Jersey City, NJ
Police & Fire
Deputy Marshals Justified Shooting Machete-Wielding Murder Fugitive In Jersey City: Grand Jury
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Two deputy U.S. Marshals were justified in shooting a fugitive murderer from Florida who came at them with a hatchet when they tracked him down in Jersey City, a New Jersey grand jury has ruled. Esteban DeJesus, Jr., 56, of Orlando was wanted for shooting and killing his 67-year-old next-door neighbor and wounding her husband the day before the deputy marshals found him. New Jersey law requires a grand jury review of all deaths that occur during or after encounters with law enforcement. State investigators had a clear-cut case involving DeJesus, who police in Orlando said attacked …
Middletown, NJ
Police & Fire
NJ Police Chief Admits Coverup of Sex Affair With Subordinate
A retired New Jersey police chief admitted trying to cover up a sexual affair with a subordinate, authorities said. Andrew Kudrick, 50, will be banned for life from public employment and will receive probation instead of prison time in exchange, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Kudrick, of Farmingdale, lied to Howell Township officials about the affair and “threatened to launch an improper internal affairs investigation” of a captain who called him on it, the attorney general said. A confrontation between the chief’s wife and his alleged mistress during a 2021 retirement party …
Pascack Valley, NJ
Legal
Groundwater Contamination Case In Bergen County Settled For $14M: State AG
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Two companies have agreed to pay the state of New Jersey $14 million to resolve groundwater contamination charges in Bergen County, authorities announced. The settlement with Cycle Chem, Inc. -- formerly known as Perk Chemical Co. -- and Handy & Harman resolves a 2019 lawsuit over the discharge of a degreasing solvent and other hazardous substances at an etching and surfacing facility on Craig Road in Montvale. The solvent, trichloroethylene (TCE), has been linked to cancer, in the liver and kidneys, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. It was used at the site from…
Newark, NJ
Police & Fire
Fugitive Hunters Bear No Responsibility For Accused Killer's Suicide In Newark Park: Grand Jury
UPDATE: A team of fugitive hunters bear no responsibility for the death of a Newark man who shot himself rather than be captured, a grand jury has found. Don Jones, 50, was wanted for a homicide in Union County when members of the U.S. Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force and city police chased him into West Side Park last Aug. 29, 2023. Jones pulled a handgun from his waistband, dashed to an open field and was surrounded by police, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Wednesday, May 15. He then dropped to his knees, pointed the firearm at his head and p…
Elizabeth, NJ
Police & Fire
NJ Law Firm CFO Embezzled $1.5 Million, Faces Five Years In Prison : State AG
A 61-year-old Westfield man faces five years in state prison after pleading guilty to embezzling more than $1.5 million from the law firm he worked at as chief financial officer, authorities said. John Dunlea pleaded guilty on Wednesday, May 8, to two counts of theft by deception and five counts of failure to pay taxes, New Jersey Attorney General Platkin said. Dunlea admitted to misappropriating $1.5 million from the law firm of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter by paying himself excess compensation, Platkin said. Between Jan. 2017 and Dec. 2022, Dunlea paid himself $1.2 mill…
Marlton-Evesham, NJ
Police & Fire
Njsp
Trooper Dies During Training: Officials
A New Jersey State Police trooper has died suddenly, the department said. Trooper II Marcellus E. Bethea, who worked in Troop D at the Moorestown station, died during training, Colonel Patrick J. Callahan said. Bethea was an eight-year NJSP veteran and was a member of the 156th State Police Class. According to New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, Bethea had been training to join the TEAMS Unit, an emergency response unit "prepared to handle extra ordinary police emergencies," the NJSP website says. Gov. Phil Murphy said he died at headquarters in Ewing.&nb…
Marlton-Evesham, NJ
Police & Fire
Motorcyclist Killed In NJ Crash With State Trooper Was 'Sublimely Talented' Guitarist
They called him Frankie Fender. Frank Lando, that is: The 65-year-old Toms River motorcyclist, guitarist, and father killed in an April 9 crash in Southampton with a New Jersey state trooper. On Friday, April 19, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin released Lando's identity, as well as that of the trooper involved: Anthony Fernandes. Fernandes was conducting routine patrol duties along Route 70 around 11:35 a.m. in Southampton that day, when his marked patrol car collided with Lando's motorcycle near Burrs Mill Road, Platkin said. Lando was taken to Virtua Mount Holly Hospital, …
Edison, NJ
Police & Fire
'Reprehensible': Crimefighters Unite To Pursue Rutgers' Islamic Center Attackers (
Update
)
The overnight trashing Wednesday of the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University in New Brunswick -- which coincides with the end of the holy month of Ramadan -- is being treated as a bias crime, authorities said. Someone forced their way in sometimes before 4:30 a.m. April 10, broke glass and destroyed artwork and various other possessions, Rutgers Police Chief Kenneth Cop said. The attack came on Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic holiday commemorating the end of sunrise-to-dusk fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. "Today we witnessed art pieces with Quranic verses, shattered window…
Hamilton Township, NJ
Police & Fire
100 Animals Rescued, Ex-Con Druglord Charged With Leading Notorious NJ Dogfighting Ring
More than 100 abused canines were rescued and several people seized in a raid on what authorities said was a large-scale nationally-known dogfighting enterprise run by a convicted South Jersey druglord. Two dogs reportedly were found dead in a pit in a rural Maurice River Township homestead that investigators said was the site of a massive operation run by widely-recognized dogfighting breeder, ex-con Bruce "Hollywood" Low Jr., 45. Others arrested include his mother and alleged business partner, Terri Low, 67, and son, dog handler Bryce Low, 20. “Profiting from dogfighting is callous, brut…
Cherry Hill, NJ
Police & Fire
Camden County, State Launch Initiative To Reduce Fatal Crashes On White Horse Pike
The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey Attorney General are set to launch a traffic safety initiative to cut down on crashes and improve pedestrian safety along the White Horse Pike. Last year, there were seven fatal crashes on the state highway. These crashes resulted in eight deaths with five being pedestrians and one being a bicyclist, the county said. According to the New Jersey Department of Transportation, there have been 11,251 crashes on the White Horse Pike since 2010. Of these crashes, 3,894 caused injuries and 80 were fatal. More than 7,000 of these crashe…
Hamilton Township, NJ
Police & Fire
Authorities ID Gunman Killed In Shootout That Wounded NJ Officer During Domestic Call
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A man who wounded a Hamilton Township police officer and was killed in a shootout earlier this month was formally identified by state authorities on Wednesday. Vincent Correa, 44, of Hamilton fired a rifle at Officers Derek Fiabane and Paul Piromalli as they responded to a 911 domestic call on Orchard Avenue shortly after 10 p.m. March 8, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. "The officers returned fire, fatally wounding Correa," the attorney general said on March 20. The father of two -- who Platkin said was also carrying a handgun -- was pronounced dead at the sc…
Elizabeth, NJ
Police & Fire
Grand Jury Backs Elizabeth Officer Who Stopped Knife-Wielding Man Attempting To Stab Woman
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: An Elizabeth police officer was fully justified in neutralizing an enraged man who went after a woman with a long-bladed knife last summer, a state grand jury has found. New Jersey law requires grand jury reviews of all fatal police shootings even when police bodycam video is clear -- as in this case -- and there's no mistaking the series of events (ditto). This one was literally over in seconds. Officer Steven Lazo and his partner had just responded to a 911 call of an unwanted person involved in a dispute on Amity Street shortly after 8 a.m. July 29, when the incident occurred. …
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