Paterson, NJ
News
Authorities Probe Where, Why, How Brooklyn Man Who Showed Up At Passaic Hospital Was Shot Authorities Probe Where, Why, How Brooklyn Man Who Showed Up At Passaic Hospital Was Shot
Authorities Probe Where, Why, How Brooklyn Man Who Showed Up At Passaic Hospital Was Shot A Brooklyn man turned up in a Passaic hospital with a gunshot wound, said authorities who were trying to determine where, why and how he was shot. The 21-year-old gunshot victim was brought by private vehicle to St. Mary’s General Hospital shortly before 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Passaic Police Chief Luis A. Guzman said in a joint release. He was later transferred to Saint Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson with what they said was a non-fatal wound. "At this time no crime scene has been located," Valdes and Guzman said at noontime Monday. …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
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HEROES: First-Responding Paterson Police Officers Evacuate Burning Building HEROES: First-Responding Paterson Police Officers Evacuate Burning Building
Heroes: First-Responding Paterson Police Officers Evacuate Burning Building UPDATE: A trio of Paterson police heroes evacuated a multi-family home during a Saturday morning fire, getting several residents to safety, authorities confirmed. Officers Edward Akins, Kevin Brito and Mark Alvarez were instantly on the scene of the Oak Street fire and got all of the residents out safely, Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. The officers selflessly "put others' lives before their own," the director said. Firefighters were met by heavy flames on the second floor and in the attic of a two-story wood-frame home shortly after 9:30 a.m., Speziale said. The bla…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Ex-Pompton Lakes Police Officer Admits Exchanging Nude Pics With Underage Teen Ex-Pompton Lakes Police Officer Admits Exchanging Nude Pics With Underage Teen
Ex-Pompton Lakes Police Officer Admits Exchanging Nude Pics With Underage Teen A now-former Pompton Lakes police officer avoided potential prison time by pleading guilty to exchanging nude photos online with an underage teenager, authorities said. Mark Stinnard, 37, engaged in the relationship with the Riverdale youngster on his own time 3½ years ago and not while he was on the clock, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said. Stinnard was arrested in late September and charged with “engaging in sexual conduct with a child” and endangerment for manufacturing child pornography and “causing harm to a child,” the prosecutor said. No sexual assault charges were fi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Passaic Prosecutor: Duo Tried To Bribe Child Sex Assault Victim, Witness With Cash, Car, More Passaic Prosecutor: Duo Tried To Bribe Child Sex Assault Victim, Witness With Cash, Car, More
Passaic Prosecutor: Duo Tried To Bribe Child Sex Assault Victim, Witness With Cash, Car, More A Passaic County man and a companion tried to bribe a child sex assault victim and a witness with cash, tuition assistance – even a car -- to change their stories, authorities said. Sergio Bernal, 33, of Passaic was originally charged with sex assaults on the underage victim at various residences in Passaic from October 2013 to August 2020, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said Thursday. A judge ordered that he remained held in the Passaic County Jail pending trial. Both Bernal and Maricella Gonzalez, 52, of Garfield then tried to get the victim and witness to recant their state…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Paterson High School Lockdown Ends Quietly Following Report Of Gunman Seeking Revenge Paterson High School Lockdown Ends Quietly Following Report Of Gunman Seeking Revenge
Paterson High School Lockdown Ends Quietly Following Report Of Gunman Seeking Revenge UPDATE: The words "active shooter" terrified some parents of students at a Paterson high school -- when, in fact, it was the term used by authorities to describe the law enforcement response to a report Wednesday that an assault victim had gone there with a gun. City Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said no one with a gun showed up at John F. Kennedy High School, which was temporarily locked down before city police and Passaic County tactical units arrived. They established a perimeter as part of an "active shooter" response and began searching the school and surrounding area whil…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
High School In Paterson Locked Down Amid Unconfirmed Reports Of Gunman Seeking Revenge High School In Paterson Locked Down Amid Unconfirmed Reports Of Gunman Seeking Revenge
High School In Paterson Locked Down Amid Unconfirmed Reports Of Gunman Seeking Revenge UPDATE: The words "active shooter" terrified some parents of students at a public high school in Paterson -- when, in fact, it was the term used by authorities to describe the law enforcement response to a report Wednesday that an assault victim had gone there with a gun. City Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said no one with a gun showed up at John F. Kennedy High School, which was temporarily locked down before city police and Passaic County tactical units arrived. They established a perimeter as part of an "active shooter" response and began searching the school and surrounding area…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
GOTCHA! Couple Wanted In Shooting Death Of Paterson Man, 60, Captured At Jersey Shore GOTCHA! Couple Wanted In Shooting Death Of Paterson Man, 60, Captured At Jersey Shore
Gotcha! Couple Wanted In Shooting Death Of Paterson Man, 60, Captured At Jersey Shore A Paterson couple wanted in the shooting death of a city man 10 days earlier were captured at the Jersey Shore on Friday, authorities announced. Marc DeJesus, 44, jumped out a second-floor window in Barnegat and was quickly seized, along with Cassandra Ramirez, 32, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora said in a joint statement. Responding officers had found Hector Guzman, 60, critically wounded from a single gunshot in the street outside 250-252 Van Houten Street, near Straight Street, shortly after 8 p.m. Sept. 14, they said. Guzman was rus…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
TRIGGER HAPPY: Four Wounded In Paterson Shooting Before Homicide TRIGGER HAPPY: Four Wounded In Paterson Shooting Before Homicide
Trigger Happy: Four Wounded In Paterson Shooting Before Homicide Four people were wounded when gunfire broke out on a Paterson street corner barely two hours before a 20-year-old man was shot and killed a half-mile away, authorities confirmed. Officers responding to a 12:50 a.m. call of shots fired at the corner of 14th Avenue and East 23rd Street, up the block from Public School No. 13, found two of the victims -- both men, 39, from Paterson -- they said. Both were taken by ambulance to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora said in a joint release. Moments later, they…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Former Star Athlete Charged With Raping Woman At 2019 Wanaque House Party Former Star Athlete Charged With Raping Woman At 2019 Wanaque House Party
Former Star Athlete Charged With Raping Woman At 2019 Wanaque House Party A former star high school athlete was arrested Friday and charged with raping an incapacitated woman during a party in Wanaque 2½ years ago, authorities announced. Zariq T. Hewitt, 25, of Paterson was identified after the woman told detectives that “she was unconscious and was then awakened by the nonconsensual act of penetration” during the large March 24, 2019 house party on Greenwood Avenue, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Wanaque Police Chief Robert Kronyak said in a joint announcement. Hewitt, who starred in track and played football at Pompton Lakes High School, was b…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Paterson Man Named In 34-Count Child Sex Assault Indictment Paterson Man Named In 34-Count Child Sex Assault Indictment
Paterson Man Named In 34-Count Child Sex Assault Indictment A Paterson ex-con repeatedly assaulted a child sexually over the course of a year and then repeated it again five years later, authorities charged. An indictment charges Gilberto Lopez-Rodriguez, 43, with a combined 34 offenses, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes. These include: nine counts of aggravated sexual assault; 14 counts of sexual assault; seven counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact; two counts of criminal sexual contact; two counts of child endangerment. The incidents occurred at several residences for a year, beginning in February 2014, and then again in January…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Paterson Ex-Con, 22, Released Early During COVID Jailed After Bystander Is Shot During Robbery Paterson Ex-Con, 22, Released Early During COVID Jailed After Bystander Is Shot During Robbery
Paterson Ex-Con, 22, Released Early During COVID Jailed After Bystander Is Shot During Robbery A 22-year-old Paterson convict paroled from state prison amid last year's COVID pandemic could be facing much more serious time after authorities said he shot an innocent bystander during a robbery earlier this month. The gun went off when the robbery victim struggled with Samuel Anthony at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Summer Street in Paterson shortly before 5 p.m. Aug. 4, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora said in a joint release. The 21-year-old bystander was wounded was taken via private vehicle to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Cen…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
News
Beloved Pet Services Company Owner From Clifton, 31, Struck, Killed, Arrest Made Beloved Pet Services Company Owner From Clifton, 31, Struck, Killed, Arrest Made
Beloved Pet Services Company Owner From Clifton, 31, Struck, Killed, Arrest Made Detectives arrested a driver who they said struck and killed a beloved pet services company owner outside a Clifton supermarket. Chloe Villar-Severino, 31, was struck by an SUV in the parking lot of the Aldi on Lakeview Avenue on Tuesday, authorities said. Villar-Severino, who owned and operated Ruff Lyfe, died the next day at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, they said. “My heart is broken to a million pieces on the passing of my beautiful daughter,” wrote her mother, Esther Velez. Digna A. Lazala, 63, of Randolph, was driving the 2010 Honda Pilot that struck Villar-Seve…

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by Jerry DeMarco