Fog/Mist 48°
Police & Fire
Threatening Bathroom Graffiti Temporarily Closes Private NJ School As Police Investigate Threatening Bathroom Graffiti Temporarily Closes Private NJ School As Police Investigate
Threatening Bathroom Graffiti Temporarily Closes Private NJ School As Police Investigate 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Police were reviewing security video to determine who's responsible for a threat specifically mentioning Blacks and Hispanics that was found scrawled on a bathroom wall at Dwight-Englewood School. The K-12 school was closed on Wednesday, April 24, following the discovery earlier in the week of a message that investigators said threatens to "get even." The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office was alerted and police in Englewood are working the case, assisted by the county sheriff's forensics team, which collected evidence. "There's concern right now considering what just recently trans…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Gloucester County Opens New Center To Fight Abuse Against Children Gloucester County Opens New Center To Fight Abuse Against Children
Gloucester County Opens New Center To Fight Abuse Against Children A new Child Advocacy Center has opened in Gloucester County to deal with the steady rise in abuse and neglect cases, authorities said. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new center at 432 Glover St. in Woodbury took place on Tuesday, April 23. Local prosecutors said they found the need for a larger space necessary due to a rise in the number of crimes against children during and following the coronavirus pandemic.  Child abuse and neglect cases rose from 3,334 cases in 2000 to 4,355 last year in Gloucester County, according to the Rutgers University School of Social Work.  Statewi…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
She's Leaving Home: End Of Marriage Triggers Uneventful Mahwah 'Standoff' She's Leaving Home: End Of Marriage Triggers Uneventful Mahwah 'Standoff'
She's Leaving Home: End Of Marriage Triggers Uneventful Mahwah 'Standoff' A SWAT team and other tactical units responded to a Mahwah home Tuesday afternoon after a resident expressed concern over suicidal comments she told police her husband had made, authorities confirmed. Fortunately, they weren't needed. The woman went to police headquarters early Tuesday afternoon, April 23, concerned over her husband's response when she said she was leaving him, responders said. A quick check determined that there are weapons in the home in the northeast section known as Cragmere near the Rockland County border. Out of "an overabundance of caution," Mahwah Police Chief Tim…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Camden County Man Arrested In Fatal Shooting: Prosecutor Camden County Man Arrested In Fatal Shooting: Prosecutor
Camden County Man Arrested In Fatal Shooting: Prosecutor A 21-year-old man from Gloucester Township has been arrested by U.S. Marshals in connection with a fatal shooting last week, authorities said. Hasan Battie was taken into custody on Monday, April 22 in Camden, according to Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay  Battie has been charged with first-degree murder and weapons offenses, she said. On Tuesday, April 16, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Gloucester Township Police officers were dispatched to a residence in the LaCascata development for a report of a person shot. Police found a male victim later identified as…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Camden Man Gets 55 Years Prison For Fatal Shooting Camden Man Gets 55 Years Prison For Fatal Shooting
Camden Man Gets 55 Years Prison For Fatal Shooting A 21-year-old Camden City man has been sentenced to 55 years in New Jersey State Prison for killing a Philadelphia man, authorities said. Antony Shields was sentenced on Friday, April 19, according to Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay. He must serve 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole. On Jan. 30, 2024, a jury convicted Shields of first-degree Felony Murder, first-degree Aggravated Manslaughter, and second-degree Conspiracy to Commit Robbery in connection to the death of Alex Fernandez, also 21. On Feb. 4, 2021, the Camden County Police De…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
COLD CASE: Two Charged 16 Years After NJ Robbery Victim Is Beaten To Death, Thanks To New Tech COLD CASE: Two Charged 16 Years After NJ Robbery Victim Is Beaten To Death, Thanks To New Tech
Cold Case Murder Leroy Julious Ewing NJ UPDATE: Leroy Julious had planned on whipping up a celebratory dinner after cashing a bonus check from his cook's job at The College of New Jersey when his brutally beaten body was found in a gravel lot across the street from his Ewing home. Julious's murder went unsolved for 16 years -- until authorities announced that technological advances and a shared mission among various agencies and law enforcement forensic experts cracked the cold case. Breyon Goodman, 36, of Trenton, and Jason Howard, 41, of Providence, R.I. killed Julious during a robbery near his Ewing home on May 9, 2008, t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
16-Year-Old Cold Case Results In 2 Murder Arrests In Mercer County 16-Year-Old Cold Case Results In 2 Murder Arrests In Mercer County
Breyon Goodman Jason Howard Cold Case Arrests Two men have been charged with murder in connection with a 2008 robbery and fatal beating, authorities said. Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri announced the cold case arrests on Monday, April 22 in connection with the death of Leroy Julious of Ewing Township. Breyon Goodman, 36, of Trenton, and Jason Howard, 41, are each charged with murder, felony murder and robbery, they said. Goodman was arrested in Trenton on April 15 by U.S. Marshals. Howard was served his complaints in Rhode Island, where he is incarcerated for an un…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! Federal, State Team Seize Local Man, 24, In Rutgers Islamic Center Vandalism GOTCHA! Federal, State Team Seize Local Man, 24, In Rutgers Islamic Center Vandalism
Gotcha! Federal, State Team Seize Local Man, 24, In Rutgers Islamic Center Vandalism UPDATE: An elite law enforcement team captured a 24-year-old local man on Monday who authorities said broke in and trashed the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University in New Brunswick earlier this month. Jacob Beacher was due for an initial afternoon appearance on federal hate crime charges in U.S. District Court in Newark on April 22. Beacher broke into the CILRU shortly after 2:30 a.m. April 10 and did an estimated $40,000 worth of damage, state and federal authorities said. It was during the Eid-al-Fitr -- the Islamic holiday commemorating the end of sunrise-to-dusk fasting during…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Pennsylvania BMW Driver, 30, Struck, Killed After Crash Along NJ Turnpike In Robbinsville Pennsylvania BMW Driver, 30, Struck, Killed After Crash Along NJ Turnpike In Robbinsville
Alton Smith Levittown A 30-year-old Pennsylvania man standing along the side of the New Jersey Turnpike after a collision was struck and killed by a passing car early Monday, April 22, authorities said. Alton Smith, of Levittown, PA, had bee driving a BMW 328i when he got into a crash with another BMW around 2:20 a.m. in Robbinsville, New Jersey State Police said. Smith was standing outside of his vehicle on the southbound side of the highway near milepost 64.1 on the inner roadway, when a passing Hyundai struck him and the back of his car, police said. Smith died while the driver of the Hyundai susta…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
West Windsor Man, 28, Among 3 Killed In Fiery Crash West Windsor Man, 28, Among 3 Killed In Fiery Crash
West Windsor Man, 28, Among 3 Killed In Fiery Crash Authorities have identified the three people killed in a fiery crash on Route 1 in South Brunswick earlier this month. Charisse Nelson-Bailey, 24, Daniel Vida, 28, and Maria Passalaris, 25, all died in the Friday, April 12 crash near Ridge Road, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said. Just after the 9:40 a.m. accident, police said a van had been struck by a tractor-trailer before the van collided with two other vehicles. Both the tractor-trailer and van then caught fire.  Nelson-Bailey, of Princeton Junction, was identified as the van's driver. The other two victim…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Family Of Eight Displaced After Central Jersey House Fire Family Of Eight Displaced After Central Jersey House Fire
Family Of Eight Displaced After Central Jersey House Fire A family of eight people was displaced after a home caught fire in Monmouth County, authorities said. Manalapan police responded to the fire at a home on Paddington Court at around 7:38 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 19, a department spokesperson said. Flames and smoke were reportedly coming from the house's laundry room. Firefighters from Gordons Corner, Englishtown, Freehold, and Marlboro were able to put out the fire. No injuries were reported. The New Jersey chapter of the American Red Cross said a family of eight was displaced. Volunteers were helping the family with immediate needs like tempor…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Arsonist, 44, Charged In South Jersey Church Fire: Police Arsonist, 44, Charged In South Jersey Church Fire: Police
Arsonist, 44, Charged In South Jersey Church Fire: Police A 44-year-old man has been charged with arson in connection with a blaze that broke out at a South Jersey church, police said. Brian Cannon is believed to have set fire to the Colonial Manor United Methodist Church on Elberne Avenue in West Deptford on Friday, April 20, local police said. He was charged with two counts of arson and aggravated assault. Multiple fire companies responded to the church around 6:40 a.m. Friday. One firefighter was hospitalized with an injury suffered fighting the blaze, and has since been released.

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by Cecilia Levine