Newark, NJ
News
NJ Driver, 20, Accused Of Killing 4 Friends In Crash Tells Her Side On TikTok, GoFundMe NJ Driver, 20, Accused Of Killing 4 Friends In Crash Tells Her Side On TikTok, GoFundMe
NJ Driver, 20, Accused Of Killing 4 Friends In Crash Tells Her Side On TikTok, GoFundMe Money began pouring in to help pay legal fees for a 20-year-old Essex County woman after she posted a TikTok video on Saturday defending herself against charges in a violent crash that killed four of her close friends last spring. A badly-burned Nashauna Johnson of Newark also mounted a GoFundMe campaign to deal with legal costs. A grand jury in Newark on Thursday returned an indictment charging Johnson with four counts of death by auto – also known as vehicular homicide -- in the June 9 crash on Route 22 at the Newark-Hillside border. In her TikTok video, Johnson contends that drugs, alc…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lakewood, NJ
News
Jersey Shore Motorcyclist, 59, Killed In Collision Jersey Shore Motorcyclist, 59, Killed In Collision
Jersey Shore Motorcyclist, 59, Killed In Collision A 59-year-old man from Point Pleasant was killed when his motorcycle collided with another vehicle, authorities said  Christos Michael, 59, suffered internal injuries and injuries to his lower body after he was thrown from his motorcycle during a crash on Burnt Tavern Road, Brick police said.  Michael was pronounced dead at the Michael was driving a 2003 Bourget custom motorcycle south on Burnt Tavern Road about 2:25 p.m. when he hit the left front part of a 2013 Hyundai Elantra driven by Robin Federbush, 49, of Brick, police said. Federbush had turned left from Spiral Drive…

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by Jon Craig
Lakewood, NJ
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Brick Bookkeeper Stole $260K From Her Jersey Shore Employer Prosecutor: Brick Bookkeeper Stole $260K From Her Jersey Shore Employer
Prosecutor: Brick Bookkeeper Stole $260K From Her Jersey Shore Employer A 37-year-old bookkeeper from Ocean County has been arrested for stealing about $260,000 from her employer, authorities said. Jessica Duffy, 37, of Brick Township, has been charged with t and forgery, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Point Pleasant Borough Police Chief Robert Lokerson. An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crime Unit and Point Pleasant Borough Police Department found that Duffy, employed as a bookkeeper at R.H. LeChard Marine Contractors in Point Pleasant, misappropriated approximately $260,000 fro…

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by Jon Craig
Lakewood, NJ
Police & Fire
Asbury Park Teen Gets 10-Year Prison Sentence In Shooting Near Jersey Shore High School Asbury Park Teen Gets 10-Year Prison Sentence In Shooting Near Jersey Shore High School
Asbury Park Teen Gets 10-Year Prison Sentence In Shooting Near Jersey Shore High School A teenager from Asbury Park was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for his role in a shooting outside an Ocean County high school, authorities said. Alonzo Legrande, who is now 18, pleaded guilty in September to aggravated assault and weapons charges, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. Legrande originally was charged as an adult on Sept. 10 with four counts of attempted murder and weapons charges, Billhimer said. Legrandes' reduced charges were part of his  agreement to plead guilty as an adult before Judge Wendel E. Daniels.  Legrande was 17 when the crimes occurred, …

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by Jon Craig
Lakewood, NJ
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Heroin, Fentanyl, Cocaine Stored In Jersey Shore Apartment Prosecutor: Heroin, Fentanyl, Cocaine Stored In Jersey Shore Apartment
Prosecutor: Heroin, Fentanyl, Cocaine Stored In Jersey Shore Apartment A 20-year-old man from Lakewood has been arrested for using an apartment in Toms River to deal cocaine, fentanyl and heroin, authorities said. Rizjoun Smullen was taken into custody on Wednesday on drug distribution charges, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. An joint investigation with Toms River police found an apartment in the Hampton Gardens Apartment Complex being used to store and distribute quantities of illegal controlled dangerous substances, according to Billhimer. Detectives made a warranted search on an apartment used by Smullen and s…

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by Jon Craig
Bristol, PA
Police & Fire
Contractor Induced Basement Fire Leaves New Hope Home Uninhabitable Contractor Induced Basement Fire Leaves New Hope Home Uninhabitable
Contractor Induced Basement Fire Leaves New Hope Home Uninhabitable A three-story house fire left one New Hope man's home uninhabitable after a contractor accidentally ignited the blaze while working in the basement, officials said Thursday. Fire crews arrived at the home on 2212 Sugan Road around 10:20 a.m where they found heavy fire throughout the basement, which soon spread to the first and second floors of the home, New Hope Eagle Volunteer Fire Company Chief James Becker told Daily Voice. Chief 46 firefighters requested additional water supply engines around 11 a.m. to put out the large blaze, reports said. The fire left the home uninhabitable, and no…

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by Nicole Acosta
Middletown, NJ
Business
America Can't Afford To Lose These 5 New Jersey Restaurants, Website Says America Can't Afford To Lose These 5 New Jersey Restaurants, Website Says
America Can't Afford To Lose These 5 New Jersey Restaurants, Website Says Small businesses have certainly suffered amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  Some long-favorited restaurants closed temporarily, and that was difficult and tragic enough for their loyal patrons. Imagine if more closed for good. Five New Jersey eateries were named to Esquire's list of "100 Restaurants America Can't Afford to Lose." If you've been to any of them, you probably already know why. Cowan's Public, Nutley: The Irish pub with a speakeasy vibe was built on Centre Street in the 1920s and opened about 15 years later. What Esquire says: "The craft-beer, proper-drink, good-food re…

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by Cecilia Levine
Egg Harbor Township, NJ
News
Science Experiment By South Jersey College Student Grows Aboard NASA SpaceX Flight Science Experiment By South Jersey College Student Grows Aboard NASA SpaceX Flight
Science Experiment By South Jersey College Student Grows Aboard NASA SpaceX Flight 10-9-87-6-5-4-3-2-1. New Jersey snow peas are blasting into international space. Saturday's fourth voyage of a Falcon 9 rocket will carry a science experiment designed by a college freshman from South Jersey. Sophia Bradach of Point Pleasant, who is a freshman at Stockton University in Atlantic County, created an experiment that is set for launch to the International Space Station. Bradach, an environmental science major from Ocean County, wants to determine whether snow peas are capable of self-fertilization through nitrogen fixation while subjected to microgravity, according to a news re…

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by Jon Craig
Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
Business
Bubbakoo's Burritos Opens Another Morris County Location Bubbakoo's Burritos Opens Another Morris County Location
Bubbakoo's Burritos Opens Another Morris County Location Fast-casual Mexican eatery Bubbakoo’s Burritos has opened a new Morris County Location. The restaurant opened Monday at 275 Comly Road in Lincoln Park, according to a Facebook post from Bubbakoo’s. Founded in Point Pleasant in 2008, Bubbakoo's is known for its variety of 16 different proteins that can be put into authentic entrees like burritos, tacos, bowls, nachos, salads, quesadillas and more. Bubbakoo's other Morris County locations are in Budd Lake and Parsippany. From staples like fried chicken and barbecue pork to one-of-a-kind culinary combinations like ghost pepper chicken, srira…

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by Valerie Musson
Jersey City, NJ
News
Ex-Jersey City School Board Prez, Jersey Shore Lawyer Charged In $113,000 Embezzlement Schemes Ex-Jersey City School Board Prez, Jersey Shore Lawyer Charged In $113,000 Embezzlement Schemes
Ex-Jersey City School Board Prez, Jersey Shore Lawyer Charged In $113,000 Embezzlement Schemes A former Jersey City school board president pulled off a series of embezzlement schemes that netted more than $110,000 with the help of a Jersey Shore attorney, federal authorities said. Sudhan M. Thomas, 45, had previously been the acting executive director of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program (JCETP), which “received substantial amounts of funding from federal grants from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Thomas -- known as "Tommy" -- paid personal debts and expenses with $45,000 that …

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by Jerry DeMarco
West Milford, NJ
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Driver, 39, Airlifted After New SUV Hits Pole, Rolls On Route 23 Jersey Shore Driver, 39, Airlifted After New SUV Hits Pole, Rolls On Route 23
Jersey Shore Driver, 39, Airlifted After New SUV Hits Pole, Rolls On Route 23 A Jersey Shore driver was airlifted after his new SUV hit a utility pole and rolled on Route 23 in West Milford over the weekend. Brian Kochakji, a 39-year-old finance manager with Mercedes Benz, was headed north on Route 23 when the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GLC43 crashed shortly before 9:30 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. Kochakji, a former township resident who lives in Point Pleasant, was brought by ambulance to Echo Lake Ballfield on Germantown Road, police Lt. Thomas Valente said. AirMed One flew him from there to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson with serious injuries, Va…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lakewood, NJ
News
Swimmer Pulled From Jersey Shore Beach Dies Swimmer Pulled From Jersey Shore Beach Dies
Swimmer Pulled From Jersey Shore Beach Dies A swimmer whose body was pulled from a Jersey Shore beach Wednesday died, authorities said Thursday. Three Point Pleasant police officers responding to reports of a swimmer in distress pulled the victim from the water on Jenkinson's Beach at Arnold Avenue around 11:40 a.m., Police Chief Joseph A. Michigan said. Point Pleasant First Aid Squad, paramedics and lifeguards arrived as the officers performed CPR on the victim. He was taken to Ocean Medical Center in Brick, where he was pronounced dead, Michigan said. The victim's identity was not immediately released. Point Pleasant Beaches are…

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by Cecilia Levine