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Police & Fire
NJ Jail Officer Admits Bringing Inmate To 'Blind Spot' For Beating By Colleagues NJ Jail Officer Admits Bringing Inmate To 'Blind Spot' For Beating By Colleagues
NJ Jail Officer Admits Bringing Inmate To 'Blind Spot' For Beating By Colleagues 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A Passaic County correctional officer admitted that he brought an inmate to a "blind spot" at the county jail so two colleagues could beat him for squirting one of them with urine. Officer Lorenzo Bowden, 39, initially agreed with Sgt. Jose Gonzalez and Sgt. Donald Vinales not to talk after they'd received federal grand jury subpoenas two years ago this month, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said. Bowden eventually had a change of heart. The pretrial detainee was "transported through an area of the PCJ that does not have a video surveillance camera, which correctional officers …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Piscataway Wife Had Husband Sell Jewelry She Stole From Job At Senior Living Facility: Cops Piscataway Wife Had Husband Sell Jewelry She Stole From Job At Senior Living Facility: Cops
Piscataway Wife Had Husband Sell Jewelry She Stole From Job At Senior Living Facility: Cops A husband and wife have been arrested for stealing and selling jewelry from the senior living facility she worked at, authorities announced. Ana Rios, 40, of Piscataway, would swipe pieces of jewelry from residents of a Bridgewater senior living facility where she worked as a housekeeper, then turned them over to her 43-year-old husband, Ezequiel Rios, Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald said. Rios then sold two of the pieces, which McDonald said held a street value estimated at $45,000. Ana is believed to have stolen the jewelry between May 2023 and February 2024. P…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
NJ Teacher Who Posed As Woman To Lure 70 Boys Into Sending Him Nudes Gets 17½ Years: Feds NJ Teacher Who Posed As Woman To Lure 70 Boys Into Sending Him Nudes Gets 17½ Years: Feds
NJ Teacher Who Posed As Woman To Lure 70 Boys Into Sending Him Nudes Gets 17½ Years: Feds UPDATE: It's a measure of how despicably and disgustingly a former Union County grade-school teacher and youth soccer coach from Morristown abused dozens of boys he'd met online that a plea bargain got him "only" 17½ years in federal prison. Steven Brooks, 37, must serve at least 85% of the negotiated sentence handed down in federal court in Newark on Thursday, April 18, for posing as a woman to lure at least 70 underage boys into sending him nude photos and videos. That means he'll be in his early 50s before he'll be eligible to experience freedom again. FBI agents who investigated Brooks…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial
NJ HS Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student Freed From Jail Until Trial A Mercer County high school teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student several times at a Monmouth County wildlife preserve was released from jail to await her trial, authorities said. A judge denied a request on Wednesday, Apr. 17 to keep 37-year-old Jessica Sawicki of Point Pleasant Beach in jail through her trial, a Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson said. She was charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault and five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Sawicki was arrested on Monday, Apr. 8, according to an affidavit obtai…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
License Permanently Stripped From NJ Doc Who Let 20-Year-Old ER Patient Die License Permanently Stripped From NJ Doc Who Let 20-Year-Old ER Patient Die
License Permanently Stripped From NJ Doc Who Let 20-Year-Old ER Patient Die UPDATE: An ER doctor had her medical license permanently revoked by the state of New Jersey for allowing a 20-year-old patient to die on her watch and then trying to cover it up, authorities said. Shar Kennett, 66, of Wayne was on duty in the emergency room at Overlook Medical Center in Summit when the patient was brought in with urgent "respiratory distress" on June 29, 2017, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Kennett failed to examine him and didn't order any diagnostics, "despite his parents' urgent requests for assistance," Platkin said on Thursday, April 18. The patient died in…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Man Injured In Crash Caused By 17-Year-Old: Montgomery Police Man Injured In Crash Caused By 17-Year-Old: Montgomery Police
Man Injured In Crash Caused By 17-Year-Old: Montgomery Police A 17-year-old Skillman resident was cited following a two-car crash that injured a 32-year-old Illinois man in Montgomery, police said. At 1:56 p.m., police responded to the crash at County Road 601 near Skillman Road. A 17-year-old from Skillman was traveling north on County Route 601 in a Lexus GX when he failed to maintain his travel lane while negotiating the "S" curve portion of the roadway, Montgomery police said in a release. His vehicle entered the opposite lane of travel and struck a southbound 2021 Toyota Tacoma, police said. The 17-year-old and his 16-year-old passenger were not …

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Maserati Driven By 82-Year-Old Leaves Pedestrian Critical In Route 35 Crash: Prosecutor Maserati Driven By 82-Year-Old Leaves Pedestrian Critical In Route 35 Crash: Prosecutor
Maserati Driven By 82-Year-Old Leaves Pedestrian Critical In Route 35 Crash: Prosecutor A man is fighting for his life after he was struck by a luxury sports car while crossing a busy road in Monmouth County, authorities said. Wall Township police responded to the crash involving a pedestrian at the intersection of Route 35 and Warren Avenue at around 11:22 a.m. on Monday, Apr. 15. Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago released new details about the wreck in a news release on Thursday, Apr. 18. Investigators said an 82-year-old man driving a 2007 Maserati was making a left turn onto Route 35. The driver hit a 78-year-old man who was crossing the road from east to west in…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Pedestrian Crash Closes Route 18 In Piscataway (DEVELOPING) Pedestrian Crash Closes Route 18 In Piscataway (DEVELOPING)
Pedestrian Crash Closes Route 18 In Piscataway (Developing) A pedestrian crash closed all lanes of Route 18 in Piscataway Wednesday night, April 17, the DOT site says. As of 8:30 p.m., a 20-minute delay was reported due to an "accident investigation and pedestrian crash" on the southbound side of the roadway, north of the John Lynch Bridge. Traffic cameras show vehicles piled up on the highway. This is a developing story. Check back for details.

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Sayreville Dad Accused Of Killing 9-Year-Old Son Dies: Prosecutor Sayreville Dad Accused Of Killing 9-Year-Old Son Dies: Prosecutor
Manuel Rivera Dies The 43-year-old Sayreville man accused of killing his 9-year-old has died, authorities announced. Manuel Rivera had been charged with arson and murder for killing his 9-year-old son, Christian, near Sayreville High School on March 28. ALSO SEE: Body Of 'Superstar' NJ 9-Year-Old Believed Killed By Dad Not Yet Released Rivera died on Wednesday, April 17 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. He had suffered from self-inflicted stab wounds and burns and remained in critical condition until his death, the prosecutor said. R…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Feds: NJ Longshoreman Gets 2½ Years For Ducking Taxes On $2.5M Of Income Feds: NJ Longshoreman Gets 2½ Years For Ducking Taxes On $2.5M Of Income
Feds: NJ Longshoreman Gets 2½ Years For Ducking Taxes On $2.5M Of Income A Port Newark mechanic who was convicted of ducking taxes on $2.5 million of income was sentenced to nearly 2½ years in federal prison. Jonathan Michael, 55, of Springfield had filed returns and paid his taxes without fail for decades, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a release. In 2014, however, he gave his employer in the machine shop at the Port Newark Container Terminal a bogus W-4 form, claiming that he was exempt from any federal income tax withholding from his pay, federal authorities said. The IRS notified Michael in 2016 that he wasn't entitled to exempt status, but he wrote…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Thieves Shatter Windows, Steal Cash From Toms River Restaurants: Police Thieves Shatter Windows, Steal Cash From Toms River Restaurants: Police
Thieves Shatter Windows, Steal Cash From Toms River Restaurants: Police Two restaurants in Toms River had money stolen from them by brick-wielding thieves overnight, authorities said. In a news release, Toms River police said they were investigating burglaries, thefts, and "criminal mischief" at Breakin Bread Eatery and New York Water Bagel Company. Both restaurants are on Fischer Boulevard. The burglaries happened overnight on Tuesday, Apr. 16, and Wednesday, Apr. 17. The suspects smashed the front window of Breakin Bread with a brick and stole a safe containing cash. The thieves also shattered the front window of New York Water Bagel with a paver brick. They…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
SEEN HER? Concerns Grow Following Bogus Call That Missing NJ Woman Had Died SEEN HER? Concerns Grow Following Bogus Call That Missing NJ Woman Had Died
Seen HER? Concerns Grow Following Bogus Call That Missing NJ Woman Had Died 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚: A caller's claim that a missing single mom had died hasn't been confirmed, said authorities in Englewood who've stepped up their search for her. Concerns initially were raised when Cynthia Anderson, 33, who'd recently been homeless, stopped communicating with friends, police said. They became extremely worried when none of them could find her, Lt. Fred Pulice said. "No one's been in touch with her for a while," the lieutenant said on Wednesday, April 17, nine days after Anderson was last heard from. "There's genuine concern." One of the friends got a call from a masked number tha…

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by Jerry DeMarco