Lawn police officer was injured in a crash while responding on Monday to a shoplifting at a local CVS. The officer was taken to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood with back pain after his unmarked car collided with an Acura RDX as he pursued one of two suspects across the Maple Avenue bridge over the Passaic River around 11:45 a.m., witnesses said. He was released a few hours later. The female SUV driver wasn't injured, witnesses said. Both suspects were taken into custody.

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Major Effort By Firefighters, Emergency Responders Follows Partial Hawthorne Building Collapse Major Effort By Firefighters, Emergency Responders Follows Partial Hawthorne Building Collapse
Major Effort By Firefighters, Emergency Responders Follows Partial Hawthorne Building Collapse Firefighters spent half a day in the cold and rain stabilizing a Hawthorne apartment building where a floor partially collapsed over the weekend. The rear wall and portions of the first floor collapsed into the basement of Building E at the Hawthorne Garden Apartments on Rock Road around 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 28, borough Fire Chief Joseph Speranza said. Firefighters and police immediately began evacuating the building and securing the utilities, the chief said. Nine residents and six pets remain temporarily displaced while borough officials determine the next steps. Overall, more than three…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Fair Lawn-Glen Rock, NJ
Police & Fire
Special Needs Young Man Killed, Dad Critically Injured Crossing Fair Lawn Street Special Needs Young Man Killed, Dad Critically Injured Crossing Fair Lawn Street
Special Needs Young Man Killed, Dad Critically Injured Crossing Fair Lawn Street 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A special needs man was killed and his father was critically injured when they were struck by a sedan Sunday night in Fair Lawn, authorities said. Matthew Ritter, 30, and his dad, John J. Ritter, 61, both of Wyckoff, were leaving an event at the Knights of Columbus when they were struck while crossing Maple Avenue by a 2010 Lincoln Town Car driven by an 81-year-old Hawthorne man at 7:32 p.m. Jan. 28, Fair Lawn Police Sgt. Eric Eleshewich said. Members of the Fair Lawn Ambulance Corps took both men to St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson, where Matthew succumbed to his …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
Repeat Offender Threatens To Bomb Child Welfare Buildings, Judges, Bergen Prosecutor Charges Repeat Offender Threatens To Bomb Child Welfare Buildings, Judges, Bergen Prosecutor Charges
Repeat Offender Threatens To Bomb Child Welfare Buildings, Judges, Bergen Prosecutor Charges A man who'd been previously accused of threatening Fair Lawn police and families on social media is back in custody after authorities said he took it to another level. Brandon M. Hernandez, 29, is now charged with threatening to "bomb and shoot" New Jersey Child Protection and Permanency buildings and Superior Court judges in Hackensack.  Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced in a news release that Cyber Crimes Unit detectives from his office began investigating a "pattern of social media posts" by Hernandez last November. He specifically cited NJCP&P buil…

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by Daily Voice
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
MOMMY AND CLYDE? Getaway Driver, Son Swipe $100G Worth Of Bling From Jewelry Store: Clifton PD MOMMY AND CLYDE? Getaway Driver, Son Swipe $100G Worth Of Bling From Jewelry Store: Clifton PD
Mommy AND Clyde? Getaway Driver, Son Swipe $100G Worth Of Bling From Jewelry Store: Clifton PD A burglar broke into a Clifton jewelry store, swiped nearly $100,000 worth of bling and planned to flee in a getaway car driven by his 59-year-old mother before police arrived, authorities said. Officers responding to a burglar alarm at Morre Lyons Jewelers in the Richfield Shopping Center around 2:30 a.m. last Nov. 24 saw Iver Vera-Miranda of Clifton emerge from behind the store and then duck back inside, Detective Lt. Robert Bracken said on Friday, Jan. 5. Vera-Miranda, 30, had worked a Fuel 4 in Fair Lawn before he and another man were charged with swiping $11,000 from the station's safe…

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by Jerry DeMarco