GOTCHA! Here's How FBI Says It Nabbed Paterson Kidnappers GOTCHA! Here's How FBI Says It Nabbed Paterson Kidnappers
Gotcha! Here's How FBI Says It Nabbed Paterson Kidnappers A Paterson resident who'd just been kidnapped was being shown a photo array of suspects when he suddenly pointed at one of the pictures. The man in the photo, Joel Ramon Garcia, 33, of Paterson, and an accomplice had held him at gunpoint last month during a six-hour car ride to Massachusetts, while demanding a ransom from his father, before releasing the victim two days later, the FBI said. Federal agents quickly captured both Garcia and Julio Cesar Paniagua, 27, at the same time. Credit the victim's assistance and some sound detective work. It began on Nov. 15, when the victim's father c…
STASH HOUSE RAID: Raw Coke, 150 Pills, $22,775 Seized, Three Arrested: Passaic County Sheriff STASH HOUSE RAID: Raw Coke, 150 Pills, $22,775 Seized, Three Arrested: Passaic County Sheriff
Stash House Raid: Raw Coke, 150 Pills, $22,775 Seized, Three Arrested: Passaic County Sheriff Officers in tactical gear safely locked an attack dog into a bathroom as Passaic County detectives raided a Paterson stash house during an operation that netted a third of a pound of raw cocaine, more than 150 illegal pills and $22,775 in cash, authorities said. They also took a BMW and a Hyundai for forfeiture while arresting a second-floor tenant, a fellow city resident and a man from Rockland County, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said. Complaints of drug dealing focused the attention of the sheriff’s Bureau of Narcotics detectives on the home at the corner of Knickerbocker and G…
ARMED ROBBERY RAMPAGE: 3rd NJ Man Named In Violent Holdups ARMED ROBBERY RAMPAGE: 3rd NJ Man Named In Violent Holdups
Armed Robbery Rampage: 3rd NJ Man Named In Violent Holdups A third man who authorities said was involved in a terrifying string of armed robberies in Passaic County has been identified. Kareem Powell, 30, of Willingboro, was arrested by federal agents on Tuesday, Nov. 21, in connection with the August 2022 holdups, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on Wednesday. He joins Carlos Diaz and Edward Porter, both 30 of Paterson, who’ve been in federal custody since last December. A new indictment names Powell while boosting the charges against the other two. The masked trio menaced customers with semiautomatic handguns -- ordering them to lie …
Machete-Wielding Man Seized During Disturbance At New North Jersey Amazon Warehouse Machete-Wielding Man Seized During Disturbance At New North Jersey Amazon Warehouse
Machete-Wielding Man Seized During Disturbance At New North Jersey Amazon Warehouse Police from multiple jurisdictions converged on one of North Jersey's newest Amazon warehouses after a parking lot dispute between two drivers early Tuesday escalated into an assault involving a machete. No major injuries were reported in the assault, which Woodland Park police said triggered a disturbance that brought them and their colleagues from Totowa, Little Falls and the Passaic County Sheriff's Office to the distribution center on McBride Avenue near Route 46 shortly before 7 a.m. Nov. 21. Responding officers found "a large number of people gathered in the Amazon parking lot causing…
3,850 Heroin Folds, 67 Crack Bags, $35K Seized, Arrest Made Across From Paterson School 3,850 Heroin Folds, 67 Crack Bags, $35K Seized, Arrest Made Across From Paterson School
3,850 Heroin Folds, 67 Crack Bags, $35K Seized, Arrest Made Across From Paterson School Passaic County sheriff's detectives seized 3,850 heroin folds and 67 bags of crack while arresting an accused dealer who they said conducted business from his home across from a Catholic school in Paterson. The Bureau of Narcotics investigators also seized more than $35,000 in alleged profits in arresting Angel Rodriguez, 27, Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said. Citizen complaints brought his detectives to the area of 14th Avenue off East 33rd Street across from the St. Therese CCD School, the sheriff said. After watching Rodriguez in action, some detectives followed him and stopped his Honda…
Haledon Shooting: Central Jersey Man, 27, Wounded Over Weekend Haledon Shooting: Central Jersey Man, 27, Wounded Over Weekend
Haledon Shooting: Central Jersey Man, 27, Wounded Over Weekend A 27-year-old Middlesex County man was shot in Haledon over the weekend, authorities confirmed. Police found the wounded victim from South Brunswick in the 20 block of Ida Street near Bridgeway Community Church and the border of Prospect Park shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29. “Immediate first aid was administered, and the victim was quickly transported to St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson by Paterson EMS,” Haledon Deputy Police Chief George Guzman, Jr. said. Neither he nor Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes would say whether a suspect had been seized or identi…
Dealer, Deadbeat Dad, Child-Abusing Caretaker Busted In Raid: Passaic Sheriff Dealer, Deadbeat Dad, Child-Abusing Caretaker Busted In Raid: Passaic Sheriff
Dealer, Deadbeat Dad, Child-Abusing Caretaker Busted In Raid: Passaic Sheriff A dealer, a caretaker accused of child endangerment and a deadbeat dad all living in the same multi-family Paterson home were busted during a raid by Passaic County sheriff's officers, authorities said. Narcotics detectives targeted Shawn E. Nero, 50, who they said was selling heroin and crack from the Harrison Street home between Carroll Street and Rosa Parks Boulevard. Assisted by members of the sheriff's Warrant Squad, Mounted Division and ERT, they waited until Nero left the area, then stopped his car and arrested him on Thursday, Oct. 26, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said. …
PEDO FILE: Senior Who Repeatedly Sexually Assaulted Teen In Clifton Gets Seven Years PEDO FILE: Senior Who Repeatedly Sexually Assaulted Teen In Clifton Gets Seven Years
Pedo File: Senior Who Repeatedly Sexually Assaulted Teen In Clifton Gets Seven Years UPDATE: A 65-year-old Clifton man was sentenced in Superior Court in Paterson to seven years in state prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old juvenile in his care. Wilfredo Guardia was arrested on May 12, 2022, following an investigation by members of the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit along with Clifton police and the county sheriff’s office, that determined the assaults occurred multiple times at a Clifton home. Rather than risk the possible outcome of a trial, Guardia took a deal from prosecutors, pleading guilty to a single count of child endange…
Drug Store Robbery Spree: Second Suspect Snared In Passaic County Drug Store Robbery Spree: Second Suspect Snared In Passaic County
Drug Store Robbery Spree: Second Suspect Snared In Passaic County A Paterson man was charged by federal authorities with participating in seven drugstore robberies in the Silk City and Passaic, including one in which they said an ex-con partner fired two gunshots. A federal magistrate judge ordered Onijee Burgess, 26, detained following a hearing in U.S. District Court in Newark on Tuesday, Oct. 17.Burgess, Antonio Rivera and other unidentified co-conspirators went on a robbery spree from November 2022 through April 2023, holding up five different pharmacies -- including two of them twice, authorities said. Rivera demanded Percocet, morphine and oxycodone…
Fleeing Mall Suspect Caught After Ordering Uber: Wayne PD Fleeing Mall Suspect Caught After Ordering Uber: Wayne PD
Fleeing Mall Suspect Caught After Ordering Uber: Wayne PD A suspect who ran from a Wayne police officer at the Willowbrook Mall got tripped up when he called for an Uber, authorities said. A mall security guard had flagged down Officer William Hall following shoplifting from the Pac Sun clothing store shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, Detective Capt. Dan Daly said. The officer approached Khaalil Tariq Branch, 29, of Philadelphia, who “feigned that he was looking for identification and suddenly ran through the parking lot,” the captain said. Hall chased Branch to Willowbrook Boulevard and onto Riverside Drive before he and Officer Matthew Ber…
SHOOTING SPREE: Two Teens, Young Woman Dead In Trio Of Paterson Attacks SHOOTING SPREE: Two Teens, Young Woman Dead In Trio Of Paterson Attacks
Shooting Spree: Two Teens, Young Woman Dead In Trio Of Paterson Attacks UPDATE: Gunfire claimed the lives of two 19-year-old men and a 22-year-old woman in a daylong Sunday shooting spree in three different Paterson neighborhoods. It began when no fewer than seven shots were fired at the busy intersection of Park Avenue and East 22nd Street, cutting down one of the men, shortly after 6:30 a.m. Oct. 1. Police found him on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Department Officer-In-Charge Isa Abbassi confirmed. He was pronounced dead a short time later at nearby St. Joseph’s University Medical …
Stolen Handgun, Hundreds Of Doses Of Heroin And Crack, $25G In Proceeds Seized: Passaic Sheriff Stolen Handgun, Hundreds Of Doses Of Heroin And Crack, $25G In Proceeds Seized: Passaic Sheriff
Stolen Handgun, Hundreds Of Doses Of Heroin And Crack, $25G In Proceeds Seized: Passaic Sheriff A stolen handgun, dozens of vials of crack, more than 125 heroin folds and more were seized by Passaic County sheriff’s detectives and Haledon police during a joint operation. Members of the strike force hit a pair of apartments, one on Mangold Street near Belmont Avenue in Haledon and the other at the corner of Garrison and Marion streets in Paterson, Passaic County Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said Wednesday, Sept. 27. Detectives from the sheriff’s Bureau of Narcotics and the borough seized a 2018 Ford Fusion along with the drugs, the gun and more than $25,000 in cash following a month-long…