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Police & Fire
SUV Crash Knocks Out Power, Shuts Down Road In Wall Township: Police SUV Crash Knocks Out Power, Shuts Down Road In Wall Township: Police
SUV Crash Knocks Out Power, Shuts Down Road In Wall Township: Police An SUV crashed into a utility pole in Monmouth County, shutting down a road and knocking out power, authorities said. In a Facebook post, Wall Township police said a vehicle hit the pole along Hospital Road at around 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, Apr. 25. No injuries were reported in the crash. A photo from Wall police showed an SUV lying on its left side in the middle of the road. Two utility poles were leaning and there was also damage to a nearby fence. Emergency crews and Jersey Central Power & Light responded to the crash scene. According to the JCP&L outage map, 134 customers …

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
South Jersey Thrift Store Reopening Three Months After Arson Fire Destroyed All Merchandise South Jersey Thrift Store Reopening Three Months After Arson Fire Destroyed All Merchandise
South Jersey Thrift Store Reopening Three Months After Arson Fire Destroyed All Merchandise A nonprofit thrift store in Atlantic County is about to reopen more than three months after it was significantly damaged in an arson fire. The Goodwill store on Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township will hold a grand reopening on Thursday, May 2. The shop in the Cardiff Plaza Shopping Center lost all of its merchandise in a fire on Monday, Jan. 15. Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia announced the celebration in a Facebook post on Thursday, Apr. 25. "Thanks to the generosity of the local community, we are back and better than ever," the post said. "Come shop for a…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Princeton Driver Runs Red Light Causing Somerset County Crash: Police Princeton Driver Runs Red Light Causing Somerset County Crash: Police
Princeton Driver Runs Red Light Causing Somerset County Crash: Police A 32-year-old Hillsborough resident was injured in a car crash in Montgomery on the morning of Tuesday, April 23, when the driver of the other vehicle ran a red light, authorities said. At 7:35 a.m., a 2017 Mini Cooper was driven by a 40-year-old Princeton resident was heading westbound on Cherry Valley Road when it failed to stop for a red light and struck a 2023 Kia Forte that had entered the intersection going southbound on Great Road, Montgomery police said. The driver of a Kia complained of head pain and was evaluated on scene by EMS, police said. The Princeton resident was issued a su…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
NJ Couple Convicted Of Turning Immigrants Into Slaves NJ Couple Convicted Of Turning Immigrants Into Slaves
NJ Couple Convicted Of Turning Immigrants Into Slaves UPDATE: A South Jersey couple was convicted of forcing a pair of undocumented immigrants into slavery after luring them to America. Bolaji Bolarinwa, 50, and Isiaka Bolarinwa, 67, of Moorestown were discovered when one of the victims told her college professor, who alerted the FBI, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said. Originally from Nigeria, the couple were living in New Jersey as U.S. citizens when they recruited two victims to follow them, Sellinger said. They "engaged in an egregious bait-and-switch, luring the victims with false promises of a life and an education …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Feds: Repeat Child Porn Collector Satisfied 'Deviant Desires' With Chats, More NJ Feds: Repeat Child Porn Collector Satisfied 'Deviant Desires' With Chats, More
NJ Feds: Repeat Child Porn Collector Satisfied 'Deviant Desires' With Chats, More A convicted NJ child porn collector had only just been released from federal prison when investigators said he tried buying kids’ shoes on Facebook Marketplace.  And that wasn’t all they said that Andrew Chu, 33, of Edison was up to. Authorities who examined Chu’s laptop and cellphone reported finding more than 100 pornographic images of naked underage girls. They also found live chats that Chu had with naked underage minors while masturbating, a complaint filed in federal court in Newark by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations says. One of them was only 11 years old, agents sa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Local NJ Police Sergeant Took Child Porn Images From Investigation For Himself: AG Local NJ Police Sergeant Took Child Porn Images From Investigation For Himself: AG
Local NJ Police Sergeant Took Child Porn Images From Investigation For Himself: AG A local South Jersey police sergeant cherry-picked child porn images for himself from a case that his department was investigating, a grand jury indictment charges. Suspended Vineland Police Officer Christopher Ortiz, 39, of Estell Manor "requested from a subordinate and obtained via email" at least 17 images from a child pornography investigation for unauthorized use, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. All told, investigators found that Ortiz "possessed, viewed, or had under his control at least 100 items depicting the sexual exploitation or abuse of children," the attorney …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Chameleon': Wife-Killer Facing Charges In 33-Year-Old NJ Murder Case Featured On Dateline NBC 'Chameleon': Wife-Killer Facing Charges In 33-Year-Old NJ Murder Case Featured On Dateline NBC
'Chameleon': Wife-Killer Facing Charges In 33-Year-Old NJ Murder Case Featured On Dateline NBC A convicted killer facing new charges in connection with his second wife's death in Mercer County will be featured in a two-hour broadcast titled "Chameleon" on Dateline NBC on Friday, April 26. John David Smith III has served 20 years in an Ohio prison for the murder of his first wife. Now, he faces murder charges in New Jersey for killing his second wife, Fran Gladden-Smith, 33 years ago in West Windsor. At 9 p.m. Friday, Dateline NBC said it will reveal a "gripping investigation exposing (the) man suspected of multiple murders." Victims' relatives and detectives who put Smith behin…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Sentenced For Home Invasion, Sexually Assaulting Woman In Asbury Park: Prosecutors Ex-Con Sentenced For Home Invasion, Sexually Assaulting Woman In Asbury Park: Prosecutors
Shawn Connolly Of Asbury Park Sentenced An Asbury Park ex-convict will spend more than three decades in prison after he was convicted of a home invasion and sexual assault, authorities said. Shawn Connolly, 37, was sentenced on Tuesday, Apr. 23 to 40 years in prison, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced in a news release. He'll be eligible for parole after 34 years under the No Early Release Act. Asbury Park police responded to a home on Seventh Avenue just before 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Officers immediately found Connolly, arrested him, and recovered what he stole from his pockets. Investigat…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching NJ Woman, 70, For Money Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching NJ Woman, 70, For Money
Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching NJ Woman, 70, For Money 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Questionable DNA evidence found under the fingernails of a 70-year-old Bergen County woman bludgeoned and burned in her home may have gotten her killer a new trial, but it didn't change the outcome. For a second time, a jury in Hackensack convicted Daniel Rochat on Wednesday of all charges in the brutal September 2012 slaying of real estate agent Barbara Vernieri in her East Rutherford home. Rochat, 48, of Wood-Ridge was originally convicted in June 2017 of beating Vernieri, then pouring gasoline on her and around her home before setting it on fire to cover up the crime scene. Pros…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Toms River Woman Admits To Robbing Woman With Knife, Having Cocaine: Prosecutors Toms River Woman Admits To Robbing Woman With Knife, Having Cocaine: Prosecutors
Toms River Woman Admits To Robbing Woman With Knife, Having Cocaine: Prosecutors A Toms River woman admitted to robbing another woman with a knife, having cocaine, and spitting in the faces of officers, authorities said. Olivia Paige, 35, pleaded guilty on Monday, Apr. 22 to robbery, possession of cocaine, and aggravated assault. Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced the guilty pleas in a news release on Wednesday, Apr. 24. Brick Township police responded to a shoplifting report at a convenience store on Maple Avenue on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. Officers determined Paige took items from the store without paying for them. Police arrested Paige af…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Gas Attendant Stole Thousands From Customers At Freehold Township Wawa: Prosecutors Gas Attendant Stole Thousands From Customers At Freehold Township Wawa: Prosecutors
Patrick Brown Of Newark Indicted A former Monmouth County gas station attendant was accused of stealing thousands of dollars from customers, authorities said. Patrick Brown, 48, of Newark, was indicted by a grand jury on 52 counts, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced in a news release on Wednesday, Apr. 24. He was charged with 13 counts each of third-degree credit card fraud, third-degree false uttering, third-degree theft, and fourth-degree credit card theft. Freehold Township police said the thefts at the Wawa on Route 9 North happened "during a limited amount of time" in August 2023. Bro…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Fugitive Wanted In South Jersey Stabbing Arrested In Mississippi: Prosecutors Fugitive Wanted In South Jersey Stabbing Arrested In Mississippi: Prosecutors
Fugitive Wanted In South Jersey Stabbing Arrested In Mississippi: Prosecutors A Cape May County man wanted in a stabbing was caught in Mississippi nearly three weeks later, authorities said. Imani Goodman, 26, from the Villas section of Lower Township, was arrested in Wayne County, Mississippi, on Tuesday, Apr. 23. Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland announced his arrest in a news release on Wednesday, Apr. 24.  Lower Township police responded to a home on Oregon Avenue where someone was stabbed several times on Wednesday, Apr. 3. The victim was rushed to Cape Regional Medical Center in Middle Township and was listed in critical but stab…

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by Chris Spiker